Lia Yang v. Donna E. Shalala, Hhs, Secretary
Opinion
Opinion
Wiggins, J.
Lia Yang moved for attorneys’ fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA). The district court denied her motion, finding that the position of the Secretary of Health and Human Services (Secretary) was substantially justified. Yang appeals. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . We reverse and remand.
I.
Yang was born in Laos, apparently on September 24,1919. She is a member of the Hmong tribe, an ethnic and language minority indigenous to remote areas within Laos. No birth certificate was prepared at the time of her birth. According to Yang, a birth record was prepared for her in 1962 pursuant to a law passed by the Laotian government in 1955. This birth record shows a September 24, 1919 date of birth.
Yang fled Laos after the Vietnamese invaded. In the process of fleeing, she left behind all of her possessions, including the birth record prepared in 1962. She entered a refugee camp in Thailand where her year of birth was recorded as 1929.
Yang was granted entry into the United States and arrived in December of 1979. Her original immigration papers recorded her year of birth as 1929. Her initial Social Security Number application apparently also marked her…