Generally, a 2255 federal habeas petition must be filed within a year after your federal conviction became final. Federal habeas corpus is a procedure under which a federal court may review the legality of an individual's incarceration.At this point you may either (1) petition the U.S. Supreme Court to request a writ of Certiorari (i.e. The oneyear limitations period, however, is tolled during the pendency of certain postconviction proceedings in state court. If you file a state post-conviction appeal, the one-year deadline will be extended while your case goes through the state post-conviction process. The federal habeas corpus statute requires that the petitioner exhaust all avenues of relief open to him in the state courts before bringing a federal action. There is a oneyear time limit to file a federal habeas corpus petition under 28 U.S.C. s. Federal habeas review did not extend to those in state custody until almost a century after the nation's founding until the Habeas Corpus Act of 1867.