Virdi

MEMORANDUM **

Ajit Singh Virdi, a native and citizen of India, petitions for review of the denial by the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) and Immigration Judge (“IJ”) of his claims for asylum and withholding of removal. We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . We review for substantial evidence, Lata v. INS, 204 F.3d 1241, 1245 (9th Cir.2000), and will uphold the decisions unless the evidence compels a contrary conclusion, INS v. Elias-Zacharias, 502 U.S. 478, 483-84 , 112 S.Ct. 812 , 117 L.Ed.2d 38 (1992). We deny the petition for review.

Taking Virdi’s testimony as credible, see Hartooni v. INS, 21 F.3d 336, 342-43 (9th Cir.1994), substantial evidence supports the IJ’s and BIA’s conclusion that conditions have changed in India such that Virdi does not have a well-founded fear of persecution. See Gonzalez-Hernandez v. Ashcroft, 336 F.3d 995, 1000 (9th Cir.2003) (upholding a denial of asylum based on changed country conditions where the agency rationally construed State Department report). Moreover, the State Department reports indicate that neither Virdi’s membership in the Shiromani Akli Dal, nor his brother’s membership in the All-India Sikh Student Federation alone…