Khunaverdiants

FOR PUBLICATION

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

GURGEN KHUNAVERDIANTS, 

Petitioner, No. 07-70145 v.  Agency No.

A079-531-856

MICHAEL B. MUKASEY, Attorney General, OPINION Respondent.  On Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals

Argued and Submitted September 8, 2008—San Francisco, California

Filed November 18, 2008

Before: Ronald M. Gould and Carlos T. Bea, Circuit Judges, and John W. Sedwick,* District Judge.

Opinion by Judge Sedwick

*The Honorable John W. Sedwick, Chief Judge, United States District Court for the District of Alaska, sitting by designation.

15479 15482 KHUNAVERDIANTS v. MUKASEY

COUNSEL

Asbet A. Issakhanian, Glendale, California, for the petitioner- appellant.

Aliza B. Alyeshmerni, United States Department of Justice, Civil Division, Washington, D.C., for the respondent- appellee. KHUNAVERDIANTS v. MUKASEY 15483

OPINION

SEDWICK, District Judge:

Gurgen Khunaverdiants appeals the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) decision affirming an immigration judge’s (“IJ”) denial of his asylum…