Case Name: Sukhvir Singh PANNU, Petitioner, v. Eric H. HOLDER, Jr., Attorney General, Respondent; Sukhvir Singh Pannu, Petitioner, v. Eric H. Holder, Jr., Attorney General, Respondent
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 2009-11-12
Citations: 356 F. App'x 13
Docket Number: Nos. 05-72728, 05-76920
Parties: Sukhvir Singh PANNU, Petitioner, v. Eric H. HOLDER, Jr., Attorney General, Respondent. Sukhvir Singh Pannu, Petitioner, v. Eric H. Holder, Jr., Attorney General, Respondent.
Judges: Before: RYMER, McKEOWN and N.R. SMITH, Circuit Judges.
Reporter: West's Federal Appendix
Volume: 356
Pages: 13–15

Head Matter:
Sukhvir Singh PANNU, Petitioner, v. Eric H. HOLDER, Jr., Attorney General, Respondent. Sukhvir Singh Pannu, Petitioner, v. Eric H. Holder, Jr., Attorney General, Respondent.
Nos. 05-72728, 05-76920.
United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.
Argued and Submitted Nov. 2, 2009.
Filed Nov. 12, 2009.
Robert Bradford Jobe, Esquire, Arwen Ann Swink, Esquire, Law Offices of Robert B. Jobe, San Francisco, CA, for Petitioner.
Douglas E. Ginsburg, Senior Litigation, DOJ — U.S. Department of Justice, Derek C. Julius, Office of Immigration Litigation, Washington, DC, Ronald E. Lefevre, Office of the District Counsel, Department of Homeland Security, San Francisco, CA, for Respondent.
Before: RYMER, McKEOWN and N.R. SMITH, Circuit Judges.

Opinion:
MEMORANDUM
Sukhvir Singh Pannu, a native and citizen of India, petitions for review of the decision by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) summarily affirming an immigration judge's (IJ) denial of his application for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). Pannu also petitions for review of the BIA's denial of his motion to reopen seeking adjustment of status based upon an unadjudicated visa petition filed by his United States citizen wife. We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252. We deny the petition for review as to Pannu's asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under CAT claims. We grant the petition for review as to the motion to reopen.
Because the BIA affirmed the IJ's decision without opinion, we review the IJ's decision as the final decision of the agency. Khup v. Ashcroft, 376 F.3d 898, 902 (9th Cir.2004) (citation omitted). Credibility findings are reviewed under a substantial evidence standard and will be upheld unless the evidence compels a contrary result. See He v. Ashcroft, 328 F.3d 593, 595 (9th Cir.2003) (citation omitted). Substantial evidence supports the IJ's finding that Pannu was not credible because (1) of his demeanor, (2) his submission of fraudulent documents, and (3) his inconsistent statements. Most notably, the record supports the IJ's finding that: Pannu's testimony was not credible based upon his testimony regarding his medical treatment. Substantial evidence supports the IJ's finding that (1) Dr. Gupta was not employed at the Civil Hospital, where Pannu testified that he was treated; and (2) Dr. Gupta did not treat Pannu in 1988, even if Dr. Gupta was employed by the Civil Hospital. Accordingly, in the absence of credible testimony, Pannu's asylum and withholding of removal claims fail. See Farah v. Ashcroft, 348 F.3d 1153, 1156 (9th Cir.2003). Because Pannu's CAT claim is based on the same statements found to be not credible, substantial evidence supports the BIA's denial of relief under the CAT. See id. at 1156— 57.
We review the denial of a motion to reopen for abuse of discretion. Mohammed v. Gonzales, 400 F.3d 785, 791 (9th Cir.2005). When considering Pannu's motion to reopen, the BIA did not have the benefit of our decision in Ahmed v. Mukasey, 548 F.3d 768 (9th Cir.2008), which held that "when the [agency] opposes a motion to reopen for adjustment of status, the BIA may consider the objection, but may not deny the motion based solely on the fact of the [agency's] objection." Id. at 772. Because the BIA denied the motion solely on the government's objection, we grant the petition as to the motion to reopen. On remand, the BIA shall exercise its independent judgment and discretion in considering and determining this motion.
Each party shall bear its own costs for this petition for review.
PETITION FOR REVIEW DENIED in part and GRANTED in part; REMANDED.
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by 9lh Cir. R. 36-3.