Arulampalam

DISCUSSION

The relevant provision of the Equal Access to Justice Act (“EAJA”), 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d)(1)(B) states that: “A party seeking an award of fees and other expenses shall, within thirty days of final judgment in the action, submit to the court an application for fees and other expenses . . . .” We have held that “the 30-day period during which an applicant can file for EAJA fees begins to run only after the 90-day time for filing a petition for writ of certiorari with the Supreme Court has expired,” Al-Harbi v. INS, 284 F.3d 1080, 1083-84 (9th Cir. 2002); that “EAJA’s 120-day clock begins to tick when our judgment or order is issued,” Zheng v. Ashcroft, 383 F.3d 919, 921 (9th Cir. 2004) (order); and that “[b]ecause filing a peti- tion for rehearing or a petition for rehearing en banc tolls the time period for filing a petition for a writ of certiorari, see Sup. Ct. R. 13(3), it follows that the EAJA clock [is] similarly tolled.” Id. at 921 n.3.

In this case, our final judgment was rendered on July 5, 2004, ninety days after we denied the petition for rehearing. The EAJA deadline in Arulampalam’s case was therefore 30 days after July 5, 2004, which was August 4, 2004.…