Gao

MEMORANDUM **

Mei Ling Gao petitions for review from the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) dismissing her appeal from the denial of her application for asylum and withholding of removal under the Immigration and Nationality Act. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1252 , and we grant the petition for review.

Gao does not challenge the dismissal of her appeal under Article 3 of the Convention Against Torture, and she conceded in her reply brief that she did not establish past persecution. Because the BIA declined to make an adverse credibility finding, we presume Gao’s factual contentions to be true. See Navas v. I.N.S., 217 F.3d 646, 657 (9th Cir.2000). The sole issue before us therefore is whether Gao proved eligibility for asylum based on a well-founded fear of future persecution.

When, as in this case, the BIA conducts its own review of the record, our review is limited to the BIA’s decision. Ventura v. I.N.S., 264 F.3d 1150, 1153 (9th Cir.2001). We review the BIA’s conclusion that Gao did not demonstrate a fear of future persecution under the substantial evidence standard, “uphold[ing] the BIA’s determination unless the evidence compels a contrary…