Unreported / Non-Citable
Background
Laura Soto-Fierros, a native and citizen of Mexico, appealed an immigration decision to the Board of Immigration Appeals. The BIA summarily dismissed her appeal as untimely.
Soto-Fierros moved for reconsideration, arguing that the appeal deadline should be equitably tolled because she had diligently pursued her rights but an extraordinary circumstance prevented a timely appeal. After the BIA denied reconsideration, she petitioned the Fifth Circuit for review.
The Court’s Holding
The Fifth Circuit denied the petition for review, holding that the BIA did not abuse its discretion in denying reconsideration. The court concluded that Soto-Fierros had not established the extraordinary circumstance required for equitable tolling.
Her counsel chose to bypass the BIA’s electronic-filing requirement and attempted to file the appeal on paper. The court characterized that choice as a self-inflicted error rather than a circumstance outside Soto-Fierros’s control. It also found that counsel’s 15-month delay in confirming whether the appeal had been filed weighed against a finding of diligence.
Key Takeaways
- Equitable tolling of a BIA appeal deadline requires both diligent pursuit of rights and an extraordinary circumstance.
- A counseled decision to disregard the BIA’s electronic-filing requirement is a self-inflicted filing mistake, not an extraordinary circumstance outside the petitioner’s control.
- A 15-month delay in checking whether an appeal was filed undermines a claim of diligence.
Why It Matters
The decision underscores that practitioners must comply with the BIA’s filing procedures and promptly verify receipt of an appeal. Attorney filing choices and prolonged failures to confirm filing generally will not support equitable tolling of an appeal deadline.