Azatyan

MEMORANDUM **

Artur Azatyan, a native and citizen of Armenia, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) order dismissing his appeal from an immigration judge’s (“IJ”) decision denying his application for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . We review for substantial evidence an IJ’s credibility *628 determination and will uphold the agency’s decision unless the evidence compels a contrary conclusion. See Kaur v. Gonzales, 418 F.3d 1061, 1064 (9th Cir.2005). We deny the petition for review.

The record does not compel the conclusion that Azatyan’s asylum application was timely filed or that the untimely filing of the asylum application should be excused. See Ramadan v. Gonzales, 479 F.3d 646, 648, 656 (9th Cir.2007).

Substantial evidence supports the IJ’s credibility determination. Azatyan testified inconsistently regarding whether he fled Armenia because his life was in danger and he had suffered persecution, or instead whether he left Armenia to pursue his studies and only feared returning because he later learned that circumstances had changed. See Li v.…