Petre Kratchmarov v. INS

BEAM, Circuit Judge.

Petre I. Kratchmarov, a citizen of Bulgaria, petitions for review of a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) denying his application for asylum under 8 U.S.C. § 1158(a) and refusing to withhold deportation under 8 U.S.C. § 1253(h). For the reasons discussed below, we affirm the decision of the BIA. 2

I. BACKGROUND

Kratchmarov entered the United States on June 20, 1991, on a non-immigrant visa. On July 8, 1994, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) ordered Kratch-marov to show cause why he should not be deported due to his failure to leave the United…