Immigration · Primary-source case analysis

Reyes Mata: A Court of Appeals May Review the BIA’s Denial of Equitable Tolling for a Motion to Reopen

By Aneeta Mishra and Timothy Chan

Published August 27, 2026

Reyes Mata v. Lynch arose after the Board of Immigration Appeals denied an untimely motion to reopen based on counsel’s alleged ineffective assistance and declined to exercise its separate sua sponte authority.

A statutory reopening request creates a reviewable final order

Federal law authorizes one motion to reopen and permits judicial review of the Board’s disposition. The court could not eliminate jurisdiction by treating the equitable-tolling issue as part of unreviewable sua sponte relief.

Equitable tolling and sua sponte reopening are distinct

A request to toll the statutory deadline asks whether the ordinary reopening mechanism remains available. Sua sponte reopening instead invokes the Board’s separate discretionary authority.

The Court decided jurisdiction, not entitlement

The Supreme Court did not determine whether Mata qualified for equitable tolling or whether the Fifth Circuit should grant relief. It required the court of appeals to exercise its statutory jurisdiction.

The record must support both diligence and the alleged obstacle

On remand, the tolling theory still depended on the governing circuit standard and a developed record concerning counsel’s conduct, discovery of the problem, and prompt corrective action.

Key takeaways

• Label statutory reopening and sua sponte requests separately.
• Document when the filing problem was discovered and every step taken afterward.
• Comply with current ineffective-assistance procedural requirements.
• File a timely petition for review while preserving the precise tolling issue.