NOT FOR PUBLICATION
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FILED
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT SEP 15 2010
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
KNARIK ARSHAKYAN, No. 07-71512
Petitioner, Agency No. A095-175-453
v.
MEMORANDUM*
ERIC H. HOLDER, Jr., Attorney General,
Respondent.
On Petition for Review of an Order of the
Board of Immigration Appeals
Submitted June 8, 2010**
San Francisco, California
Before: HUG, SKOPIL and BEEZER, Circuit Judges.
Knarik Arshakyan (“Arshakyan”), a native and citizen of Armenia, petitions
for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) dismissal of her appeal
of an Immigration Judge’s (“IJ”) decision ordering her removed from the United
States. The BIA affirmed the IJ’s decision that Arshakyan did not establish her
*
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
**
The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).
eligibility for asylum, withholding of removal, or relief under the Convention
Against Torture, concluding that Arshakyan was not credible, that she failed to
properly assert her ineffective assistance of counsel claim and that she had not
suffered any deprivation of due process.
We have jurisdiction over this matter pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1252(a)(1), and
we deny Arshakyan’s petition.
The facts of this case are known to the parties. We do not repeat them.
I
“When the BIA affirms and adopts an IJ’s decision, [we review] the decision
of the IJ.” Khan v. Holder, 584 F.3d 773, 776 (9th Cir. 2009).
We will uphold the BIA’s decision if it is “supported by reasonable,
substantial, and probative evidence on the record considered as a whole.” Abebe v.
Gonzales, 432 F.3d 1037, 1039–40 (9th Cir. 2005) (en banc) (internal quotation
marks omitted). Pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1252(b)(4)(B), substantial evidence exists
“unless any reasonable adjudicator would be compelled to conclude to the
contrary.”
II
Substantial evidence supports the adverse credibility finding.
2
First, some material elements of Arshakyan’s narrative, such as whether or
not she was deliberately hit by a vehicle and why she was forced to stop teaching,
are contradictory. These contradictions go to the heart of Arshakyan’s claim that
she faced political persecution in Armenia. See Kohli v. Gonzales, 473 F.3d 1061,
1071 (9th Cir. 2007).
Second, at least one important component of Arshakyan’s testimony—that
she never contacted the police after her police officer son disappeared—is
implausible. See Singh v. Gonzales, 439 F.3d 1100, 1110 (9th Cir. 2006) (noting
that implausibility may provide substantial evidence for an adverse credibility
finding).
Third, the record indicates that Arshakyan was evasive during cross-
examination, when she suddenly purported to have memory problems. She also
repeatedly changed her story during her testimony and responded with answers
unrelated to the questions. This evasive and unresponsive testimony supports the
adverse credibility finding. See Wang v. INS, 352 F.3d 1250, 1256–57 (9th Cir.
2003).
In the aggregate, these considerations provide substantial evidence for the
adverse credibility finding. Arshakyan has not presented sufficient evidence to
“compel[]” a finding contrary to that of the IJ. 8 U.S.C. § 1252(b)(4)(B).
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III
The BIA correctly concluded that Arshakyan failed to comply with the
proper procedure for an alien to assert an ineffective assistance of counsel claim.
See Lopez v. INS, 184 F.3d 1097, 1100 (9th Cir. 1999). Arshakyan has failed to
make any showing that she submitted an affidavit concerning the arrangement with
her counsel or that she informed her counsel of the allegations and allowed him to
respond. Even if she had properly complied with these requirements, Arshakyan’s
claim would still be without merit because the premise for the ineffective
assistance of counsel claim—that her lawyer did not complete direct examination
of her—is contrary to the facts of the case.
IV
The BIA correctly concluded that Arshakyan has failed to show that the
proceedings before the IJ were “so fundamentally unfair that [she] was prevented
from reasonably presenting [her] case.” Colmenar v. INS, 210 F.3d 967, 971 (9th
Cir. 2000) (internal quotations omitted). The record indicates that the IJ
generously accommodated Arshakyan throughout the proceedings by asking her
questions, allowing her counsel to resume direct examination and giving her an
entire year to gather more evidence in support of her assertions.
DENIED.
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