Asmaro

MEMORANDUM **

Bashaar Abed-Younis Asmaro petitions for review of a decision by the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) affirming an immigration judge’s (“IJ”) denial of asylum, withholding of removal and relief under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). We have jurisdiction pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1252 (a), and we grant the petition in part and remand for further proceedings.

The denial of relief was based primarily on an adverse credibility finding. The IJ and BIA 1 identified a number of concerns with Asmaro’s credibility. Upon careful *660 review of the record, we conclude that none are sufficient to support the adverse credibility determination.

First, the IJ erred to the extent he imposed a heightened burden under 8 U.S.C. § 1158 (d)(5)(A)(i), namely an absolute prohibition on asylum unless Asmaro could establish his identity with credible evidence. The IJ appeared to confuse the credibility analysis used to determine an applicant’s status as a refugee with the absolute standard in § 1158(d)(5), which precludes a discretionary grant of asylum until the government checks the applicant’s identity.

Second, multiple grounds identified by the IJ are minor inconsistencies…