Shu Chen v. Loretta E. Lynch

MEMORANDUM

Petitioner Shu Min Chen, a native and citizen of the People’s Republic of China, applied for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture. An immigration judge (“IJ”) denied all relief, and the Board of Immigration Appeals affirmed. Chen petitions this court for review of the Board’s decision. We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 and deny the petition.

Chen argues that the Board’s affirmance of the IJ’s adverse credibility finding is unsupported by substantial evidence. But Chen testified unequivocally that he was fired from his job at a watch factory on account of political opinion in 1990, and later testified that he continued to work for the watch factory’s service company until 1996. In addition, Chen resided in housing provided by the watch factory until 2006. In light of these inconsistencies regarding a fact material to Chen’s claim, substantial evidence supported the Board’s conclusion that Chen’s testimony as a whole was not credible. See Lopez-Umanzor v. Gonzales, 405 F.3d 1049, 1059 (9th Cir.2005). Chen’s inconsistent testimony regarding whether he personally signed his visa application further sup ported the adverse…