Roza Stepanyan v. Eric Holder, Jr.

MEMORANDUM .

Roza Stepanyan, a native of Iran and citizen of Armenia, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) order dismissing her appeal from an immigration judge’s decision denying her claim for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . We review for substantial evidence the agency’s factual findings and review de novo the agency’s legal determinations. Wakkary v. Holder, 558 F.3d 1049, 1056 (9th Cir.2009). We deny the petition for review.

Substantial evidence supports the BIA’s finding that the harms Stepanyan and her family suffered in Armenia did not rise to the level of persecution on account of a protected ground. See INS v. Elias-Zacarias, 502 U.S. 478, 482-84 , 112 S.Ct. 812 , 117 L.Ed.2d 38 (1992); see Nagoulko v. INS, 333 F.3d 1012, 1016-18 (9th Cir.2003) (harassment, discrimination, and economic deprivation do not necessarily constitute persecution). Further, the BIA’s decision belies Stepanyan’s contention that it only considered the 2004 incident in finding she did not suffer past persecution. Substantial evidence also supports the agency’s…