Hussein

Gulam Hussein (“Hussein”), a native and citizen of Burma, seeks review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) affirmance of the Immigration Judge’s (“IJ”) order denying Hussein’s petition for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”) based on an adverse credibility finding. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . We grant the petition for review.

We review the adverse credibility finding for substantial evidence. Garrovillas v. INS, 156 F.3d 1010, 1013 (9th Cir.1998). *581 Although this standard is “extremely deferential,” Singh-Kaur v. INS, 183 F.3d 1147, 1149 (9th Cir.1999) (quoting Ghaly v. INS, 58 F.3d 1425, 1431 (9th Cir.1995)), we do “not accept blindly an IJ’s conclusion that a petitioner is not credible. Rather, we examine the record to see whether substantial evidence supports that conclusion, and determine whether the reasoning employed by the IJ is fatally flawed.” Aguilera-Cota v. INS, 914 F.2d 1375, 1381 (9th Cir.1990).

The IJ relied on four factors in reaching his adverse credibility finding: vagueness, inconsistencies, implausibility, and lack of corroborating documents. 1 A close review of the record…

dissenting.

I would deny the petition because the immigration judge (IJ) was not compelled to find Hussein credible, the IJ gave sufficiently specific reasons for his adverse credibility determination, and his findings were supported by substantial evidence. Among other inconsistencies or implausible explanations that mattered: Hussein gave three different versions for why he did not have a National League for Democracy membership card—the card was in Rangoon and his wife couldn’t send it because it was too dangerous; she could not send it because he hid it; and he had actually destroyed the card. Although he was a courier for the NLD four or five times, he could not say where he picked up or delivered the documents. He indicated both that he refused to give up names of other NLD members when interrogated in 1991—and that he gave up names from his dorm. Although he got his masters degree in physics in 1988, and that was the highest level of study at the University, Hussein stayed in a dorm because he did not have a job until 1991, when he was involved in political activity. Hussein testified that he went into the hospital for two weeks when he was released from custody, but also…