Prus

MEMORANDUM **

Grigoriy Ivanovich Prus, a citizen of Uzbekistan, petitions for review of a Board of Immigration Appeals’ order affirming the Immigration Judge’s denial of asylum and withholding of removal. We grant Prus’s petition and remand.

Because the IJ found that Prus suffered past persecution in Uzbekistan on account of religion, he was entitled to a presumption that he had a well-founded fear of future persecution. 8 C.F.R. § 208.13 (b)(1); Korablina v. INS, 158 F.3d 1038, 1043 (9th Cir.1998). To rebut this presumption, the government may show there has been “a fundamental change in circumstances such that the applicant no longer has a well-founded fear of persecution.” 8 C.F.R. § 208.13 (b)(l)(i)(A).

The IJ and the BIA concluded that the presumption was rebutted by evidence that Prus returned to Uzbekistan three times without incident. Prus testified that after having fled to Ukraine with his wife and son, he returned to Uzbekistan to appear for a visa interview and to travel to the United States, because he had been told that he could not do that from Ukraine. He also testified that he traveled in a manner to avoid detection. The IJ did not express any disbelief…