[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 135 (Friday, July 14, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40151-40152]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-6221]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Executive Office for Immigration Review

[EOIR No. 153]


Revised General Practice Regarding First Briefing Deadline 
Extension Request for Detained Aliens

AGENCY: Board of Immigration Appeals, Executive Office for Immigration 
Review, Department of Justice.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice advises of a revised general practice to be 
followed by the Board of Immigration Appeals regarding briefing 
deadlines for cases before the Board in which the alien is detained. 
The additional time period

[[Page 40152]]

granted for a first briefing extension will generally be reduced from 
21 days to 15 days, and the number of extension requests granted will 
generally be reduced from one per party to one per case.

DATES: This notice is effective on August 14, 2006.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: MaryBeth Keller, General Counsel, 
Executive Office for Immigration Review, 5107 Leesburg Pike, Suite 
2600, Falls Church, Virginia 22041; telephone (703) 305-0470 (not a 
toll free call).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Board of Immigration Appeals (Board) has 
the authority to set and extend briefing deadlines in all cases pending 
before it. 8 CFR 1003.3(c). The regulations state that in cases 
involving aliens in custody, the parties shall be provided 21 days in 
which to file simultaneous briefs unless a shorter period is specified 
by the Board. Id. In cases involving aliens who are not in custody, the 
briefing period is also 21 days, but the briefing period is sequential. 
Id. The regulations state that the Board, upon written motion, may 
extend the period for filing a brief for up to 90 days for good cause 
shown. Id. While the regulations do not limit the briefing extension 
period any further, the Board has established a policy for briefing 
extension requests in the Board of Immigration Appeals Practice 
Manual.\
    The Board Practice Manual provides that the filing of an extension 
request does not automatically extend the briefing deadline, and until 
the Board affirmatively grants an extension request, the existing 
deadline still stands. Practice Manual Chapter 4.7(c). Prior to the 
publication of this Notice, the Practice Manual did not distinguish 
between detained and non-detained aliens with regard to briefing 
extension requests. The Practice Manual provided that, as a matter of 
policy, the Board would grant one extension per party, and that party 
was given an additional 21 days in which to file a briefs regardless of 
the time requested. Practice Manual Chapter 4.7(c)(i). Those 21 days 
were added to the original filing deadline for both parties.
    In an effort to further reduce the amount of time a detained alien 
is in proceedings, the Board is revising this general policy and 
procedure. In the future, when an alien is in detention, the Board 
will, as a matter of policy and procedure, ordinarily grant one 
extension request per case for 15 days. A first extension request from 
either party, if granted, will extend the briefing deadline for both 
parties. If the opposing party thereafter submits an extension request, 
it will be considered a second extension request. As noted in the Board 
Practice Manual, second extension requests are only granted in rare 
circumstances. The Board's policy as set forth in Practice Manual 
Chapter 4.7(c)(i) will accordingly be amended to reflect this change.
    At present, because briefing is simultaneous, extension requests 
from both parties are often filed within days of each other. The result 
is that the Board routinely and unnecessarily grants two extension 
requests. The Board's new general policy will be to limit briefing 
extensions to one per case for detained aliens due to difficulties with 
administering briefing requests from both parties. This change will 
eliminate these unintended delays. The Board will continue to accept 
reply briefs filed within 14 days after expiration of the briefing 
schedule, though the Board will not suspend or delay adjudication of 
the appeal in anticipation of the filing of a reply brief.

    Dated: July 6, 2006.
Lori Scialabba,
Chairman, Board of Immigration Appeals.
[FR Doc. 06-6221 Filed 7-13-06; 8:45 am]
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