Opinion ID: 2998534
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Adverse Credibility Determination Flawed

Text: We find that the IJ’s adverse credibility finding is not supported by specific, cogent reasons that bear a legitimate nexus to the IJ’s adverse credibility determination. The IJ’s adverse credibility ruling is based on three primary concerns. First, Kllokoqi’s alleged vague and inconsistent testimony about his education. Next, the purportedly fraudulent subpoena and warrant submitted by Kllokoqi. Finally, Kllokoqi’s alleged failure to submit supporting evidence to corroborate the details of his alleged activities and mistreatment. The IJ found several aspects of Kllokoqi’s testimony about his education inconsistent and suspicious: Kllokoqi did not remember the name of his high school, he gave inconsistent answers regarding the presence of Serbian teachers in the school and the language spoken there, and gave conflicting dates for his graduation and his convalescence following a beating by Serbian police. No. 03-3508 7 Kllokoqi argues, and we agree, that these are minor inconsistencies and that the IJ erred in relying on them to make an adverse credibility finding. See Gao, 299 F.3d at 272 (stating that minor discrepancies that do not involve the “heart of the asylum claim” are not an adequate basis for an adverse credibility finding) (citation omitted). In light of the war in the Balkans, as well as the number of traumatic and tragic events that have happened to Kllokoqi and in Kosovo, we are not overly concerned that Kllokoqi could not recall the name of the high school he attended over ten years ago. This lapse of memory does not go to the heart of Kllokoqi’s asylum claim. However, a lapse in memory can be considered significant enough to raise serious credibility issues. In Korniejew, this court upheld an IJ’s adverse credibility ruling where an applicant claimed she was expelled from college because of her Jewish faith, then testified inconsistently as to whether she graduated from college. 371 F.3d at 386. However, unlike in Korniejew, Kllokoqi’s high school education is unrelated to his asylum claim, and his failure to remember the high school’s name amounts to nothing more than a trivial detail. Unlike the IJ, we do not think that Kllokoqi’s responses to questions about whether there were Serbian or Albanian teachers in his school or what languages classes were taught in his high school merit an adverse credibility finding. It seems possible from the record that Kllokoqi did not understand the questions. When asked about his classes, Kllokoqi responded, “Most of the classes were in Albanian but there were a lot of Serbian teachers too. We had Serbian teachers but the final exams that I took I gave in Albanian.” It is hard to tell whether Kllokoqi was saying that he himself had Serbian teachers or just that there were Serbian teachers in the school. Either way, the issue is minor and insignificant to the claim. 8 No. 03-3508 What the IJ seems to find most suspicious and inconsistent are Kllokoqi’s responses to questions about his graduation. Kllokoqi testified that he was arrested in March 1993, served 45 days of his sentence, and spent another 40 days recovering from the injury to his scrotum, which left him unable to walk. The government argued that Kllokoqi could not have graduated from high school in June of 1993, as claimed in his application, if he was bedridden at the time. The IJ accepted the government’s argument. However, an asylum application need not be complete and may be supplemented with testimony. See, e.g., Pop v. INS, 270 F.3d 527, 531-32 (7th Cir. 2001). Kllokoqi supplemented his application by offering a credible explanation of the inconsistency in dates. When questioned, Kllokoqi explained that the diploma listed June as the date issued because that was the usual graduation date. However, Kllokoqi completed his exams and actually received his diploma in August. Kllokoqi explained, “I finished my final exams in August and I was through with school in August; but I’m not saying literally that I was in school the whole time.” Unlike the IJ, we find nothing incredible about this explanation. We do not see it as an unusual practice for a school to allow a student to complete graduation requirements after the school year has completed, even though diplomas are printed in advance with an official graduation date of May or June. It is entirely logical that the school would have allowed Kllokoqi to complete his examinations at a later time given his injuries. As such, we find that the IJ’s adverse credibility finding was improper. The IJ conceded that the vagueness and inconsistencies he found might not alone have led him to find Kllokoqi not credible but decided that they were significant because he doubted Kllokoqi’s Kosovar identity. He based his suspicion on the State Department Country Report for 2000 that warned, “Albanians from other provinces in No. 03-3508 9 Yugoslavia . . . have attempted to use the situation in Kosovo to make fraudulent claims.” This general statement in the Country Report is insufficient to rebut Kllokoqi’s detailed, specific testimony establishing his place of origin. State department reports are entitled to deference, but the IJ must make an individualized determination. Zheng v. Gonzales, 409 F.3d 804, 811 (7th Cir. 2005); Toptchev v. INS, 295 F.3d 714, 723 (7th Cir. 2002). The report serves as a source of good background information, but it cannot replace the specific testimony of a credible witness. See, e.g., Bace v. Ashcroft, 352 F.3d 1133, 1139 (7th Cir. 2003) (“[I]t would be improper to find that a witness’s testimony about specific events could be ‘contradicted’ by a generalized State Department report broadly discussing conditions in the applicant’s country of origin.”). Using the generalized Country Report as background and examining the individual circumstances of Kllokoqi’s case, there is no evidence to suggest that Kllokoqi is lying about his identity as a native of Kosovo. He presented a Yugoslav identification card that verifies he is a native of Kosovo. The government’s expert determined the card was authentic and the government does not contest the expert’s finding. The identification card and the overall consistency of Kllokoqi’s testimony convinces us that the IJ lacked sufficient reason to question Kllokoqi’s identity. The IJ’s speculation based solely on the Country Report cannot sustain an adverse credibility finding in the absence of any other evidence that directly refutes the IJ’s finding. We are also not persuaded by the IJ’s contention that Kllokoqi’s credibility was damaged by his use of allegedly fraudulent documents. First, the conclusion that Kllokoqi’s warrant and subpoena were altered is flawed. Epstein acknowledged that he could not conclude that these documents were not in their original state. For example, he 10 No. 03-3508 stated that the toner might not have been removed deceitfully, but, rather, rubbed off through folding and unfolding. Second, even if the documents were altered by someone other than the issuing authorities, the IJ made no finding that Kllokoqi altered the documents or knew or suspected that they were altered. If he did not know, then the alleged alterations cannot be used as evidence against the credibility of his testimony that they are genuine. See Kourski v. Ashcroft, 355 F.3d 1038, 1039 (7th Cir. 2004) (reversing an adverse credibility finding where the IJ did not find that the petitioner knew or suspected that his birth certificate was a forgery). Kllokoqi testified that after leaving Croatia, his family sent him the warrant and the subpoena in Italy. Kllokoqi denied knowledge of any alterations. Because there is no evidence or finding that he knew or suspected the subpoena and warrant were altered, the documents should not have been used to impugn his credibility. Third, the IJ ignored the identification card as positive credibility evidence. Kllokoqi’s possession of an authentic Yugoslav identification card helps his credibility, and the government does not contest the card’s authenticity. The IJ, however, never mentions the card anywhere in his reasoning for making an adverse credibility finding and focuses instead on evidence that the warrant and subpoena were altered. The IJ should have given the identification card’s authenticity proper weight. The final basis for the IJ’s adverse credibility finding is his determination that Kllokoqi did not provide corroborating evidence to support his testimony. We disagree not only with the IJ’s improper and erroneous insistence that Kllokoqi must present corroborating evidence, but also with the suggestion that he did not provide any. This court has “repeatedly emphasized that corroborative evidence is not necessary when the applicant’s testimony is No. 03-3508 11 otherwise credible.” Lin, 385 F.3d at 756; see 8 C.F.R. § 208.13(a) (“The testimony of the applicant, if credible, may be sufficient to sustain the burden of proof without corroboration.”). Viewing the record as a whole, we think that Kllokoqi’s testimony was consistent and that the IJ’s determination that Kllokoqi’s testimony was vague and incredible is not supported by the record. Kllokoqi’s testimony was not internally inconsistent, and he had reasonable explanations for any potential discrepancies. As such, there is no corroboration requirement.2 Although Kllokoqi’s claim did not require corroboration, he presented evidence which the IJ appeared to ignore. As we mentioned above, Kllokoqi’s identification card corroborates his claim that he is from Kosovo. What is most disturbing to this court, however, is the IJ’s failure to properly consider Dr. Goldberg’s testimony. In his report, Dr. Goldberg concluded that Kllokoqi’s injuries, including those to his scrotum and shins, were consistent with severe beatings. If the IJ needed corroborating evidence, Dr. Goldberg’s testimony was sufficient. Instead, the IJ inexplicably replaced the testimony of both Kllokoqi and Dr. Goldberg with his own suggestion that Kllokoqi injured his testicle while riding a bicycle. It is error to base an adverse credibility decision on speculation and conjecture. Korniejew, 371 F.3d at 383 (citation omitted). During the hearing, the IJ posited his bicycle theory no fewer than four times. The IJ did not, however, solicit any 2 That is not to say that corroboration is never necessary in immigration proceedings. Indeed, corroborating evidence is necessary to buttress an unconvincing case. Uwase v. Ashcroft, 349 F.3d 1039, 1041 (7th Cir. 2003); see, e.g., Ahmad, 163 F.3d at 461-63 (affirming asylum denial where applicant’s testimony conflicted with his application and the applicant failed to submit additional corroborative evidence). 12 No. 03-3508 evidence that Kllokoqi rode a bicycle, that people in Kosovo commonly ride bicycles, or that Kllokoqi’s severe injuries could have been caused by bicycle riding. At one point, the IJ interrupted closing argument to note that “even here in this country cyclists . . . injure themselves as well. And I note that bicycling is one of the means of transportation in Europe and Kosovo as well. How do I know this was not a bicycle accident?” The IJ gave Kllokoqi and his attorney no chance to answer that question. In fact, the IJ refused Kllokoqi’s attorney’s request to recall Dr. Goldberg so the doctor could give his medical opinion on this bicycle-riding theory. The IJ’s continued speculative insistence that Kllokoqi’s testicle was injured from bicycle riding was highly inappropriate. There is no reason to believe that Kllokoqi and his doctor were not telling the truth, and the IJ’s conclusion that Kllokoqi lacked credibility is unsupported by the record.