PER CURIAM:
Vacated and remanded with instructions.
Urgen, Pro Se, Woodside, NY, for Petitioner. Yanal H. Yousef, Trial Attorney, Office of Immigration Litigation, Civil Division (Stuart F. Delery, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Jamie M. Dowd, Senior Litigation Counsel, on the brief), United States Department of Justice, Washington, DC, for Respondent.
Before: WINTER, PARKER, and HALL, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
Petitioner Urgen, who asserts he is a stateless Tibetan born in Nepal, seeks review of a February 8, 2012 decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”), affirming an Immigration Judge's (“IJ”) June 8, 2010 denial of asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). The IJ found that Urgen failed to establish credibly that he is a stateless Tibetan born in Nepal and ordered him removed to Nepal. The BIA did not rely on the IJ's credibility determination, or otherwise consider Urgen's testimony, and affirmed the denial of relief because Urgen's documentary evidence failed to establish his Tibetan nationality. Neither the IJ nor the BIA resolved the question of Petitioner's country of nationality or citizenship. Because the BIA erroneously required Petitioner to establish his nationality through documentary evidence alone, we VACATE and REMAND the BIA's decision with instructions to review the IJ's credibility finding. On remand, the agency is also instructed to make an explicit finding with respect to Petitioner's country of nationality and citizenship for purposes of (1) establishing the country with respect to which the agency is conducting its asylum inquiry and (2) ensuring compliance with the mandatory, consecutive removal commands of 8 U.S.C. § 1231(b)(2).
We have also explained that an explicit determination with respect to a petitioner's country of nationality or citizenship is necessary to ensure compliance with the mandatory, consecutive removal commands of 8 U.S.C. § 1231(b)(2). See Wangchuck, 448 F.3d at 530–31. Where, as here, “the alien does not designate a country, the Attorney General has little choice but to remove him to the country of which he is a subject, national, or citizen.” Enwonwu v. Gonzales, 438 F.3d 22, 29 n. 7 (1st Cir.2006) (citing 8 U.S.C. § 1231(b)(2)(D)). “This is not a discretionary duty-only a failure of acceptance permits removal to some other place.” Zahren v. Gonzales, 487 F.3d 1039, 1041 (7th Cir.2007), reh'g granted, 637 F.3d 698 (7th Cir.2011). Because neither the IJ nor the BIA resolved Urgen's country of nationality or citizenship, it is unclear whether he may be removed to Nepal. See Wangchuck, 448 F.3d at 531 (“[W]e do not know if he is a Chinese ‘subject, national, or citizen,’ so we cannot tell whether he may be removed to China under [ 8 U.S.C. § 1231(b)(2)(D) ].”). Accordingly, on remand, the agency is instructed to make an explicit determination with respect to Urgen's country of nationality and citizenship.
Title 8, Section 1231(b)(2) of the United States Code provides four “consecutive” removal commands. Jama v. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 543 U.S. 335, 341, 125 S.Ct. 694, 160 L.Ed.2d 708 (2005). First, an alien shall be removed to a country of his choice. 8 U.S.C. § 1231(b)(2)(A). Second, if the alien does not promptly designate a country or if the government of the country designated is not willing to or does not timely accept the alien after inquiry by the Attorney General, the alien shall be removed to the country of which he is a citizen or national. See 8 U.S.C. § 1231(b)(2)(D); see also Jama, 543 U.S. at 341, 125 S.Ct. 694. Third, if the alien's country of citizenship or nationality does not timely inform the Attorney General of its acceptance or the country is unwilling to accept the alien, the alien shall be removed to one of the countries with which he has a lesser connection, including “[t]he country from which the alien was admitted to the United States.” See 8 U.S.C. § 1231(b)(2)(E); see also Jama, 543 U.S. at 341, 125 S.Ct. 694. Fourth, if it is “impracticable, inadvisable, or impossible” to remove the alien to a country with which he has a lesser connection, the Attorney General shall remove him to another country whose government will accept the alien. See 8 U.S.C. § 1231(b)(2)(E); see also Jama, 543 U.S. at 341, 125 S.Ct. 694.
CONCLUSION
Based on the foregoing, we VACATE AND REMAND the decision of the BIA for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. -------- Notes: