Appellate Court Lacks Jurisdiction To Review Late Filed Asylum Application.

Ikama-Obambi, the daughter of an activist in an opposition party in the Republic of Congo, filed an application for asylum. But the application was filed more than one year after she entered the United States, thus violating the filing deadline. There are exceptions to the one-year rule for changed or extraordinary circumstances, but “Only the Attorney General … may decide whether an asylum application is timely or whether any exception to the deadline applies, and we [appellate court] lack jurisdiction to review these determinations.”

Ikama-Obambi’s petition for review was granted on other grounds. The court stated the immigration judge and the board of appeals “failed to make an explicit credibility finding, or even indicate why her testimony fails to carry her burden of proof …” The demand for corroborating evidence thus was improper.

See the whole case, Ikama-Obambi v. Gonzales, No. 06-1402 (12/11/06), right here (free account required).http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/7th/061402p.pdf