Stef

MEMORANDUM ****

Andreea Iona Stef, a native and. citizen of Romania, petitions for review of a decision by the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) affirming an Immigration Judge’s (“IJ”) denial of her application for asylum and withholding of deportation. She also petitions for review of the BIA’s denial of her motion to reopen. We have jurisdiction under the transitional rules of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (“IIRI-RA”), 8 U.S.C. § 1105a (1996), as amended by IIRIRA § 309(c)(4), and we deny the petition.

We must uphold the BIA’s decision as to eligibility for asylum if it is supported by substantial evidence, and may reverse only if a reasonable factfinder would be compelled to conclude that the requisite fear of persecution existed. INS v. Elias-Zacarias, 502 U.S. 478, 481 , 112 S.Ct. 812 , 117 L-Ed.2d 38 (1992). Here, there is substantial evidence to support the IJ’s decision that Stef failed to show that she had been persecuted on the basis of her religion or political opinion or that she had a well-founded fear of future persecution based upon a protected ground. 8 U.S.C. § 1101 (a)(42)(A); see Ghaly v. INS, 58 F.3d 1425 (9th…