Gurpreet Singh v. Eric Holder, Jr.

MEMORANDUM

In these consolidated cases, Gurpreet Singh and Ravinderjit Kaur Gothra, natives and citizens of India, petition for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) order dismissing their appeal from an immigration judge’s (“U”) decision denying their application for asylum and withholding of removal (No. 09-73562) and the BIA’s denial of their motion to reopen (No. 10-72225). Our jurisdiction is governed by 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . We review for substantial evidence factual findings, Zehatye v. Gonzales, 453 F.3d 1182, 1184-85 (9th Cir.2006), and we review for abuse of discretion the BIA’s denial of a motion to reopen, Najmabadi v. Holder, 597 F.3d 983, 986 (9th Cir.2010). In No. 09-73562, we deny in part and grant in part the petition for review, and we remand. In No. 10-72225, we dismiss the petition for review as moot.

With regard to petitioners’ direct appeal, the IJ found Singh credible, and the BIA assumed Singh established past persecution because he was perceived as a Sikh militant. Substantial evidence supports the BIA’s determination that the harm Singh suffered was not so severe that it warrants a humanitarian grant of asylum. See Kumar v. INS, 204 F.3d 931,…