Hovhanes Vermanyan v. Eric Holder, Jr.

MEMORANDUM

Hovhanes Vermanyan, a native of the former Soviet Union and citizen of Azerbaijan, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) order dismissing his appeal from an immigration judge’s decision denying his application for withholding of removal and relief under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). Our jurisdiction is governed by 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . We review for substantial evidence the agency’s factual findings, applying the new standards governing adverse credibility determinations created by the Real ID Act. Shrestha v. Holder, 590 F.3d 1034, 1039 (9th Cir.2010). We deny in part and dismiss in part the petition for review.

With respect to past harm in Azerbaijan, substantial evidence supports the agency’s adverse credibility determination based on Vermanyan’s asylum application’s omission of his only claim of personal mistreatment in Azerbaijan. See id. at 1039-40 . With respect to future harm, substantial evidence supports the agency’s conclusion that Vermanyan failed to establish a clear probability of persecution in Azerbaijan on account of his Armenian ethnicity. See Tamang v. Holder, 598 F.3d 1083, 1094-95 (9th Cir.2010). Vermanyan now…