United States Seventh Circuit

Petition for review of a denial of Chinese petitioner's application for asylum is granted as the petitioner did not have the opportunity for a fair hearing and the BIA dismissed petitioner's claim based on the lack of evidence that he never knew he was supposed to gather. BIA's decision was based on Attorney General's new position in May 2008, more than one year after petitioner's appeal to the BIA, that a spouse was not entitled to an automatic refugee status because of the partner's forced abortion under China's population control policy, as the spouse did not suffer personal persecution.

Appellate Information

• Argued 02/17/2009
• Decided 08/19/2009
• Published 08/19/2009

Judges

• WOOD, Circuit Judge., Before POSNER, KANNE, and WOOD, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Seventh Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Gang Zhou (argued), New York, NY, for Petitioner.


• For Appellees:
  
• Annette M. Wietecha, Drew Brinkman (argued), Department of Justice, Civil Div. Immigration Litigation, Washington, DC, for Respondent.