Nan Jiang v. Jefferson Sessions

FILED NOT FOR PUBLICATION AUG 30 2017 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK U.S. COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

NAN JIANG; ZHU JI; XIAO XIAO No. 13-71266 JIANG, Agency Nos. A089-893-237 Petitioners, A089-893-238 A089-893-239 v.

JEFFERSON B. SESSIONS III, Attorney MEMORANDUM* General,

Respondent.

On Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals

Submitted August 28, 2017** Pasadena, California

Before: WARDLAW and BYBEE, Circuit Judges, and ILLSTON,*** District Judge.

* This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 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 Susan Illston, United States District Judge for the Northern District of California, sitting by designation.  Nan Jiang (“Jiang”), Zhu Ji, and Xiao Xiao Jiang petition for review of the

Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) decision affirming the Immigration

Judge’s (“IJ”) decision denying Jiang’s applications for asylum and withholding of

removal.1 We deny the petition.

Substantial evidence supports the BIA’s decision. See Shrestha v. Holder,

590 F.3d 1034, 1039 (9th Cir. 2010). The IJ noted discrepancies between Jiang’s

testimony and other evidence in the record, and determined that Jiang should

provide corroborating evidence of his regular church attendance in the United

States and proof that his child, petitioner Xiao Xiao Jiang, lived in Hawaii.

“Where the trier of fact determines that the applicant should provide

evidence that corroborates otherwise credible testimony, such evidence must be

provided unless the applicant does not have the evidence and cannot reasonably

obtain the evidence.” 8 U.S.C. § 1158(b)(1)(B)(ii). If the IJ requires

corroboration, “the IJ must give the applicant notice of the corroboration that is

required and an opportunity either to produce the requisite corroborative evidence

or to explain why that evidence is not reasonably available.” Ren v. Holder, 648

F.3d 1079, 1093 (9th Cir. 2011).

1 Zhu Ji, Jiang’s spouse, and Xiao Xiao Jiang, Jiang’s child, are derivative beneficiaries of Jiang’s asylum application. See 8 U.S.C. § 1158(b)(3). 2  Jiang was given notice of the IJ’s decision and a two-day continuance of the

hearing to allow him the opportunity to obtain the required evidence. Jiang

submitted an additional letter regarding his church attendance, but the IJ found this

evidence was also inconsistent with his testimony. Jiang had testified that he

would be able to bring his child to court, but he did not do so and offered no

explanation for his failure to present his child or other evidence that she lived in

Hawaii.2 The IJ and BIA concluded that such evidence was reasonably obtainable,

and a reasonable trier of fact would not be compelled to conclude that

corroborating evidence was unavailable. See 8 U.S.C. § 1252; see also Shrestha,

590 F.3d at 1047. In light of Jiang’s failure to provide available corroborating

evidence, a reasonable trier of fact would not be compelled to find that Jiang met

his burden of proof.

Jiang failed to establish that he qualified for the requested relief, and the

court need not review the additional reasons for the denial of his applications or the

alternative finding that Jiang, even if credible, failed to establish past persecution

or a well-founded fear of future persecution in China.

The petition for review is DENIED.

2 Jiang also failed to challenge this basis of the denial in his petition for review. 3