Kourski v. Ashcroft, No. 03-1742.
| Court | United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (7th Circuit) |
| Writing for the Court | Posner |
| Citation | 355 F.3d 1038 |
| Parties | Vassili KOURSKI, Petitioner, v. John ASHCROFT, Attorney General of the United States, Respondent. |
| Docket Number | No. 03-1742. |
| Decision Date | 22 January 2004 |
v.
John ASHCROFT, Attorney General of the United States, Respondent.
Stephen D. Berman (argued), Chicago, IL, for Petitioner.
George P. Katsivalis, Department of Homeland Security, Office of the District Counsel, Chicago, IL, Mark W. Pennak, Catherine Y. Hancock (argued), Department of Justice, Civil Division, Appellate Section, Washington, DC, for Respondent.
Before BAUER, POSNER, and EVANS, Circuit Judges.
POSNER, Circuit Judge.
Vassili Kourski asks us to set aside the order removing (deporting) him from the United States. He was born in Russia, came to the United States in 1996 on a tourist visa, and applied for asylum before his visa expired. He claims to be Jewish, and to have been persecuted in Russia by anti-Semites whom the police either cannot or will not control. The only evidence of his being Jewish that he presented at his removal hearing, besides his own sworn testimony, was a copy of a purported Russian birth certificate, listing his nationality as Jewish. The immigration service determined that it was a forgery. Kourski testified without contradiction that his mother had sent him the document and that he didn't know it was a forgery.
The immigration judge found "that because [Kourski] has not rebutted the conclusions of the Service's expert witness as to the genuineness of his birth certificate, his claim [to being Jewish] is discredited and his testimony is rejected as lacking in credibility. Accordingly, his application for asylum will be denied." In a footnote the immigration judge "also note[d] that [Kourski] did not present any other evidence to corroborate his alleged Jewish nationality including, for example, the testimony or affidavit of his brother who lives in Chicago." The judge nevertheless granted Kourski's motion for voluntary departure
Page 1039
on the ground that "the record does not conclusively establish fraud."
The Board of Immigration Appeals affirmed. It remarked that the immigration judge had denied Kourski's application for asylum because Kourski "was found not credible due to his submission of a fraudulent birth certificate." After satisfying itself that the birth certificate was indeed a forgery, the board said that it "agree[d] with the Immigration Judge that [Kourski] was not credible as a result of his having submitted a fraudulent birth certificate in order to corroborate his ethnicity as Jewish and his identity. Without credible testimony, he has failed to meet his burden of proof."
There is a gaping hole in the reasoning of the board and the immigration judge. Suppose that Kourski had merely testified that he was Jewish, without presenting any documentary evidence. The immigration judge might have believed him despite the absence of corroboration, and on that basis have approved his application for asylum, since ...
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Singh v. Napolitano, No. 10–CV–0462 (MAT).
...States. Furthermore, he provided a different “A number” [819 F.Supp.2d 218] in his second asylum application. Cf. Kourski v. Ashcroft, 355 F.3d 1038, 1040 (7th Cir.2004) ( “Without reason to believe that Kourski knew or suspected the forgery, however, proof that [the birth certificate] was ......
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Singh v. Napolitano, No. 10-CV-0462(MAT)
...of entry to the United States. Furthermore, he provided a different "A number" in his second asylum application. Cf. Kourski v. Ashcroft, 355 F.3d 1038, 1040 (7th Cir. 2004) ("Without reason to believe that Kourski knew or suspected the forgery, however, proof that [the birth certificate] w......
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Diallo v. Ashcroft, No. 03-1876.
...if credible, may be sufficient to sustain the burden of proof without corroboration." 8 C.F.R. § 208.13(a). See Kourski v. Ashcroft, 355 F.3d 1038, 1039 (7th Cir.2004), Capric v. Ashcroft, 355 F.3d 1075, 1085 (7th Cir.2004), Korniejew v. Ashcroft, 371 F.3d 377, 382 (7th Cir.2004), Uwase v. ......
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Gjerazi v. Gonzales, No. 04-2344.
...testified that he believed certain documents to be copies while the IJ determined that they were originals. In Kourski v. Ashcroft, 355 F.3d 1038 (7th Cir.2004), we addressed a similar situation. The petitioner in Kourski claimed that he had been persecuted in Russia by anti-Semites. During......
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Singh v. Napolitano, No. 10–CV–0462 (MAT).
...States. Furthermore, he provided a different “A number” [819 F.Supp.2d 218] in his second asylum application. Cf. Kourski v. Ashcroft, 355 F.3d 1038, 1040 (7th Cir.2004) ( “Without reason to believe that Kourski knew or suspected the forgery, however, proof that [the birth certificate] was ......
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Singh v. Napolitano, No. 10-CV-0462(MAT)
...of entry to the United States. Furthermore, he provided a different "A number" in his second asylum application. Cf. Kourski v. Ashcroft, 355 F.3d 1038, 1040 (7th Cir. 2004) ("Without reason to believe that Kourski knew or suspected the forgery, however, proof that [the birth certificate] w......
-
Diallo v. Ashcroft, No. 03-1876.
...if credible, may be sufficient to sustain the burden of proof without corroboration." 8 C.F.R. § 208.13(a). See Kourski v. Ashcroft, 355 F.3d 1038, 1039 (7th Cir.2004), Capric v. Ashcroft, 355 F.3d 1075, 1085 (7th Cir.2004), Korniejew v. Ashcroft, 371 F.3d 377, 382 (7th Cir.2004), Uwase v. ......
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Gjerazi v. Gonzales, No. 04-2344.
...testified that he believed certain documents to be copies while the IJ determined that they were originals. In Kourski v. Ashcroft, 355 F.3d 1038 (7th Cir.2004), we addressed a similar situation. The petitioner in Kourski claimed that he had been persecuted in Russia by anti-Semites. During......