Lazarov

MEMORANDUM *

Dontcho Stoyanov Lazarov, a native and citizen of Bulgaria, seeks review of a final order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“Board” or “BIA”) summarily affirming an Immigration Judge’s (“IJ’s”) denial of Lazarov’s application for asylum. 1 The BIA properly denied Lazarov’s request for asylum. Substantial evidence supports a finding that changed country conditions rebutted the presumption of a well founded fear of future persecution. See 8 C.F.R. § 208.13 (b)(l)(i)(A). We deny the petition for review.

The IJ relied on Lazarov’s testimony that petitioner made three return trips to Bulgaria to visit his family for substantial periods of time without encountering significant problems. In addition, the IJ relied on the State Department’s Profile of Asylum Claims and Country Conditions for 1997 (“State Department Profile”). See Kumar v. INS, 204 F.3d 931, 934 (9th Cir.2000) (State Department country conditions report, while not determinative, is relevant and appropriate evidence to consider in assessing an applicant’s fear of persecution). The State Department Profile says that political conditions in Bulgaria have improved substantially from those existing when…