Zili Jin v. LORETTA E. LYNCH, Attorney General

NOT FOR PUBLICATION
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
ZILI JIN,
Petitioner,
v.
LORETTA E. LYNCH, Attorney General,
Respondent.
No. 13-72745
Agency No. A089-886-779
MEMORANDUM*
On Petition for Review of an Order of the
Board of Immigration Appeals
Submitted January 20, 2016**
Before: CANBY, TASHIMA, and NGUYEN, Circuit Judges.
Zili Jin, a native and citizen of China, petitions for review of the Board of
Immigration Appeals’(“BIA”) order dismissing his appeal from an immigration
judge’s decision denying his motion to reopen removal proceedings conducted in
absentia. We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252. We review for abuse of
FILED
JAN 27 2016
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
* This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.
** The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).

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discretion the denial of a motion to reopen. Mohammed v. Gonzales, 400 F.3d 785,
791 (9th Cir. 2005). We grant the petition for review and we remand.
The agency abused its discretion in denying Jin’s motion to reopen for
failure to file a complaint against his attorney in compliance with the procedural
requirements of Matter of Lozada, 19 I. & N. Dec. 637 (BIA 1988). Jin’s failure to
attend his hearing was due to an exceptional circumstance, because his attorney
told him that he did not need to appear. See 8 C.F.R. § 1003.23(b)(4)(ii). Filing a
complaint against the attorney was not necessary because ineffective assistance of
counsel is plain on the face of the record, where Jin’s attorney has admitted his
errors in a declaration under penalty of perjury. See Correa-Rivera v. Holder, 706
F.3d 1128, 1133 (9th Cir. 2013); Lo v. Ashcroft, 341 F.3d 934, 937 (9th Cir.
2003).
Accordingly, we grant the petition for review, reverse the denial of Jin’s
motion to reopen, and remand to the BIA for further proceedings consistent with
this opinion.
PETITION FOR REVIEW GRANTED; REMANDED.
13-72745 2

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