Mezlumyan
Mezlumyan v. Holder
Opinion
Lead Opinion
MEMORANDUM *
Petitioner Gayane Mezlumyan petitions this court for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) affirmance of the Immigration Judge’s (“IJ”) denial of her application for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). The IJ determined that Petitioner’s application was based entirely upon the persecution of her husband, Karen Mezlumyan, and concluded that her husband, who testified at Petitioner’s hearings, was not credible.
“We review the IJ and BIA’s adverse credibility finding for substantial evidence,” Soto-Olarte v. Holder, 555 F.3d 1089, 1091 (9th Cir.2009), although “the IJ must provide specific, cogent reasons for reaching an adverse credibility determination, and minor inconsistencies or factual omissions that do not go to the heart of the asylum claim are insufficient to support it,” Singh v. Ashcroft, 367 F.3d 1139, 1143 (9th Cir.2004) (internal citation omitted).
Substantial evidence does not support the IJ’s determination that Petitioner’s husband was not credible. Because we “must decide whether to grant or deny the petition for review based on the ... [IJ and BIA’s] reasoning rather than our own…