Xiaoguang Gu v. Alberto R. Gonzales, Attorney General

429 F.3d 1209 XIAOGUANG GU, Petitioner, v. Alberto R. GONZALES, * Attorney General, Respondent. No. 02-74417. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted April 2, 2004. Filed December 1, 2005. COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED Joseph S. Porta, Law Offices of Cohen & Kim, Los Angeles, CA, for the petitioner. Daniel D. McClain, Office of Immigration Litigation, Civil Division, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C., for the respondent. On Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals. Agency No. Ayg-rdx-dbw. Before PREGERSON, BEEZER, and TALLMAN, Circuit Judges. BEEZER, Circuit Judge. 1 Xiaoguang Gu, a native and citizen of China, petitions for review of a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals ("BIA") affirming the Immigration Judge's denial of Gu's application for asylum. 2 We have jurisdiction pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . In view of our highly deferential review of the decisions of the Board of Immigration Appeals, we deny the petition. 3 * Xiaoguang Gu entered the United States on May 9, 1998 on a business visa. His purported reason for entering the United States, and the reason American consular officials granted him…

Xiaoguang Gu, a native and citizen of China, petitions for review of a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) affirming the Immigration Judge’s denial of Gu’s application for asylum.

We have jurisdiction pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . In view of our highly deferential review of the decisions of the Board of Immigration Appeals, we deny the petition.

I

Xiaoguang Gu entered the United States on May 9, 1998 on a business visa. His purported reason for entering the United States, and the reason American consular officials granted him a visa, was “to go on a business trip.” According to Gu, a friend completed Gu’s visa application and answered questions before American consular officials. Gu allowed his friend to fraudulently indicate that Gu wished to travel to the United States for a business purpose. Gu has since confessed that he actually never had any business to conduct in the United States, nor did he actually conduct any business in the United States. At his asylum hearing, Gu admitted that his true reason for coming to the United States was to more freely practice his religion. On March 23, 1999, only after overstaying his visa did Gu apply for asylum and…

dissenting:

I believe that Gu has established past persecution on account of his Christian religious practices and is eligible for asylum under 8 U.S.C. § 1101 (a)(42)(A). Accordingly, I dissent.

I. Factual Background

Gu testified that Chinese authorities persecuted him for expressing his Christian religious beliefs by attending an unregistered Christian church and by distributing Christian religious materials. According to his testimony, Gu first became interested in Christianity in October 1996, after his older sister, who resided in the United States, spoke to him about her conversion. A month later, Gu’s sister began sending religious materials to him in China. She sent him additional materials in January 1997 and February 1997.

*1217 As his interest in Christianity developed, Gu began attending a government-controlled Christian church in January 1997 and was baptized there on March 16, 1997. Gu became disenchanted with the government-controlled church because it presented political opinions and did not adhere to the Christian gospel. Gu then began to attend a small unregistered Christian church that held services in a member’s home. Gu attended services at this house…