Zhihong an v. Loretta E. Lynch , 669 F. App'x 441 ( 2016 )

NOT FOR PUBLICATION FILED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS OCT 4 2016
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
ZHIHONG AN, No. 13-73943
Petitioner, Agency No. A087-698-549
v.
MEMORANDUM*
LORETTA E. LYNCH, Attorney General,
Respondent.
On Petition for Review of an Order of the
Board of Immigration Appeals
Submitted September 27, 2016**
Before: TASHIMA, SILVERMAN, and M. SMITH, Circuit Judges.
Zhihong An, a native and citizen of China, petitions pro se for review of the
Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) order dismissing his appeal from an
immigration judge’s decision denying his application for asylum, withholding of
removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture. We have
*
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).
jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252. We review for substantial evidence the
agency’s factual findings, applying the standards created by the REAL ID Act.
Ren v. Holder, 648 F.3d 1079, 1083-84 (9th Cir. 2011). We grant the petition for
review and remand.
The BIA affirmed the denial of An’s claims based on a failure to
corroborate. The agency, however, made its corroboration findings without
applying the notice and opportunity to explain requirements set forth in Ren v.
Holder, relying instead on a Ninth Circuit decision that is no longer good law. See
Oshodi v. Holder, 671 F.3d 1002 (9th Cir. 2012), withdrawn by court order, 678
F.3d 776 (9th Cir. 2012). Thus, we grant An’s petition for review, and remand for
the agency to reconsider his claims in light of Ren, and to consider the impact, if
any, of the court’s intervening decisions in Zhi v. Holder, 751 F.3d 1088 (9th Cir.
2014) and Bhattarai v. Lynch, No. 12-74062, 2016 WL 4527559 (9th Cir. Aug. 30,
2016). See INS v. Ventura, 537 U.S. 12, 16-18 (2002) (per curiam).
PETITION FOR REVIEW GRANTED; REMANDED.
2 13-73943