Wang v. Lynch

Wang, a Chinese citizen, came to the U.S. in 2010 on a student visa. Wang never attended school, but worked part‐time. In 2011, Wang unsuccessfully sought asylum. Wang testified that he started practicing Christianity at age 17 and was injured in 2009, during a police raid on a Christian gathering. Months later, Wang was caught in a police raid at another Christian gathering, and was arrested and detained for a week. He claims he was interrogated, kicked, punched, and beaten with a baton. His parents paid a fine for his release; he sought treatment at the hospital. Later, the police “beat [him] up” when they spotted him on the street. The IJ disbelieved Wang’s testimony; denied his applications for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture; and imposed a frivolous filing bar, permanently disqualifying him from “benefits” under the immigration laws, 8 U.S.C. 1158(d)(6). The IJ based his adverse credibility finding on inconsistencies between Wang’s testimony and his submitted documents. The Board of Immigration Appeals upheld both determinations, finding Wang did not provide “persuasive, reliable corroborating evidence.” The Seventh Circuit found that substantial evidence supports conclusions that Wang was not credible and did not adequately corroborate his account, and affirmed denial of immigration relief, but concluded that substantial evidence did not support a finding that Wang deliberately fabricated material elements of his application. View "Wang v. Lynch" on Justia Law