Xu Yao v. Loretta E. Lynch

MEMORANDUM

Petitioner Xu Yao (Yao) challenges the Board of Immigration Appeals’ affirmance of the denial by an immigration judge (IJ) of asylum, withholding of removal, and relief pursuant to the Convention Against Torture.

Substantial evidence supports the IJ’s adverse credibility determination: Yao’s conclusory and speculative statements concerning his knowledge of alleged theft and embezzlement by the factory’s management; Yao’s inadequate explanation regarding his representation of workers at a factory that he had not been associated with for several years; Yao’s inconsistent testimony that governmental investigations had “no outcomes” while acknowledging that some of the factory’s directors and managers confessed to theft and embezzlement; and Yao’s testimony that he remained in the United States because of its quality of life, although asserting in his asylum application that he did not return to China due to his fear of being arrested. See Garcia v. Holder, 749 F.3d 785, 789 (9th Cir.2014) (articulating that, under the REAL ID Act, the IJ may premise an adverse credibility determination on “any inaccuracies or falsehoods ... or any other relevant factor”) (citation and…