period of continuous physical presence,” NACARA exempts the alien from application of IIRIRA’s stop-time rule “regardless of whether the alien is in exclusion or deportation proceedings before [April 1, 1997].” IIRIRA § 309(c)(5)(C)(i), as amended by NACARA § 203. Focusing upon this language, Simeonov argues that NACARA § 203 allows him to apply for pre-IIRIRA suspension of deportation despite his final order of deportation entered well before April 1, 1997, and that the BIA therefore erred in refusing to address the merits of his application. One fundamental problem with this argument is that IIRIRA and the transitional rules are inapplicable to Simeonov because his exclusion order became final years before IIRIRA’s effective date of April 1, 1997. See Marquez, 346 F.3d at 900-01 (<HOLDING>). Thus, if Simeonov is entitled to apply for
holding that the procedural aspects of iirira  309c apply only to ongoing exclusion or deportation proceedings and are irrelevant in cases involving aliens whose orders of deportation or exclusion were final on the effective date holding that language found in 8 usc  1105aa 1961 giving circuit courts of appeal exclusive jurisdiction to review final orders was expressly limited to orders made in the course of deportation proceedings or to direct challenges of the deportation order itself and stating that in all other cases an aliens remedies would lie first in an action brought in an appropriate district court holding that an iirira provision on reinstatement of orders of removal did not apply to aliens who reentered prior to the iiriras effective date recognizing that aliens whose proceedings are commenced with a notice to appear on or after april 1 1997 are subject to removal proceedings under iirira while aliens whose proceedings were commenced with an order to show cause before april 1 1997 were subject to deportation proceedings under prior law holding that nacara suspension of deportation does not apply to an alien placed in exclusion proceedings before the effective date of the law