Yan Zhao v. Eric Holder, Jr.

Yan Rong Zhao petitions for review of the denial of her motion to reopen on the basis that she is unmarried and has two children in violation of China’s family planning policy, and she fears persecution if she is returned to China. Because the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) held Zhao to an incorrect legal standard and failed to properly consider much of her relevant evidence, it abused its discretion in denying her motion to reopen. We grant the petition for review.

I

Yan Rong Zhao is from Dnhu Town, Taishan City, Guangdong Province and entered the United States in 2005 when she was four months pregnant with her first son, Ricky. She entered the United States to flee an abusive relationship, and claimed that she feared persecution in China because she was pregnant and unmarried, a violation of China’s family planning policy.

The Immigration Judge (“IJ”) denied Zhao’s applications for asylum, withholding of removal, and benefits under the Convention Against Torture, holding that Zhao does not have a well-founded fear of persecution and “has not met her burden of proof to present specific facts sufficient to demonstrate her eligibility for asylum.” The IJ did not…