United States Ninth Circuit

Chinese native's petition for review of a decision declaring her asylum application frivolous is granted and remanded to the BIA to determine in the first instance: 1) whether the language of 8 U.S.C. section 1158(d)(6) requires an IJ to make a final determination on the merits of the asylum application, or whether the language requires only that an IJ make a final determination that the application itself was frivolous; and 2) whether the withdrawal of an application for asylum after it is filed renders a subsequent frivolousness finding by an IJ moot.

Appellate Information

• Argued 02/12/2008
• Decided 06/02/2008
• Published 06/05/2008

Judges

• TROTT, Circuit Judge:, Before:  STEPHEN S. TROTT, RICHARD R. CLIFTON, and CONSUELO M. CALLAHAN, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Howard Hom, Los Angeles, CA, for the petitioner.


• For Appellees:
  
• John M. McAdams and Paul Fiorino, United States Department of Justice, Washington, DC, for the respondent.