Opinion ID: 592141
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Extension of Application Deadline

Text: 80 Plaintiffs asked the district court to establish new application deadlines 37 for all three categories of nonimmigrants who did not file for legalization because they believed or were told that they were ineligible based on INS regulations that the district court later found invalid. The district court held that the Supreme Court's decision in INS v. Pangilinan, 486 U.S. 875, 108 S.Ct. 2210, 100 L.Ed.2d 882 (1988), precluded such relief. 81 On appeal, plaintiffs maintain that Pangilinan is distinguishable and that the district court has equitable power to extend application deadlines for nonimmigrants who were discouraged from applying for legalization by INS regulations. 82 We considered the question of the district court's authority to extend INS application deadlines for legalization under IRCA in our recent decision in Catholic Social Services, Inc. v. Thornburgh, 956 F.2d at 921-23. In that case, we held that the district court had authority to extend INS deadlines. We noted that extending the deadline was consistent with Congress's intent and distinguished the Supreme Court's decision in Pangilinan. 38 Catholic Social Services, 956 F.2d at 921-23. In particular, we emphasized that the statutory scheme considered in Pangilinan differed significantly from IRCA. See Catholic Social Services, 956 F.2d at 921-22. 39 Our recent decision in Zambrano v. INS, 972 F.2d at 1124-25, followed Catholic Social Services, and affirmed the district court's authority to extend application deadlines for legalization under certain provisions of IRCA. 83 The district court's authority to extend application deadlines in the present case is controlled by our decisions in Catholic Social Services and Zambrano. We therefore remand to the district court to reconsider plaintiffs' request for an extension of application deadlines in light of those decisions. 40 84