Ying Jiang v. Sessions, 701 F. App'x 52

Ying Jiang, a Chinese national, sought asylum, withholding of removal, and CAT protection based on past persecution for practicing Christianity and ongoing practice in the U.S.
IJ denied relief after finding Jiang not credible; BIA affirmed on June 21, 2016. Jiang petitioned for review in the Second Circuit.
Key factual dispute: whether Chinese police beat and interrogated Jiang multiple times during a month-long detention and whether he continues to practice Christianity in the U.S.
The agency relied on inconsistencies between Jiang’s credible-fear interview, his written asylum statement, testimony, a cellmate’s letter, and a church member’s testimony about recent church attendance.
IJ also discounted unsworn letters (from Jiang’s father, friend, and a purported pastor) due to lack of cross-examination and inconsistent supporting evidence.
The adverse credibility finding was dispositive because all claims (asylum, withholding, CAT) rested on the same factual predicate.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the agency reasonably found Jiang not credible	Jiang claimed multiple beatings after first day and ongoing U.S. religious practice; explained interview inconsistencies by fever	Agency pointed to inconsistencies between interview, application, testimony, cellmate letter, and witness testimony; lack of corroboration	Court held substantial evidence supports adverse credibility finding
Reliability of credible-fear interview as basis for inconsistency	Jiang argued interview answers unreliable due to fever	Government showed interview conducted with interpreter, in Q&A form, and no indication of medical issue	Court held agency did not err in relying on the interview record
Weight of unsworn letters and church form letter as corroboration	Jiang offered letters from father, friend, and a pastor form letter to corroborate claims	Agency gave limited weight because authors unavailable for cross-examination and inconsistencies with other evidence	Court upheld reduced weight to unsworn statements and form letter
Whether adverse credibility forecloses asylum, withholding, and CAT claims	Jiang: credibility can be rehabilitated or other evidence supports claims	Government: all claims rest on same factual predicate invalidated by adverse credibility	Court held adverse credibility dispositive; denied all relief

Wangchuck v. Dep’t of Homeland Sec., 448 F.3d 524 (2d Cir. 2006) (reviewing both IJ and BIA decisions for completeness)
Xiu Xia Lin v. Mukasey, 534 F.3d 162 (2d Cir. 2008) (standards for credibility determinations under totality of circumstances)
Ming Zhang v. Holder, 585 F.3d 715 (2d Cir. 2009) (reliability of credible-fear interview as evidence)
Majidi v. Gonzales, 430 F.3d 77 (2d Cir. 2005) (petitioner must do more than offer plausible explanation for inconsistencies)
Biao Yang v. Gonzales, 496 F.3d 268 (2d Cir. 2007) (failure to corroborate bears on credibility)
Y.C. v. Holder, 741 F.3d 324 (2d Cir. 2013) (unsworn letters afford less weight when authors unavailable for cross-examination)
Xiao Ji Chen v. U.S. Dep’t of Justice, 471 F.3d 315 (2d Cir. 2006) (agency discretion in weighing evidence)
Paul v. Gonzales, 444 F.3d 148 (2d Cir. 2006) (adverse credibility determination can be dispositive for all forms of relief)