Singh v. Attorney General of the United States
Singh v. Attorney General of the United States
Opinion of the Court
OPINION OF THE COURT
Malkit Singh, a native and citizen of India, entered the United States in December 1997 as a visitor for pleasure with authorization to remain for six months. He overstayed his admission period and, in February 1999, was charged as being removable pursuant to Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”) § 237(a)(1)(B) [8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(1)(B) ]. Alter unsuccessfully applying for asylum and withholding of removal, Singh filed a motion to reopen with the Immigration Judge (“IJ”), asking for leave to present evidence and for consideration of relief under the United Nations Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). The IJ denied the request; the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) dismissed Singh’s appeal in July 2001 due to his failure to file a brief.
In January 2002, Singh filed a “Motion to Reconsider” with the BIA. Treating the motion as a request to reopen the proceedings, the Board denied relief, holding that the motion was untimely and that Singh failed to establish changed conditions in India so as to excuse the 90-day deadline for filing a motion to reopen. Singh filed a petition for review, which we denied in November 2003. We agreed with the BIA that Singh’s “motion to reconsider” had actually been a motion to reopen the proceedings, and we concluded that the Board had not abused its discretion in denying the motion as untimely. See Singh v. Ashcroft, No. 02-4605, slip op. at 5 (3d Cir. Nov. 17, 2003) (nonprecedential opinion).
Singh then filed another motion to reopen with the BIA, reiterating his fear that he would be persecuted in India because of his support for Sikh separatism; he also indicated that he sought reopening to pursue an adjustment of status based on a pending 1-140 (petition for alien worker) application. The Board denied the motion, holding that it was barred by regulations limiting the number of and the time for filing motions to reopen. See 8 C.F.R. § 1003.2(c)(2). Instead of filing a petition for review, Singh again moved to reopen the proceedings, this time including documentation indicating that his 1-140 application had been approved in December 2003. The Board held that the motion was nümber-barred. Singh filed a petition for review, which we denied. See Singh v.
In March 2008, Singh filed with the BIA a “Motion to Terminate Removal Proceedings” so that the Department of Homeland Security could adjust his status pursuant to the approved 1-140 visa petition. The Board denied the motion. It concluded that the proceedings would first have to be reopened before they could be terminated. The BIA held, however, that Singh’s motion was time-and number-barred, and the Board refused to reopen the proceedings sua sponte. Singh filed a timely petition for review.
We have jurisdiction over the petition for review pursuant to INA § 242 [8 U.S.C. § 1252], We review the BIA’s denial of a motion to reopen for abuse of discretion, and will not disturb the decision unless it was arbitrary, irrational or contrary to law. See Zheng v. Att’y Gen., 549 F.3d 260, 265 (3d Cir. 2008).
Pursuant to 8 C.F.R. § 1003.2(c)(2), an alien “may file only one motion to reopen,” and the motion must be filed “no later than 90 days after the date on which the final administrative decision was rendered in the proceeding sought to be reopened.”
For the foregoing reasons, we will deny the petition for review.
. Although the regulations provide exceptions to these time and numerical limitations, none apply in this case. See 8 C.F.R. § 1003.2(c)(3).
. To the extent that Singh alleges that the BIA incorrectly refused to sua sponte reopen the proceedings, we lack jurisdiction to consider such a challenge. See Calle-Vujiles v. Ashcroft, 320 F.3d 472, 475 (3d Cir. 2003).
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.