Abdisalan v. Holder

Summarized by:

  • Court: 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Archives
  • Area(s) of Law: Immigration
  • Date Filed: 09-06-2013
  • Case #: 10-73215; 11-71124
  • Judge(s)/Court Below: Circuit Judge Tallman for the Court; Circuit Judge Watford and District Judge Fitzgerald; Dissent by Circuit Judge Watford
  • Full Text Opinion

A Board of Immigration Appeals order of removal may not be reviewed by the Court of Appeals if a petition for review is not filed within 30 days of the BIA decision.

Sama Abdiaziz Abdisalan ("Ms. Abdisalan"), a native of Somalia, brought this petition for review of a Board of Immigration Appeals ("BIA") dismissal of her asylum claim. From 2002 to the present, Ms. Abdisalan has repeatedly sought asylum in the United States. She was granted withholding of removal several times but the Immigration Judge ("IJ") repeatedly denied her asylum petitions. Ms. Abdisalan appealed to the BIA one such IJ denial of asylum rendered on August 3, 2007. On November 25, 2008, the BIA dismissed the claim for lack of timeliness. On review, the case turned on the issue of when a BIA order of removal is considered final for purposes of judicial review. The Ninth Circuit held that a final order of removal was issued with the BIA's November 25, 2008 dismissal and that triggered the 30 day filing period. The panel held that because Ms. Abdisalan waited two years to file for petition of the BIA's dismissal, far exceeding the 30 day time limit, the petition was untimely and the Court of Appeals lacked jurisdiction. The petitions were thus dismissed. DISMISSED.

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