Tsaturyan

MEMORANDUM **

Arusyak Tsaturyan, a native of Iran and citizen of Armenia, petitions for review of the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) denying her application for asylum, withholding of deportation, and relief under the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (“CAT”) on the basis of a finding of adverse credibility. Because substantial evidence does not support the BIA’s adverse credibility determination, we grant the petition, reverse the BIA’s decision and remand for further proceedings.

I

Where the BIA fails to provide a “legitimate, articulable basis to question a petitioner’s credibility,” “substantial evidence” does not support the BIA’s adverse finding, and a reviewing court may reverse the determination. Shah v. INS, 220 F.3d 1062, 1069 (9th Cir.2000). The reasons stated by the BIA must not only be “specific” and “cogent,” but also “individualized,” identifying particular “examples of evasiveness or contradiction in the petitioner’s testimony.” Id. As the only specific, individualized basis for its adverse credibility finding, the BIA cited a variance between Tsaturyan’s testimony at the…