Fnu Yunita v. Eric H. Holder Jr.

MEMORANDUM

Considering the totality of the circumstances, the agency’s adverse credibility finding is not supported by substantial evidence in the record. See 8 U.S.C. § 1158 (b)(l)(B)(iii). First, Yunita offered a plausible explanation for why she listed her residence as “Jakarta” on her asylum application but stated she lived in “Bekasi” (a suburb) in her accompanying declaration, an explanation the IJ should have credited in weighing her credibility. See Shrestha v. Holder, 590 F.3d 1034, 1044 (9th Cir.2010) (“[I]n evaluating inconsistencies, the relevant circumstances that an IJ should consider include the petitioner’s explanation for a perceived inconsistency, and other record evidence that sheds light on whether there is in fact an inconsistency at all.” (citation omitted)). The IJ’s contrary finding in this regard, adopted by the BIA, is not supported by substantial evidence.

Second, the record does not support the IJ’s conclusions about Yunita’s ethnicity or her explanations of the documents she introduced to prove her ethnicity. Yunita consistently testified that, she is of Chinese ethnicity through her mother, and her testimony is supported by the documents she…