Carbonell

Abraham Carbonell appeals the district court’s denial of his petition for attorney’s fees and costs under the Equal Access to Justice Act (“EAJA”), 28 U.S.C. § 2412 (d)(1)(A) (2005). Carbonell contends that he qualifies as a “prevailing party” under EAJA because he obtained a court order incorporating a voluntary stipulation which awarded him a substantial portion of the relief he sought. We conclude that the court order materially altered the relationship between Carbonell and the government and that this alteration was judicially sanctioned. We there fore hold that Carbonell is a prevailing party and remand the case to the district court for further proceedings.

I. Background

Carbonell, a native and citizen of the Philippines, entered the United States in 1990 on a visitor’s visa. In 1994, after being served with an Order to Show Cause and after several continuances that allowed him time to find counsel, Carbonell appeared in immigration court with an attorney, at which point he conceded remov-ability and applied for asylum. The immigration judge (“IJ”) set a hearing date, which was subsequently rescheduled. According to Carbonell, his attorney was notified of the change in…