Singh

BACKGROUND

I. INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE OF COUNSEL CLAIMS2

The merits of Singh’s IAC claims are not before us. None- theless, to address the jurisdictional and exhaustion questions, it is useful to delineate in some detail the nature and timing of the attorney conduct underlying each of the claims. The long and twisted path from the Immigration Judge (“IJ”) to the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) and back and forth to this court, and then to the district court, requires some patience to delineate.

A. LAWYER 1: ASYLUM APPLICATION

Singh entered the United States on February 15, 1996 on a non-immigrant visa. After overstaying his visa, Singh applied for political asylum and withholding of removal on April 30, 1996. Singh hired a lawyer (“Lawyer 1”) to file his applica- tion for asylum and for withholding of removal. Singh’s first claim is that the “legal representative” of Lawyer 1 made 2 The BIA acknowledges and adjudicates IAC claims in immigration proceedings. We note that although alien petitioners do not have a Sixth Amendment right to counsel, precedent in this circuit permits IAC claims as a due process challenge under the Fifth Amendment. See Ortiz v. INS, 179…