Toloi

MEMORANDUM **

The Immigration Judge’s determination that Toloi had firmly resettled in South Africa is supported by substantial evidence. By virtue of his marriage to a South African woman, Toloi was offered permanent residence status. The IJ determined that Toloi did not establish that he remained in South Africa only as long as was necessary to arrange onward travel, or that South Africa “substantially and consciously restricted” the conditions of his residence, and this determination is supported by substantial evidence. See Cheo v. INS, 162 F.3d 1227, 1229 (9th Cir.1998); 8 C.F.R. § 208.15 (a).

For purposes of Toloi’s application for withholding of removal, substantial evidence also supports the IJ’s rejection of Toloi’s claim that it is “more likely than not” that Toloi will be persecuted on account of a protected ground upon his return to Fiji. INS v. Stevic, 467 U.S. 407, 429-30 , 104 S.Ct. 2489 , 81 L.Ed.2d 321 (1984). Toloi’s superiors accepted Ms departure from the military and Toloi received payment in lieu of his pension; this discharge supports the IJ’s determination that Toloi failed to establish that the military would still have an interest in Toloi if he…