Opinion ID: 171191
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Asylum Standard

Text: To obtain asylum, an alien must prove, first, that he is a refugee as defined in 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(42)(A), and then persuade the Attorney General to exercise his discretion and grant relief under 8 U.S.C. § 1158(b). See Yuk v. Ashcroft, 355 F.3d 1222, 1232-33 (10th Cir.2004). The asylum statute defines a refugee as any person outside his country of nationality who is unable or unwilling to return to, and is unable or unwilling to avail himself ... of the protection of, that country because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. § 1101(a)(42)(A). The BIA denied relief at the first stage, finding that Mr. Ba was not a refugee. It therefore did not reach the second, discretionary stage of the analysis.