Malkit Singh v. Immigration and Naturalization Service

We must decide whether the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) erred in dismissing an appeal when the petitioner dutifully followed all regulations and procedures pertaining to filing his Notice of Appeal, but the BIA itself deprived him of the opportunity to timely file his brief by sending the briefing schedule and transcripts of proceedings to the wrong address.

Although the answer to this question seems self-evident, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (“INS”) contends that the BIA’s decision, dismissing petitioner’s appeal from the denial of asylum solely on adverse credibility grounds, should be affirmed despite the BIA’s failure to provide any notice and any opportunity to be heard. Because these minimal due process requirements are clear and fundamental, and petitioner was prejudiced by an adverse credibility determination unsupported by substantial evidence, we grant the petition.

I.

Malkit Singh provides a credible account of persecution on political and religious grounds. Singh fled his native India after suffering persecution due to his support of religious and political rights for the Sikh minority in the Punjab province of India. He entered the…