Khachikyan

MEMORANDUM **

Mr. Gevorg Khachikyan (Khachikyan) is seeking asylum and withholding of removal from Armenia and Iran. Khachikyan also seeks withholding of removal from Armenia under the Convention Against Torture. Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Dec. 10, 1984, S. Treaty Doc. No. 100-20 (1988), 1465 U.N.T.S. 113. The Immigration Judge (IJ) denied Khachikyan’s claims because he was not persecuted on account of a protected ground and did not satisfy the burden of proof for withholding under the Convention Against Torture. The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) affirmed without opinion.

Khachikyan argues that his persecution in Armenia was on account of his nationality and political opinion. The record supports the IJ’s determination that Khachikyan was harassed and attacked because he resisted criminal extortion, not because of his political opinions or nationality. Criminal extortion does not make Khachikyan eligible for asylum. See 8 U.S.C. § 1101 (a)(42)(A) (2006).

Khachikyan’s failure to meet the more lenient requirements for asylum forecloses withholding of removal from Armenia. See Farah v. Ashcroft, 348 F.3d 1153,…