The following excerpt is from Mei Bin Zheng v. Barr, No. 18-103 (2nd Cir. 2020):
8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(42)(A). Therefore, "a petitioner's nationality, or lack of nationality, is a threshold question in determining his eligibility for asylum." Wangchuck v. Dep't of Homeland Sec., 448 F.3d 524, 528 (2d Cir. 2006). An "agency's finding that [a petitioner] failed to establish his nationality d[oes] not obviate the need to resolve conclusively [the petitioner's] country of nationality and citizenship." Urgen v. Holder, 768 F.3d 269, 273 (2d Cir. 2014) (emphasizing that "[a] finding with respect to the asylum applicant's nationality is . . . necessary because without it as a reference, the agency cannot analyze an applicant's claim of well-founded persecution").
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