Xianju Zhu v. Gonzales

MEMORANDUM ***

Xianju Zhu, a native and citizen of China, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) decision affirming an immigration judge’s (“IJ”) denial of her application for asylum and withholding of removal. We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . We review for substantial evidence the BIA’s credibility findings, Kaur v. Ashcroft, 379 F.3d 876, 885 (9th Cir.2004), and review for abuse of discretion the denial of a continuance, Nakamoto v. Ashcroft, 363 F.3d 874 , 883 n. 6 (9th Cir.2004). We grant in part, and deny in part, the petition for review.

The BIA’s adverse credibility determination is not supported by substantial evidence. See Kaur, 379 F.3d at 889-90 . The IJ’s demeanor finding regarding how much emotion Zhu should have displayed when discussing an abortion is based on improper speculation. See id. at 887 . Furthermore, Zhu’s addition of a separate basis for relief at the hearing, where she provided a credible explanation for not *909 raising the claim earlier, is not on its own a sufficient reason to require corroborating evidence or to support a sweeping adverse credibility determination. See Guo v. Ashcroft, 361 F.3d 1194, 1201…