Lusine Melik Ohanyan v. Loretta E. Lynch

MEMORANDUM

Lusine Melik Ohanyan and Andranik Kalantaryan, natives and citizens of Armenia, petition for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) order dismissing their appeal from an immigration judge’s decision denying their applications for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . We review for substantial evidence the agency’s factual findings, applying the standards governing adverse credibility determinations created by the REAL ID Act, Shrestha v. Holder, 590 F.3d 1034, 1039-40 (9th Cir.2010), and we deny the petition for review.

As an initial matter, the record does not compel the conclusion that petitioners have established changed or extraordinary circumstances to excuse their untimely asylum applications. See 8 C.F.R. §§ 1208.4 (a)(4), (5); see also Toj-Culpatan v. Holder, 612 F.3d 1088, 1091 (9th Cir. 2010) (per curiam). Thus, we deny the petition as 'to petitioners’ asylum claims.

With regard to Melik Ohanyan’s withholding of removal claim, substantial evidence supports the BIA’s adverse credibility determination based on inconsistencies between Melik…