Opinion ID: 202310
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Jurisdiction to Review the Frivolous Asylum Application Bar

Text: 21 A petition for review must be filed within 30 days of the date of the final order of removal. 8 U.S.C. § 1252(b)(1). A motion to reopen will not toll the 30-day period for seeking judicial review. See Zhang, 348 F.3d at 292 (citing Stone v. INS, 514 U.S. 386, 395-406, 115 S.Ct. 1537, 131 L.Ed.2d 465 (1995)). Tchuinga did not file a petition for review appealing the February 14, 2005 decision. Instead, he filed a motion to reopen, which the BIA denied in its May 17, 2005 decision. It is this latter decision, denying his motion to reopen, that Tchuinga now appeals. Thus, his appeal is timely only as an appeal of the BIA's denial of the motion to reopen. 22 Although Tchuinga concedes this point, he argues that the BIA's denial of the motion to reopen re-affirmed its prior finding regarding the frivolous application bar. Thus, he argues, we have jurisdiction to review the frivolous asylum application bar issue here. This argument is unpersuasive. Tchuinga filed the motion to reopen his case solely on the basis of our decision in Succar. He did not address the frivolous asylum application bar in his motion to reopen. In its May 17, 2005 decision denying the motion, the BIA did not revisit the IJ's reasoning as to the applicability of the frivolous application bar. Instead, it stated that the respondent has failed to establish prima facie eligibility for adjustment of status . . . inasmuch as the respondent is permanently ineligible for any benefit under the [INA], due to his prior submission of a frivolous asylum application. 23 Our review is thus limited to determining whether the BIA abused its discretion by denying Tchuinga's motion to reopen on the grounds that Tchuinga is ineligible for adjustment of status notwithstanding Succar. See Nascimento v. INS, 274 F.3d 26, 27-28 (1st Cir.2001) (limiting review to issues addressed in motion to reopen). We do not have jurisdiction to revisit the BIA's affirmance of the IJ's decision to apply the frivolous asylum application bar.