Yong Shi v. Holder
Docket: No. 08-2287-ag
Court: Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit; August 6, 2009; Federal Appellate Court
Petitioner Yong Shi, a citizen of China, sought judicial review of the BIA's April 18, 2008 order, which affirmed an Immigration Judge's (IJ) January 24, 2008 decision denying his motion to reopen and file a successive asylum application. The court reviews the IJ's decision as supplemented by the BIA, and evaluates the denial of a motion to reopen for abuse of discretion, applying the substantial evidence standard to the BIA’s factual findings regarding country conditions. Shi contended that the BIA improperly concluded he did not demonstrate materially changed country conditions that would justify excusing the time and numerical limits on reopening his case. However, the court found no error in the BIA's assessment, referencing prior cases that upheld similar conclusions regarding insufficient evidence for materially changed conditions or a reasonable fear of persecution. Additionally, the court determined that there were no significant translation errors in the State Department report referenced by the BIA that would undermine its findings. Consequently, the petition for review was denied, the court vacated any previously granted stay of removal, dismissed any pending motion for such a stay as moot, and denied requests for oral argument.