Sahel Yamini Shamsi v. Immigration and Naturalization Service
Opinion
Opinion
Sahel Yámini Shamsi, a native and citizen of Iran, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) dismissal of her appeal as untimely. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1105a, and we grant the petition for review.
The oral decision of the Immigration Judge was rendered on March 19,1987. The parties agree that Shamsi had ten days, or until March 29, 1987, to file a notice of appeal. See 8 C.F.R. §§ 3.36 (b), 242.21(a). The BIA dismissed because the notice of appeal was not filed with the Office of Immigration Judge until April 7, 1987.
Shamsi argues that there was insufficient evidence to support the BIA’s determination that the notice of appeal was not filed until April 7, because there are two “Immigration Court stamps” on the notice of appeal: one dated April 7, 1987 and the other dated March 27,1987. As the government correctly points out, however, the March 27 stamp simply reflects that the notice of appeal was presented to the INS and the filing fee paid; the notice was not actually filed with the Office of Immigration Judge until April 7.
The government argues that those facts conclusively show Shamsi’s appeal to be untimely. At the time, 8…