Case Explained: ZHANG V. BLANCHE

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Filed: 2026-06-24 The Ninth Circuit denied TingTing Zhang’s petition for review in part and dismissed it in part regarding her motion to reopen removal proceedings before the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA). The court held that the BIA did not abuse its discretion in denying Zhang’s untimely second motion to reopen, as she failed to demonstrate that prior counsel’s ineffectiveness prevented her from filing timely or that she was diligent in discovering any alleged error. Specifically, the court found that even if her former counsel was ineffective for failing to petition for review of a 2016 decision, this did not prevent Zhang from filing her current motion, which sought relief based on changed country conditions and adjustment of status rather than restoring appellate rights. Additionally, the court affirmed the BIA’s conclusion that Zhang was not exempt from statutory time and number restrictions under 8 U.S.C. § 1229a(c)(7) due to a material change in country conditions, noting that persecution of religious groups in China predated her 2014 removal order. The court further ruled it lacked jurisdiction to review Zhang’s request for the BIA to reopen proceedings sua sponte or her challenge to the underlying denial of asylum, withholding of removal, and Convention Against Tortrelief relief. Regarding the underlying claims, the court determined that because Zhang never petitioned for review of the 2016 BIA decision within the thirty-day statutory window required by 8 U.S.C. § 1252(b)(1), those issues were not properly before the appellate court. The practical consequence is that the petition is dismissed as to these jurisdictional bars, and the temporary stay of removal remains in place only until the mandate issues. Do It For The Case Law is a news reporting service. Nothing in this episode constitutes legal advice.