Singh

*675 MEMORANDUM **

Petitioner, a citizen of India and member of the Sikh religion, illegally entered the United States in 1994 and was charged with deportability. Petitioner conceded deportability and filed an application for asylum, contending that he feared persecution on account of his political opinion and religion. After a full hearing, an Immigration Judge (“IJ”) denied Petitioner’s application. Petitioner appealed this decision to the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”), which summarily affirmed the IJ’s decision without opinion on November 21, 2002.

Petitioner claims that he was deprived of an opportunity to appeal the BIA’s decision to this Court, because Petitioner’s counsel moved office suites after filing Petitioner’s appeal with the BIA, failed to notify the BIA of this change, and never received a copy of the BIA’s decision. Petitioner thus filed a habeas corpus petition in the Northern District of California (the “District Court”). Relying on ineffective assistance of counsel grounds, Petitioner requested that the District Court order the BIA to re-issue its opinion to allow Petitioner to file a timely petition for review with this Court. The District Court…