Vata

MEMORANDUM

Petitioner Bashkim Vata (“Vata”), a native and citizen of Albania, petitions for review of a decision, by the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”), affirming the denial of Vata’s applications for asylum and withholding of removal by the Immigration Judge (“IJ”). The IJ denied relief after making an adverse-credibility determination. We conclude that the IJ’s adverse-credibility determination was supported by substantial evidence. We therefore deny Vata’s petition.

Where, as here, the BIA adopts and affirms the IJ’s decision citing Matter of Burbano, 20 I. & N. Dec. 872, 874 (BIA 1994), we “look through the BIA’s decision and treat the IJ’s decision as the final agency decision for purposes of this appeal.” Tamang v. Holder, 598 F.3d 1083, 1088 (9th Cir.2010). An adverse-credibility determination is reviewed for substantial evidence. Rivera v. Mukasey, 508 F.3d 1271, 1274 (9th Cir.2007). Even if some factors relied on by the IJ are unsupported or irrelevant, we will uphold an adverse-credibility finding “so long as one of the identified grounds is supported by substantial evidence and goes to the heart of [the petitioner’s] claim of persecution.” Li v. Ashcroft, 378…