Opinion ID: 43651
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: De Dong’s 2003 Asylum Hearing

Text: 6 As the 2003 asylum hearing, De Dong’s testimony differed slightly from the testimony and evidence he previously submitted. At the hearing, De Dong testified that he was married with three children, and he first came to the United States on July 17, 1992 because he had violated China’s family-planning policy. De Dong again alleged that the government forced his wife to have an IUD implanted, abort their fourth child, and undergo sterilization. De Dong explained that the couple wanted to have a fourth child because they only had one son, and they needed another boy to work in their field. With regard to the abortion, De Dong testified that local authorities forced their way into his house on October 15, 1987, arrested his wife, took her to a hospital and forced her to have an abortion and undergo sterilization. De Dong further testified that his first two children were registered in the “household registration book,” but his third child was not registered until October 27, 1992. De Dong testified that he did not register his marriage until 1992 because his village did not require it. The IJ then asked De Dong why his original asylum application, filed in 1993, specified a different date for his wife’s alleged abortion, 1992 instead of 1987. De Dong responded that a travel agency had completed the application for him, and he had no knowledge of what they had written. De Dong further testified 7 that, when he went for his original asylum interview in 1996, he did not understand the asylum officer’s questions because the interpreter provided for him spoke Mandarin, but De Dong spoke only Foo Chow. He claimed that he paid the travel agency $600 to prepare his asylum application and assist him with the interview. De Dong stated that he wanted to remain in the country so that he could take care of his children and they could continue to attend school in the United States.