Arriaga-Garcia

MEMORANDUM ***

Edmundo Manuel Arriaga-Garcia petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ dismissal of his appeal from the Immigration Judge’s denial of his application for suspension of deportation under 8 U.S.C. § 1254 (a).

The Attorney General may in his discretion suspend deportation of an alien who shows (1) continuous physical presence in the United States for at least seven years preceding the order to show cause; (2) good moral character; and (3) that deportation would result in extreme hardship to the alien or his or her qualifying spouse, parent, or child. 8 U.S.C. 1254(a)(1).

By statute, no person “who has given false testimony for the purpose of obtaining any [immigration] benefits” during the period for which good moral character is required shall be regarded as a person of good moral character. 8 U.S.C. § 1101 (f)(6). In Ramos v. INS, 246 F.3d 1264 (9th Cir.2001), we held that statements made under oath during an asylum interview constituted “testimony” for the purpose of obtaining an immigration bene *916 fit, and thus § 1101(f)(6) barred a finding of good moral character of an alien who lied under oath in an asylum interview. Id. at 1266; accord In…