Amatuni
Amatuni v. Keisler
Opinion
Lead Opinion
MEMORANDUM ***
Armen Amatuni, a native and citizen of Armenia, petitions for review of the Board *565 of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) decision dismissing his appeal from an Immigration Judge’s (“IJ”) denial of his application for asylum and withholding of removal, and request for relief under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”).
We dismiss Amatuni’s claim that he is eligible for asylum on humanitarian grounds because he did not exhaust this claim before the BIA. See Barron v. Ashcroft, 358 F.3d 674, 678 (9th Cir.2004).
We have jurisdiction over Amatuni’s remaining claims under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . We review for substantial evidence an adverse credibility finding and will uphold the IJ’s and BIA’s decisions unless the evidence compels a contrary conclusion. Malhi v. INS, 336 F.3d 989, 992 (9th Cir. 2003). We deny the petition as to the remaining claims.
Substantial evidence supports the IJ’s and BIA’s denial of asylum based on an adverse credibility determination. The IJ specifically and cogently identified discrepancies in Amatuni’s testimony that went to the heart of his claim. See Li v. Ashcroft, 378 F.3d 959, 962 (9th Cir.2004) (“An adverse credibility ruling will be upheld…