country would be prejudicial to the United 
States.’’; and 
(B) by amending subparagraph (C) to read 
as follows: 
‘‘(C) ALTERNATIVE
COUNTRIES.—If the 
alien is not removed to a country designated in 
subparagraph (A) or (B), the Secretary of 
Homeland Security shall remove the alien to—
‘‘(i) the country of which the alien is 
a citizen, subject, or national, where the 
alien was born, or where the alien has a 
residence, unless the country physically 
prevents the alien from entering the coun-
try upon the alien’s removal there; or 
‘‘(ii) any country whose government 
will accept the alien into that country.’’; 
and 
(2) in paragraph (2)—
(A) by striking ‘‘Attorney General’’ each 
place such term appears and inserting ‘‘Sec-
retary of Homeland Security’’; 
(B) by amending subparagraph (D) to 
read as follows: 
‘‘(D) ALTERNATIVE
COUNTRIES.—If the 
alien is not removed to a country designated
under subparagraph (A)(i), the Secretary of 
Homeland Security shall remove the alien to a 
country of which the alien is a subject, national, 
or citizen, where the alien was born, or where 
the alien has a residence, unless—
‘‘(i) such country physically prevents 
the alien from entering the country upon 
the alien’s removal there; or 
‘‘(ii) in the opinion of the Secretary of 
Homeland Security, removing the alien to 
the country would be prejudicial to the 
United States.’’; and 
(C) by amending subparagraph (E)(vii) to 
read as follows: 
‘‘(vii) Any country whose government 
will accept the alien into that country.’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
subsection (a) shall take effect on the date of the enact-
ment of this Act and shall apply to any deportation, exclu-
sion, or removal on or after such date pursuant to any 
deportation, exclusion, or removal order, regardless of 
whether such order is administratively final before, on, or 
after such date.
SEC. 5. BURDEN OF PROOF. 
(a) CONDITIONS FOR GRANTING ASYLUM.—Section 
208(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
1158(b)) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘The Attorney 
General’’ and inserting the following: 
‘‘(A) 
ELIGIBILITY.—The 
Secretary 
of 
Homeland Security or the Attorney General’’; 
and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(B) BURDEN OF PROOF.—The burden of 
proof is on the applicant to establish that the 
applicant is a refugee within the meaning of 
section 101(a)(42)(A). To establish that the ap-
plicant is a refugee within the meaning of this 
Act, the applicant must establish that race, reli-
gion, nationality, membership in a particular 
social group, or political opinion was or will be 
the central motive for persecuting the applicant. 
The testimony of the applicant, only if it is 
credible, is persuasive, and refers to specific 
facts that demonstrate that the applicant is a 
refugee, may be sufficient to sustain such bur-
den without corroboration. Where the trier of 
fact finds that it is reasonable to expect cor-
roborating evidence for certain alleged facts
pertaining to the specifics of the applicant’s 
claim, such evidence must be provided unless a 
reasonable explanation is given as to why such 
information is not provided. The credibility de-
termination of the trier of fact may be based, 
in addition to other factors, on the demeanor, 
candor, or responsiveness of the applicant or 
witness, the consistency between the applicant’s 
or witness’s written and oral statements, wheth-
er or not under oath, made at any time to any 
officer, agent, or employee of the United States, 
the internal consistency of each such statement, 
the consistency of such statements with the 
country conditions in the country from which 
the applicant claims asylum, as presented by 
the Department of State, and any inaccuracies 
or falsehoods in such statements. These factors 
may be considered individually or cumula-
tively.’’. 
(b) STANDARD OF REVIEW FOR ORDERS OF RE-
MOVAL.—Section 242(b)(4) of the Immigration and Na-
tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1252(b)(4)) is amended by adding 
after subparagraph (D) the following flush language: ‘‘No 
court shall reverse a determination made by an adjudi-
cator with respect to the availability of corroborating evi-
dence as described in section 208(b)(1)(B), unless the 
court finds that a reasonable adjudicator is compelled to 
conclude that such corroborating evidence is unavailable.’’. 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 
subsection (b) shall take effect upon the date of enactment 
of this Act and shall apply to cases in which the final ad-
ministrative removal order was issued before, on, or after 
the date of enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall 
take effect upon the date of enactment of this Act.
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