Xiugui Li v. Holder

MEMORANDUM **

Xiugui Li, a native and citizen of the People’s Republic of China, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) dismissal of his appeal of an immigration judge’s (“IJ”) decision denying asylum as untimely and denying withholding of removal and relief under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”) based on an adverse credibility finding. We grant the petition and remand for a determination of Li’s eligibility for asylum, withholding, and CAT relief.

*944 We also grant Li’s request to take judicial notice of certain undisputed geographical facts, see Singh v. Ashcroft, 393 F.3d 903, 905-907 (9th Cir.2004), and state court records pertaining to individuals Li claims provided ineffective assistance, see Castillo-Perez v. INS, 212 F.3d 518 , 524 n. 6, 526 n. 11 (9th Cir.2000).

I.

Where the BIA adopts and affirms the IJ’s decision, we review the IJ’s decision. See Abebe v. Gonzales, 432 F.3d 1037, 1039 (9th Cir.2005) (en banc). Li entered the United States on September 3, 2000, and defensively applied for asylum on February 25, 2002. The IJ denied Li’s asylum application as untimely, finding that Li did not establish either exception to the one-year…