FILED
NOT FOR PUBLICATION APR 16 2014
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
HUA TANG; PENGZONG SHEN, No. 10-72531
Petitioners, Agency Nos. A099-370-481
A098-691-921
v.
ERIC H. HOLDER, Jr., Attorney General, MEMORANDUM*
Respondent.
On Petition for Review of an Order of the
Board of Immigration Appeals
Submitted April 8, 2014**
Pasadena, California
Before: BRIGHT,*** FARRIS, and HURWITZ, Circuit Judges.
Hua Tang and Pengzong Shen petition for review of a decision of the Board of
Immigration Appeals (BIA), affirming the denial by an immigration judge (IJ) of their
*
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.
**
The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).
***
The Honorable Myron H. Bright, Senior Circuit Judge for the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, sitting by designation.
applications for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention
Against Torture (CAT). Tang and Shen, husband and wife, are Chinese nationals.
We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252. We grant the petition for review and
remand for further proceedings.
Under the REAL ID Act, Pub. L. No. 109–13, 119 Stat. 231 (2005), an IJ must
provide “specific and cogent reasons supporting an adverse credibility determination,”
Shrestha v. Holder, 590 F.3d 1034, 1042 (9th Cir. 2010). The IJ’s adverse credibility
determination in this case fell short of that standard in several respects.
1. Tang submitted a document from the Shanghai Industry and Commerce
Administrative Management Bureau indicating that Tang owned the Fada Grocery
Store, where she allegedly held church services that led to incarceration and physical
mistreatment. The IJ discounted this document because it was not authenticated by
the Chinese government. Absence of authentication, however, cannot support an
adverse credibility determination unless there is evidence of forgery or other
unreliability. Zhou v. Gonzales, 437 F.3d 860, 866 (9th Cir. 2006). The IJ never
asked Tang how she obtained the document nor told her that it would be discounted
if not authenticated. See Ren v. Holder, 648 F.3d 1079, 1093 (9th Cir. 2011).
2. If an alien offers a reasonable and plausible explanation for an apparent
inconsistency, “the IJ must provide a specific and cogent reason for rejecting it.” Rizk
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v. Holder, 629 F.3d 1083, 1088 (9th Cir. 2011). The IJ’s adverse credibility
determination relied heavily on the fact that Tang’s household registration did not list
her Fada store. Tang testified that the Fada store was not listed on her household
registration because the authorities are only concerned with confirming that the home
address is accurate, not employment information. The IJ failed to address this
explanation. See Soto-Olarte v. Holder, 555 F.3d 1089, 1091–92 (9th Cir. 2009).
3. The IJ’s adverse credibility determination also relied on an inconsistency
between Tang’s testimony and her non-immigrant visa application, which listed a
garment company as her employer. Tang testified that her “friend who helped [her]
with the paperwork” instructed her to list the garment factory. This explanation was
never addressed by the IJ or the BIA. See also Singh v. Holder, 643 F.3d 1178, 1181
(9th Cir. 2011) (noting that lies used to gain entry into the United States “can’t count
against” an asylum applicant) (discussing Akinmade v. INS, 196 F.3d 951 (9th Cir.
1999)).
4. Because Shen’s claims are derivative of Tang’s, his testimony can only
support an adverse credibility determination with respect to Tang if inconsistent with
her claims or testimony. See 8 U.S.C.A. § 1158(b)(1)(B)(iii). The IJ did not identify
any such inconsistencies, but nonetheless discounted Tang’s credibility because of
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Shen’s fraudulent application. This was error, because there was no evidence that
Tang assisted Shen in preparing his fraudulent application.
****
We grant the petition and remand to the BIA on an open record for further
proceedings consistent with this disposition.
PETITION GRANTED; REMANDED.
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