Castregon

MEMORANDUM **

Petitioners Francisco Javier Flores Castregon and Lidia Arellano petition this court for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (BIA) denial of their motion to remand (reopen) 1 to apply for relief from deportation on grounds of ineffective assistance of counsel. Petitioners claim Escobar Services/International Law Center’s failure to file a timely application for suspension of deportation prevented them *884 from presenting the merits of their case to the Immigration Judge (IJ), and that consequently, they were denied due process. We deny the petition.

The BIA’s denial of a motion to reopen is reviewed for abuse of discretion. Malhi v. INS, 336 F.3d 989, 993 (9th Cir.2003). Review is limited to the administrative record. Njuguna v. Ashcroft, 374 F.3d 765, 769 (9th Cir.2004). When the BIA does not perform an independent review of the IJ’s decision and instead defers to the IJ, the IJ’s decision is reviewed as the final agency order. Khup v. Ashcroft, 376 F.3d 898, 902 (9th Cir.2004).

Before making an ineffective assistance of counsel claim, an alien generally must comply with procedural requirements established by the BIA in Matter of Lozada, 19 I. & N.…