Amarjit Singh v. John Ashcroft, Attorney General

Amarjit Singh petitions for review of an order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) denying his motion to reopen his removal proceedings. Recharacterizing it as a “motion to reconsider,” the BIA denied Singh’s motion. We grant the petition for review because we hold that the BIA abused its discretion in denying Singh’s motion to reopen.

I. Background

Singh is a Sikh and a native and citizen of India. In September 1998, Singh testified before an immigration judge (“IJ”) that he had been arrested in India three times in 1994 and 1995 for suspected involvement with Sikh separatists. According to his testimony, Singh was interrogated and beaten repeatedly during each of these detentions. The IJ denied Singh asylum, finding that he had not established persecution based on a statutory ground for relief.

Singh and his then-attorney Jagdip Singh Sekhon agreed that Singh would appeal the IJ’s decision to the BIA, and Singh paid Sekhon for his promised services. On September 25, 1998, Sekhon timely filed a Notice of Appeal to the BIA and, by marking a box on Form EOIR-26, indicated that he would file a separate brief. During the months following, Singh contacted Sekhon’s office…