Yousaf v. Gonzales , 208 F. App'x 275 ( 2006 )


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  •                             UNPUBLISHED
    UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
    FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
    No. 06-1269
    RANA QAZAFI YOUSAF; ABASON QAZAFI RANA,
    Petitioners,
    versus
    ALBERTO R. GONZALES, Attorney General; CALVIN
    MCCORMICK, Director, Immigration and Customs
    Enforcement,
    Respondents.
    On Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration
    Appeals. (A96-289-953; A96-289-954)
    Submitted:   October 23, 2006             Decided:   December 4, 2006
    Before WILLIAMS, GREGORY, and SHEDD, Circuit Judges.
    Petition denied by unpublished per curiam opinion.
    John E. Gallagher, GALLAGHER & HANSEN, L.L.P., Catonsville,
    Maryland, for Petitioners. Peter D. Keisler, Assistant Attorney
    General, James A. Hunolt, Senior Litigation Counsel, Office of
    Immigration Litigation, Civil Division, Bethany B. Hauser, Tax
    Division, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Washington, D.C.,
    for Respondents.
    Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
    PER CURIAM:
    Rana Qazafi Yousaf1 and Abason Qazafi Rana, natives and
    citizens of Pakistan, petition for review of an order of the Board
    of Immigration Appeals (Board) affirming the immigration judge’s
    denial of their applications for asylum, withholding of removal,
    and protection under the Convention Against Torture.2
    Yousaf challenges the Board’s finding that his testimony
    was not credible, and that he otherwise failed to meet his burden
    of proof to qualify for asylum.              We will reverse this decision only
    if the evidence “was so compelling that no reasonable fact finder
    could fail to find the requisite fear of persecution,” Rusu v. INS,
    
    296 F.3d 316
    , 325 n.14 (4th Cir. 2002) (internal quotation marks
    and citations omitted), and uphold credibility determinations if
    they       are   supported    by   substantial      evidence.    See    Tewabe      v.
    Gonzales, 
    446 F.3d 533
    , 538 (4th Cir. 2006).
    We   have   reviewed   the    administrative    record      and   the
    Board’s decision and find that substantial evidence supports the
    adverse credibility finding and the ruling that Yousaf failed to
    establish        past   persecution     or    a   well-founded   fear   of    future
    1
    Yousaf is the principal applicant for relief in this case.
    Rana, his wife, is a party to the petition for review but she
    raises no claims independent of Yousaf’s.
    2
    As Petitioners’ brief raised no claims concerning the denial
    of protection under the Convention Against Torture, any such claims
    are waived. Edwards v. City of Goldsboro, 
    178 F.3d 231
    , 241 n.6
    (4th Cir. 1999).
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    persecution as necessary to establish eligibility for asylum.             See
    
    8 C.F.R. § 1208.13
    (a) (2006) (stating that the burden of proof is
    on   the   alien   to   establish   eligibility    for   asylum);   INS    v.
    Elias-Zacarias, 
    502 U.S. 478
    , 483 (1992) (same).               Moreover, as
    Yousaf cannot sustain his burden on the asylum claim, he cannot
    establish his entitlement to withholding of removal. See Camara v.
    Ashcroft, 
    378 F.3d 361
    , 367 (4th Cir. 2004) (“Because the burden of
    proof for withholding of removal is higher than for asylum--even
    though the facts that must be proved are the same--an applicant who
    is ineligible for asylum is necessarily ineligible for withholding
    of removal under [8 U.S.C.] § 1231(b)(3).”).
    Accordingly,    we   deny   the   petition   for   review.    We
    dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions
    are adequately presented in the materials before the court and
    argument would not aid the decisional process.
    PETITION DENIED
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