01-1508 Toptchev v. INS

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“[T]he IJ concluded that even if the petitioners had successfully established some form of past persecution, they were unlikely to experience a recurrence of that persecution upon return to Bulgaria, given the passage of time since their departure coupled with the country’s progress toward democracy. The IJ’s conclusion was based in significant part on the State Department’s 1994 Profile of Asylum Claims and Country Conditions in Bulgaria, along with the petitioners’ failure to present any evidence rebutting the State Department’s assessment or otherwise suggesting that the “political landscape” in Bulgaria remained unchanged. As this court has noted repeatedly, the Board reasonably may rely upon the State Department’s assessment of current country conditions as they relate to the likelihood of future persecution.

“Additional record evidence, which has a more specific bearing on the likelihood that the Toptchevs will be persecuted, also supports the IJ’s assessment. First, as the IJ noted, Toptchev’s parents and his brother continued to live in Bulgaria-his parents were retired and lived on his father’s pension, and his brother was working as a researcher. A.R. 85-86, 87. So far as the record revealed, none of these family members had had a run-in with Bulgarian authorities since his departure from the country. Likewise, the IJ heard evidence that Toptcheva’s father continued to live in Bulgaria and collect a pension. The fact that the petitioners’ family members continue to live unmolested in their native country supports the conclusion that the petitioners lack a wellfounded fear of persecution.”

Affirmed.

On Petition for Review from the Board of Immigration Appeals, Rovner, J.