Rodriguez-Torres

MEMORANDUM **

Otilia Rodriguez-Torres, a native and citizen of Mexico, petitions for review of a final order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) affirming the Immigration Judge’s (IJ) denial of Rodriguez-Torres’s request for cancellation of removal. Reviewing for substantial evidence, we deny the petition for review. See Lopez-Alvarado v. Ashcroft, 381 F.3d 847, 850-51 (9th Cir.2004).

“To qualify for the discretionary relief of cancellation of removal, an alien must, as a threshold matter, have been physically present in the United States for a continuous period of no less than ten years immediately preceding the date of the application.” Id. at 850 . The time element of an alien’s residency may be shown by credible direct testimony or written declarations. Vera-Villegas v. INS, 330 F.3d 1222, 1225 (9th Cir.2003). As long as one of the grounds underlying a negative credibility finding is supported by substantial evidence and goes to the heart of the claims, we are bound to accept the IJ’s findings. See, e.g., Li v. Ashcroft, 378 F.3d 959, 964 (9th Cir.2004).

*408 The IJ found that Rodriguez-Torres’s testimony was not credible. See de Leon-Barrios v. INS, 116 F.3d 391 ,…