Sergey Okhvat v. Eric Holder, Jr.

MEMORANDUM

Sergey Okhvat, a native of the former Soviet Union and citizen of Russia, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) order dismissing his appeal from an immigration judge’s decision denying his application for asylum and withholding of removal. Our jurisdiction is governed by 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . We review for substantial evidence, Shrestha v. Holder, 590 F.3d 1034, 1039 (9th Cir.2010), and we deny in part and dismiss in part the petition for review.

The BIA determined that Okhvat failed to meet his burden of proof for asylum and withholding of removal because he failed to provide sufficient evidence to corroborate his claim, namely the testimony or statement of a doctor in the United States whose correspondence with Okhvat is at the heart of Okhvat’s claim of persecution. The BIA rejected Okhvat’s explanation for his failure to provide the corroborating evidence. In his opening brief, Okhvat does not raise any challenge to the BIA’s conclusions. See Martinez-Serrano v. INS, 94 F.3d 1256, 1259-60 (9th Cir.1996) (issues that are not addressed in the argument portion of a brief are deemed waived). Accordingly, we deny the peti tion for review as to…