Wei Xiong v. Mukasey
Opinion
Lead Opinion
MEMORANDUM **
Wei Xiong, a native and citizen of China, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) order affirming an immigration judge’s (“IJ”) denial from his application for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention against Torture (“CAT”). We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 .
We review the adverse credibility findings, Gui v. I.N.S., 280 F.3d 1217, 1225 (9th Cir.2002), and we grant the petition for review and remand.
*394 Substantial evidence does not support the IJ’s adverse credibility determination. Id. The IJ found that it was implausible that Xiong’s wife could safely reside in China as a practicing Christian when Xiong could not. However, the IJ’s finding was unduly speculative and overlooks evidence that Xiong and his wife are not similarly situated because, unlike Xiong, she has never been arrested or forced to register with the police. See Zhou v. Gonzales, 437 F.3d 860, 865 (9th Cir.2006); see also Rios v. Ashcroft, 287 F.3d 895, 902 (9th Cir.2002) (court determined on the merits that the applicant’s family was not similarly situated because they had not been persecuted in the past).