Feng Zhong v. Ashcroft

MEMORANDUM *

Feng Zhong, a native and citizen of China, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) affirmance without opinion of the Immigration Judge’s (“IJ”) final order denying her application for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture, 8 C.F.R. § 1208.16 (d)(1). We have jurisdiction pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1252 , and we grant the petition for review.

1. Adverse Credibility Finding

The IJ found Zhong’s testimony to be incredible. “To determine whether substantial evidence supports the [IJ’s] finding, we evaluate each ground cited by the [IJ] for its finding.” Wang v. Ashcroft, 341 F.3d 1015, 1021 (9th Cir.2003).

The IJ stated that its adverse credibility determination was based upon “significant vagaries, inconsistencies, implausibilities, and other difficulties with respect to [Zhong’s] testimony.” Specifically, the IJ noted that Zhong “did not answer or was unable to answer or was unwilling to answer specific questions by the Court, such as the date that she left Tonga,” and that Zhong was able “to recall only certain dates [of her travel and] could not recall other interim dates.” The IJ also stated that…