Jizi Jin v. Eric Holder, Jr.

MEMORANDUM

Juan Edgardo Cerna-Hernandez, a native and citizen of El Salvador, petitions pro se for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ order dismissing his appeal from an immigration judge’s decision denying his application 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, applying the standards governing adverse credibility determinations created by the REAL ID Act, Shrestha v. Holder, 590 F.3d 1034, 1039 (9th Cir.2010), and we deny the petition for review.

Substantial evidence supports the agency’s adverse credibility determination based on the significant discrepancy between Cerna-Hernandez’s prior asylum application and the one he filed in 2011 regarding the basis of his claim. See Zamanov v. Holder, 649 F.3d 969, 973 (9th Cir.2011) (“Material alterations in the applicant’s account of persecution are sufficient to support an adverse credibility finding.”). The agency reasonably rejected Cerna-Hernandez’s explanations for the discrepancy. See id. at 974 . In the absence of credible testimony, Cerna-Her-nandez’s…