Farid Marzbanian v. Eric Holder, Jr.

MEMORANDUM

Farid Marzbanian, a native of Iran and citizen of Germany, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ decision affirming the immigration judge’s denial of his application for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1252 (a), and we GRANT the petition and remand to the BIA for further proceedings.

In his petition, Marzbanian challenges the BIA’s determination that he failed to establish eligibility for asylum and withholding of removal. Specifically, Marzbanian challenges the BIA’s determination that he failed to demonstrate past persecution or a well-founded fear of future persecution. Where, as here, the BIA reviewed the IJ’s factual and credibility determinations for clear error, we “ ‘look to the IJ’s oral decision as a guide to what lay behind the BIA’s conclusion.’ In so doing, we review here the reasons explicitly identified by the BIA, and then examine the reasoning articulated in the IJ’s oral decision in support of those reasons.” Tekle v. Mukasey, 533 F.3d 1044, 1051 (9th Cir.2008) (citation omitted).

The BIA determined that Marzba-nian’s “evidence of…