Ghookas Dermikaelian v. Loretta E. Lynch

MEMORANDUM

Ghookas Dermikaelian petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ dismissal of his appeal from the Immigration Judge’s denial of his applications for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture. We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 (a)(1). We DENY the petition.

Substantial evidence supports the agency’s adverse credibility finding and its denial of Dermikaelian’s claims for relief in this pre-REAL ID Act case. Dermikaeli-an failed to credibly establish his identity, a key element of his asylum claim. Farah v. Ashcroft, 348 F.3d 1153, 1156 (9th Cir.2003). After the government’s forensic document reviewer opined that the birth certificate Dermikaelian submitted in support of his application was fraudulent, Der-mikaelian ádmitted the document was a fake and that he had hired individuals to prepare it. Dermikaelian’s testimony about his identity was not corroborated by any other testimony or evidence, aside from the declarations of two individuals, both of whom had medical problems the day before his asylum hearing and failed to appear in court. Additional aspects of the record support the agency’s adverse…