Fariba Amiri v. Loretta E. Lynch

MEMORANDUM

Petitioner Fariba Amiri, a native of Iran and citizen of the United Kingdom, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ order dismissing her appeal of an Immigration Judge’s denial of her application for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 (a), and we deny the petition for review.

Generally, “[o]ur review is limited to the BIA’s decision where the BIA conducts its own review of the evidence and law.” Vitug v. Holder, 723 F.3d 1056, 1062 (9th Cir. 2013). However, where, as here, the BIA’s “phrasing seems in part to suggest that it did conduct an independent review of the record, but the BIA’s analysis on the relevant issues is confined to a simple statement of a conclusion, we also look to the IJ’s oral decision as a guide to what lay behind the BIA’s conclusion.” Bingxu Jin v. Holder, 748 F.3d 959, 964 (9th Cir. 2014) (quoting Shrestha v. Holder, 590 F.3d 1034, 1039 (9th Cir. 2010)). We review the BIA’s legal conclusions de novo and its factual determinations, “including its finding of whether an applicant has demonstrated a ‘well-founded fear of persecution,’…