Joha

MEMORANDUM **

RaMbul Joha (“Joha”) appeals the denial of his petition for the removal of the conditional basis on his residency based on the finding that his marriage to a United States citizen was not bona fide. He also appeals the determination that he was not eligible for a hardship waiver on the basis of extreme cruelty or extreme hardship and the denial of his request for voluntary departure.

I

We review the Immigration Judge’s determination that the marriage was not bona fide under “the highly deferential substantial evidence standard. Under this standard [this court] must affirm unless the evidence is so compelling that no reasonable fact-finder could fail to find the facts were as [Joha] alleged.” Smolniakova v. Gonzales, 422 F.3d 1037, 1044 (9th Cir.2005) (internal punctuation and citation omitted). Because Joha challenged the denial of his petition at his removal hearing, the burden of proof was on the INS to establish by a preponderance of the evidence that the marriage was a sham. See 8 U.S.C. § 1186a(c)(3)(D). We are required to determine whether substantial evidence supports a finding by a preponderance of the evidence that Joha’s marriage was not entered into in…