Karin Babayan v. Eric Holder, Jr.

MEMORANDUM

Karin Babayan and Tatevik Mkhitaryan, natives and citizens of Armenia, petition for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ order dismissing their appeal from an immigration judge’s (“IJ”) decision denying their application for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . We review for substantial evidence. Soto-Olarte v. Holder, 555 F.3d 1089, 1091 (9th Cir.2009). We grant the petition for review, and we remand.

Substantial evidence does not support the IJ’s adverse credibility determination based on the perceived inconsistencies between Babayan’s testimony and the airport interview statement or the credible fear worksheet in the record. See Singh v. INS, 292 F.3d 1017, 1023-24 (9th Cir.2002) (discussing factors and circumstances that make an airport interview statement lack sufficient reliability); Singh v. Gonzales, 403 F.3d 1081, 1087-90 (9th Cir.2005) (discussing nature of an asylum interview and concluding discrepancies between Assessment To Refer and applicant’s testimony did not support an adverse credibility determination). Substantial evidence also does not support…