Page:United States Reports 502 OCT. TERM 1991.pdf/485

 502us2$24h 01-22-99 08:25:35 PAGES OPINPGT

Cite as: 502 U. S. 314 (1992)

327

Opinion of Rehnquist, C. J.

ently in the alternative in the original proceeding and thereby raise any claims that are foreseeable at that time. The Court of Appeals also took the view that since the BIA had granted the motion to reopen, the Attorney General was in some way limited in his authority to overturn that decision. But the BIA is simply a regulatory creature of the Attorney General, to which he has delegated much of his authority under the applicable statutes. He is the final administrative authority in construing the regulations, and in deciding questions under them. See INS v. Jong Ha Wang, 450 U. S. 139, 140 (1981) (per curiam). The mere fact that he disagrees with a conclusion of the BIA in construing or applying a regulation cannot support a conclusion that he abused his discretion. III The Attorney General found, as an independent basis for denying reopening, that respondent had waived his claims for relief by withdrawing them at the first hearing to obtain a tactical advantage. We disagree with the Court of Appeals’ rejection of this reason to deny reopening. 908 F. 2d, at 1122. The Attorney General’s reasoning as to respondent’s waiver of his claims is the functional equivalent of a conclusion under 8 CFR § 208.11 (1987) that respondent has not reasonably explained his failure to pursue his asylum claim at the first hearing. In other words, the Attorney General found that withdrawing a claim for a tactical advantage is not a reasonable explanation for failing to pursue the claim at an earlier hearing.10 10 Although 8 CFR §§ 208.11 and 3.2 (1987) are nominally directed respectively at motions to reopen asylum claims and withholding of deportation claims, they are often duplicative in that an offer of material evidence which was not available at the time of the hearing would, in most cases, also be an adequate explanation for failure to pursue a claim at an earlier proceeding. As we explained in INS v. Abudu, 485 U. S. 94, 99, n. 3 (1988), the “application of 8 CFR § 208.11 (1987), which on its face applies only to asylum requests on reopening, will also usually be dispositive of