Nima Gurung v. JEFFERSON B. SESSIONS III, Attorney General

NOT FOR PUBLICATION
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
NIMA GURUNG,
Petitioner,
v.
JEFFERSON B. SESSIONS III, Attorney
General,
Respondent.
No. 16-73497
Agency No. A200-816-692
MEMORANDUM*
On Petition for Review of an Order of the
Board of Immigration Appeals
Submitted September 12, 2018**
Before: LEAVY, HAWKINS, and TALLMAN, Circuit Judges.
Nima Gurung, a native and citizen of Nepal, petitions for review of the
Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) order denying her motion to reopen
removal proceedings. Our jurisdiction is governed by 8 U.S.C. § 1252. We review
for abuse of discretion the denial of a motion to reopen, and review de novo
* This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
** The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).
FILED
SEP 19 2018
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS

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questions of law, including claims of due process violations due to ineffective
assistance of counsel. Mohammed v. Gonzales, 400 F.3d 785, 791-92 (9th Cir.
2005). We deny in part and dismiss in part the petition for review.
The BIA did not abuse its discretion in denying Gurung’s motion to reopen,
where Gurung failed to show prejudice resulting from her prior counsel’s alleged
ineffective assistance. See id. at 793-94 (to establish prejudice for an ineffective
assistance of counsel claim, petitioner must demonstrate that counsel’s
performance may have affected the outcome of the proceedings). In so concluding,
we do not consider Gurung’s unexhausted contentions that her former counsel
failed to seek a continuance, lay an adequate foundation for evidence, or address
Gurung’s inconsistencies on redirect. See Tijani v. Holder, 628 F.3d 1071, 1080
(9th Cir. 2010) (“We lack jurisdiction to review legal claims not presented in an
alien’s administrative proceedings before the BIA.”).
PETITION FOR REVIEW DENIED in part; DISMISSED in part.

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