Long

MEMORANDUM ***

Weiguo Long, a native and citizen of China, petitions for review of the denial of his application for asylum and withholding of removal. Long’s application derives from his wife Wan Ping Song’s application for political asylum, which alleged that she was forced to undergo three abortions pursuant to China’s family planning program. The Immigration Judge (“IJ”) denied the application for asylum on the strength of a finding of adverse credibility, and the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) summarily affirmed. 1 Long requests that the panel reverse the IJ’s adverse credibility finding and remand for consideration of whether he is entitled by statute to continue with his derivative asylum claim despite his recent divorce from Song. See 8 U.S.C. § 1158 (b)(3)(A).

We grant the petition for review and reverse because the IJ’s adverse credibility determination was not supported by substantial evidence. 2 An adverse credibility determination cannot be supported *87 by mere speculation and conjecture. Salaam, 229 F.3d at 1238-39. The IJ speculated that Song could have lied about her menstrual period to evade detection of her pregnancies despite the requirement of the…