Bulgarian Gets Second Chance at U.S. Asylum

A federal appeals court revived a Bulgarian’s claim for political asylum Wednesday because an immigration appeals board overruled a hearing officer and decided the immigrant was lying without giving him a chance to defend himself.

The Board of Immigration Appeals offered no other serious explanation of its decision to order Zavtcho Stoyanov deported and must reconsider the case after letting him explain the supposed inconsistencies in his testimony, said the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Stoyanov applied for asylum in September 1992 after entering the United States on a visitor’s visa. He said he had been beaten and threatened after giving a radio interview in March 1992 at a rally of Turks in Sofia.

At a two-day hearing, a U.S. immigration judge found that Stoyanov had been “straightforward and candid,” and ruled that he was entitled to asylum. The judge noted that Stoyanov had been questioned exhaustively, had answered quickly, and had not tried to blame the Bulgarian government.

The Immigration and Naturalization Service appealed the ruling on legal grounds but did not dispute Stoyanov’s credibility. However, the Board of Immigration Appeals raised the credibility issue on its own, without advance notice to Stoyanov, found inconsistencies in his testimony and ordered him deported.

The appeals court, in a 3-0 ruling, said the board acted unfairly by ordering deportation on the grounds that Stoyanov had no chance to dispute the ruling.