Nordikyan

MEMORANDUM

Sarkis Nordikyan appeals from the IJ and BIA’s denial of his application for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). We deny his petition.

The IJ’s adverse credibility determination was supported by substantial evidence. Nordikyan rested his first asylum application on fear of future persecution on account of his membership in a political party, but later testified that he feared persecution on account of being a Jehovah’s Witness and that he had not been a member of any political party. Although given an opportunity to explain this inconsistency, which went to the heart of his asylum claim, Nordikyan failed to do so. Because at least “ ‘one of the identified grounds is supported by substantial evidence and goes to the heart of [the alien’s] claim of persecution,’ ” we must uphold the IJ’s adverse credibility determination. Rizk v. Holder, 629 F.3d 1083, 1087 (9th Cir.2011) (alteration in original) (quoting Wang v. INS, 352 F.3d 1250, 1259 (9th Cir.2003)).

The IJ’s determination that Nordikyan lacked a well-founded fear of future persecution was also supported by substantial evidence, including the State Department…