Melkumyan

Melkumyan v. Gonzales

Good Law
210 F. App'x 736
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth CircuitDecember 12, 2006No. 05-74407California278 words

Opinion

Lead Opinion

MEMORANDUM **

Asya Melkumyan, a native and citizen of Armenia, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ order dismissing her appeal from an immigration judge’s decision denying her applications for asylum, withholding of removal and protection under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . Reviewing for substantial evidence, see Li v. Ashcroft, 378 F.3d 959, 962 (9th Cir.2004), we deny the petition for review.

Substantial evidence supports the agency’s adverse credibility determination. Melkumyan based her asylum claim, in substantial part, on alleged governmental mistreatment she suffered after agreeing to help a woman investigate the death of the woman’s son, who had been serving in the military. Given Melkumyan’s inability to name either the woman with whom she made the agreement, or the woman’s son, whose death was the basis of the investigation that led to Melkumyan’s flight from *737 Armenia, the agency properly required Melkumyan to provide corroborating evidence. See Sidhu v. INS, 220 F.3d 1085, 1092 (9th Cir.2000) (holding that where IJ has reason to question alien’s credibility, alien must provide…

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