Lu Baodi v. Gonzales

*567 MEMORANDUM **

Lu Baodi, a native and citizen of China, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) decision that affirmed the Immigration Judge’s (“IJ”) denial of her application for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). We have jurisdiction pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . We review for substantial evidence, Gui v. INS, 280 F.3d 1217, 1225 (9th Cir.2002), and we grant the petition and remand in part and dismiss in part.

The IJ questioned Baodi’s membership in Zhaun Gong and its importance to her, because he found that she had only practiced it sporadically and with one other person since coming to the United States. Because the IJ’s finding was not supported by the record, see Bandari v. INS, 227 F.3d 1160, 1166-67 (9th Cir.2000), and improperly speculative, see Shah v. INS, 220 F.3d 1062, 1071 (9th Cir.2000), and because she was not given a reasonable opportunity to explain the perceived discrepancy, see Campos-Sanchez v. INS, 164 F.3d 448, 450 (9th Cir.1999), substantial evidence does not support the IJ’s adverse credibility finding.

In addition, the IJ found that Baodi embellished her testimony…