Opinion ID: 2817687
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Rejection of Late Documents

Text: Under 8 C.F.R. § 1003.31(c), an IJ may set a deadline for the submission of documents, and after the deadline, may deem the opportunity to file them waived. The IJ “retains the authority to determine how to treat an untimely filing.” Imm. Ct. Pract. Man. Ch.3(d)(ii). We 3 review an IJ’s rejection of documents as untimely for abuse of discretion. Dedji v. Mukasey, 525 F.3d 187, 191 (2d Cir. 2008). An IJ may depart from a deadline when an alien demonstrates both good cause for a departure and a likelihood of substantial prejudice from enforcement of the deadline. Id. at 192. On April 7, 2010, the IJ set the filing deadline as March 1, 2011, giving Chen almost one year to submit documents. Chen submitted a number of documents pertaining to his date of entry into the United States and his past persecution one day after the deadline. Chen then submitted additional documents weeks later, purportedly because he had been waiting for his mother’s letter to arrive from China. The IJ did not abuse his discretion in rejecting these late documents. Chen was represented by counsel, had nearly a year to gather evidence prior to the deadline, and did not request an extension or explain in advance that the submissions would be late. See Dedji, 525 F.3d at 192. 4