Immigration Judge must state basis for conclusions

The summary, unpublished order by the Second Circuit in Shao Lan Zhang v. BIA, No. 04-0110 (2d Cir. April 19, 2005) granted a petition for review because the immigration judge did not offer any basis for its conclusions. The court reiterated that to deny an asylum claim, the judge must (a) identify the particular pieces of missing, relevant documentation, and (b) show that the documentation at issue was reasonably available to the petitioner." Jin Shui Qui v. Ashcroft, 329 F.3d 140, 153 (2d Cir. 2003). The Second Circuit focused on the judge's statement that an asylum claim lacked supporting documentation without identifying what documents were missing. Also, the judge said he noticed contrary facts in background materials without identifying the background materials.