Practice Advisory: Distinguishing Matter of M-A-F- in the Pretermission Context

DHS continues to move to pretermit asylum applications in court, arguing either that the asylum seeker did not sufficiently answer every substantive question on the application form or that the application does not state a prima facie claim for asylum. These motions have forced practitioners to supplement asylum filings, which in turn has led DHS to assert that the asylum application is untimely. This practice advisory discusses the BIA decision DHS cites, Matter of M-A-F-, and offers pointers on how to distinguish that decision and address the one year filing deadline.