Gayratjon Gulomjonov v. Pamela J. Bondi

Procedural entryThis page is a short order in Gayratjon Gulomjonov v. Pamela J. Bondi. Read the opinion of the Court — 131 F.4th 601
Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit·Decided March 19, 2025·No. 21-2844·Published

Opinion

In the

United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit

No. 21-2844 GAYRATJON GOLIBJONIVICH GULOMJONOV, Petitioner,

v.

PAMELA J. BONDI, Attorney General of the United States, ∗ Respondent.

Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals.

No. A215-809-685

ARGUED JANUARY 12, 2023 — DECIDED MARCH 14, 2025

Before SYKES, Chief Judge, and EASTERBROOK and RIPPLE, Circuit Judges.

SYKES, Chief Judge. Gayratjon Gulomjonov, a native and citizen of Uzbekistan, came to the United States as a visitor in October 2016 and obtained a student visa extending his stay

∗ Pamela J. Bondi replaced Merrick B. Garland as Attorney General and is

substituted as the respondent. See FED. R. APP. P. 43(c)(2).

2 No. 21-2844

to January 2019. He overstayed that authorization and in November 2019 was placed in removal proceedings. Conceding removability, he requested asylum, withholding of removal, or protection under the Convention Against Torture based on his conversion to Catholicism during his stay in this country. He claimed that he would suffer religious persecution if returned to Uzbekistan, a predominantly Muslim country.

Asylum applications must be filed within one year of arrival in the United States, see 8 U.S.C. § 1158(a)(2)(B), so Gulomjonov’s claim was untimely by more than two years. He invoked the exception for changed circumstances, id. § 1158(a)(2)(D), but a regulation requires applicants to file within a reasonable time of the change in circumstances, 8 C.F.R. § 1208.4(a)(4)(ii). Based on Gulomjonov’s testimony about the timing of his religious conversion, an immigration judge found that his change in circumstances occurred no later than April 2019. But he did not seek asylum until ten months later; the judge found that he did not apply within a reasonable time and denied the claim as untimely. The remaining claims were denied on the merits. The Board of Immigration Appeals upheld the decision across the board, and Gulomjonov petitioned for our review.

He raises two challenges to the denial of his asylum claim on untimeliness grounds: (1) the “reasonable time” regulation is invalid; and (2) even if the regulation is valid, the immigration judge was mistaken about the date of his religious conversion . He also argues that the agency misconstrued the evidence about the treatment of Christians in Uzbekistan in denying his other claims.

We dismiss the petition in part and deny it in part. Our jurisdiction to review the agency’s untimeliness ruling is

No. 21-2844 3

limited to constitutional claims or questions of law. See 8 U.S.C. §§ 1158(a)(3), 1252(a)(2)(D). Gulomjonov’s challenge to the validity of the regulation is a question of law, but it fails on the merits; his backup argument about the date of his change in circumstances is an unreviewable factual claim. His challenge to the denial of his remaining claims is perfunctory and insufficient to disturb the agency’s decision.

I. Background

Gulomjonov was born in Uzbekistan, a predominantly Muslim country, and grew up in a Muslim family. He came to the United States in October 2016 at the age of 18 as a nonimmigrant visitor. In April 2017 he obtained an F-1 student visa authorizing him to remain here for educational purposes until January 2019.

According to Gulomjonov’s asylum application and testimony at his removal hearing, he became interested in Catholicism soon after arriving in this country. Within weeks of his arrival, a family friend took him to church. In May 2017 he visited Daler Khamidov, another close family friend from Uzbekistan ; while riding in Khamidov’s car, he noticed a Bible and asked his friend about it. Khamidov explained that he had converted to Catholicism, but he asked Gulomjonov not to tell anyone. Still, Khamidov answered Gulomjonov’s questions about the religion, and their conversation fueled Gulomjonov’s interest in learning more about the Catholic faith.

By late 2018, Gulomjonov’s interest in Catholicism had intensified . Following his arrest in early November for an altercation with two women, he turned to Catholicism for solace 4 No. 21-2844

and mercy. 1 At that point he decided to become a Catholic, and under Khamidov’s guidance, he began reading the Bible and books about the faith. By early March 2019 he was regularly attending church. According to his application and testimony , his belief was strong by this time and he considered himself a Catholic, but he was afraid to tell his father and had not yet told his roommates and coworkers, who were Uzbeki Muslims.

At a work meeting in April 2019, Gulomjonov’s boss asked him why his availability for weekend work had changed. Gulomjonov explained that he had converted to Catholicism. Around the same time, he also told his coworkers and roommates that he had become a Catholic. But he asked them not to tell his father.

Gulomjonov’s student visa expired three months earlier, in January 2019. On November 24, 2019, he was detained by immigration authorities. 2 While in detention he spoke with a priest, who encouraged him to tell his family about his conversion . In December 2019 Gulomjonov told his father that he had converted to Catholicism.

Removal proceedings followed. In February 2020 Gulomjonov conceded removability and applied for asylum,

1 The details of Gulomjonov’s arrest and criminal history—and their ef-

fect, if any, on his eligibility for immigration benefits—are not relevant to the issues presented here. 2 According to the record, Gulomjonov was married to a United States cit-

izen on November 18, 2019, a few days before he was detained. His relationship with his wife apparently became strained after his detention. The status of his marriage is unclear, but it has no bearing on the issues raised here.

No. 21-2844 5

withholding of removal, or relief under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). He argued that he would be persecuted in Uzbekistan because of his conversion to Catholicism . 3 An immigration judge held a removal hearing and denied all three requests for relief. The judge first held that Gulomjonov’s asylum application was untimely because he had not filed it within one year of his arrival in the United States in October 2016, as required by § 1158(a)(2)(B). To overcome the time bar, Gulomjonov invoked the changed-circumstances exception, which provides that an asylum application “may be considered” notwithstanding noncompliance with the one-year filing deadline “if the alien demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Attorney General … the existence of changed circumstances which materially affect the applicant ’s eligibility for asylum.” § 1158(a)(2)(D). Gulomjonov argued that his religious conversion was a material change in circumstances.

The judge assumed that Gulomjonov’s conversion qualified as a material change but found that it did not excuse the untimeliness of his application. A regulation provides that to take advantage of the exception, asylum seekers must apply “within a reasonable period given th[e] ‘changed circumstances .’” 8 C.F.R. § 1208.4(a)(4)(ii). Based on Gulomjonov’s asylum application and testimony at his removal hearing, the judge determined that his conversion occurred no later than

3 As far as we can tell from the record, Gulomjonov was not baptized or

otherwise formally received into the Catholic Church. But the immigration agency credited the sincerity of his conversion, and we have no reason to question that determination.

6 No. 21-2844

April 2019. By that time, the judge reasoned, he was attending church, reading the Bible, and considered himself a Catholic; he had also told his boss, coworkers, and roommates of his conversion to Catholicism. Because he did not apply for asylum until February 2020—ten months later—the judge determined that he had not applied within a reasonable time and denied the application as untimely.

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