Opinion ID: 3034619
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: One-Year Asylum Bar

Text: [1] Pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1158(a)(2)(B), an application for political asylum is untimely if filed more than one year after 3 It is not entirely clear from the testimony whether Ramadan was a speaker, a member of a panel discussion, or simply an attendee of the meeting. 4 Ramadan does not challenge the IJ’s Convention Against Torture decision in this appeal. RAMADAN v. GONZALES 15041 the alien’s arrival in the United States. Ramadan last entered the United States on September 30, 1999, and thus had until September 30, 2000 to file her application, unless she qualified for an exception to the one-year bar. She did not file her application until sometime the following year, in June 2001. Ramadan argues she was still eligible to file an application because of “changed circumstances” that materially affected her eligibility for relief. 8 U.S.C. 1158(a)(2)(D); see also 8 C.F.R. § 208.4(a)(4)(i)(B) (such changes may include “activities the applicant becomes involved in outside the country of feared persecution that place the applicant at risk”). The IJ determined that Ramadan had failed to establish such material changes. [2] As we have previously explained, this court is precluded from reviewing any determination about the one-year asylum bar by 8 U.S.C. § 1158(a)(3). See Hakeem v. INS, 273 F.3d 812, 815 (9th Cir. 2001). This clear, jurisdictionstripping provision is muddied, however, by the REAL ID Act, which was signed into law on May 11, 2005. As relevant here, Section 106 of the Act modifies aspects of judicial review over final orders of removal. It provides: Nothing in . . . any other provision of this chapter (other than this section) which limits or eliminates judicial review, shall be construed as precluding review of constitutional claims or questions of law raised upon a petition for review filed with an appropriate court of appeals in accordance with this section. 8 U.S.C. § 1252(a)(2)(D) (as amended) (emphasis added). This provision, which is effective immediately, thus restores jurisdiction previously precluded, at least insofar as a petition for review raises constitutional claims or questions of law. See Fernandez-Ruiz v. Gonzales, 410 F.3d 585, 587 (9th Cir. 2005). 15042 RAMADAN v. GONZALES [3] Ramadan raises no constitutional claim in her petition for review, leaving the question of whether Ramadan is appealing a “question[ ] of law.” However, the existence of “changed circumstances” that materially affect eligibility for asylum is a predominately factual determination, which will invariably turn on the facts of a given case. Cf. Vasile v. Gonzales, 417 F.3d 766, 768-69 (7th Cir. 2005) (challenge to oneyear bar and/or existence of changed circumstances “simply does not fit” in the “question of law” category). [4] Should there be any doubt about the meaning of the term “questions of law” in the REAL ID Act, the legislative history makes it abundantly clear this term refers to a narrow category of issues regarding statutory construction. For example, the Conference Committee Report states “[T]he purpose of [§106] is to permit judicial review over those issues that were historically reviewable on habeas — constitutional and statutory-construction questions, not discretionary or factual questions.” Conference Committee Statement, 151 Cong. Rec. H2813-01, H2873, 2005 WL 1025891 (May 3, 2005) (emphasis added).5 [5] Likewise, although the final bill deleted an amendment that would have qualified the term “questions of law” with the word “pure,” the Conference Report explains that “pure” was deleted from the final version of the legislation because it was viewed as superfluous. Id. According to the Committee, a “ ‘question of law’ is a question regarding the construction of a statute;” in contrast, factual questions would include decisions that would ordinarily be reviewed under the “substantial evidence” standard. Id. [6] Ramadan’s appeal, therefore, does not present any 5 The Committee thus noted that, for example, the scope of review criminal aliens currently receive would not change “because habeas review does not cover discretionary determinations or factual issues that do not implicate constitutional due process.” 151 Cong. Rec. at H2873. RAMADAN v. GONZALES 15043 “questions of law.” She does not challenge the IJ’s construction of the statute, but rather challenges the IJ’s conclusion that the facts of her case do not demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the Attorney General, “changed circumstances” so as to excuse the late filing. We therefore remain precluded from reviewing the denial of Ramadan’s asylum application by 8 U.S.C. § 1158(a)(3), and dismiss this portion of Ramadan’s appeal for lack of jurisdiction.6 Accord Chacon-Botero v. U.S. Atty. Gen., ___ F.3d ___, 2005 WL 2456877  (11th Cir. 2005); Vasile, 417 F.3d at 768-69.