What is the current state of the law on allowing an alien's own testimony?

Other circuits have been chary of according too much weight to an alien's own statements, for the obvious reason that they tend to be self-serving. See, e.g., Gumbol, 815 F.2d at 412 (defining the permissible parameters under which an alien's "own unsubstantiated testimony" will be accepted); Carvajal-Munoz v. INS, 743 F.2d 562, 577 (7th Cir.1984) (permitting alien's statements only under certain circumstances).