Sargsyan

MEMORANDUM **

*990 Petitioner Seda Sargsyan appeals the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) and the Immigration Judge (IJ) denying her applications for asylum, withholding, and protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT).

The IJ’s adverse credibility determination is supported by substantial evidence in the record. The IJ relied upon inconsistencies in Sargsyan’s testimony and application regarding her husband’s adherence to the Jehovah’s Witness faith, and the length of Sargsyan’s membership in that denomination. On this record, we cannot say that a reasonable factfinder would be compelled to credit Sargsyan’s testimony. See INS v. Elias-Zacarias, 502 U.S. 478, 481 , 112 S.Ct. 812 , 117 L.Ed.2d 38 (1992) (articulating deferential standard of review). The IJ had no obligation to independently develop the record to clarify the authenticity of documents proffered by Sargsyan. See Chebchoub v. INS, 257 F.3d 1038, 1042 (9th Cir.2001) (noting that it is petitioner’s burden to establish his “eligibility for asylum and withholding of deportation.”) (citation omitted).

Petitioner’s failure to satisfy the standards for obtaining asylum necessarily forecloses…

dissenting.

I respectfully dissent from the denial of asylum, because the adverse credibility determination is not supported by substantial evidence. The apparent inconsistencies in Sargsyan’s application and testimony are either adequately explained in her testimony or do not go to the heart of Sargsyan’s application.

There is no reason to find not credible Sargsyan’s testimony that she is and was a faithful Jehovah’s witness. Though Sargsyan’s application stated that she became a “member” of the Jehovah’s Witness faith in 1992, and her hearing testimony stated that she became a “member” and an unbaptized preacher in 1996, Sargsyan’s testimony offers a logical explanation for the discrepancy. On direct examination, Sargsyan explained that she “started studying the Bible with the Jehovah’s Witnesses” in 1992, and she “became ... a non-baptized member” in 1996. When cross-examined by the INS attorney, Sargsyan reiterated that she “became a Jehovah’s Witness in 1996” after having “started studying the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses” in 1992. There is no reason given in the record to disbelieve Sargsyan’s distinction between studying and being a member, nor is it implausible to…