NOT PRECEDENTIAL UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT ______________ No. 17-3649 ______________ VICTOR VIKTOROVICH SHNEGELBERGER, Petitioner v. ATTORNEY GENERAL UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Respondent ______________ On Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (Agency No. A087-297-628) Immigration Judge: Hon. Kuyomars Golparvar ______________ Submitted under Third Circuit L.A.R. 34.1(a) July 9, 2018 ______________ Before: SHWARTZ, NYGAARD, and RENDELL, Circuit Judges. (Opinion Filed: August 6, 2018) ______________ OPINION* ______________ SHWARTZ, Circuit Judge. Viktor Shnegelberger petitions for review of an order of the Board of Immigration * This disposition is not an opinion of the full Court and, pursuant to I.O.P. 5.7, does not constitute binding precedent. Appeals (“BIA”) denying his application for cancellation of removal, withholding of removal, asylum, and relief under the United Nations Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). Because Shnegelberger’s argument for cancellation of removal is foreclosed by precedent, and we lack jurisdiction over the BIA’s factfinding regarding the other forms of relief he seeks, we will deny the petition in part and dismiss it in part. I Shnegelberger is a citizen of Tajikistan. He entered the United States in December 2007 as a sixteen-year-old, on a visitor’s B-2 visa, and became a lawful permanent resident in June 2008 based on his mother’s marriage to a U.S. citizen. He last visited Tajikistan in the summer of 2009 for a wedding. In January 2010, Shnegelberger was arrested for possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia and thereafter pleaded guilty to violating 35 Pa. Stat. §§ 780-113(a)(31) and (32). In April 2015, he committed additional drug-related offenses and subsequently pleaded guilty to violating 35 Pa. Stat. § 780-113(a)(16) and 75 Pa. Stat. § 3802(d)(3). As a result, the Department of Homeland Security initiated removal proceedings, and Shnegelberger sought cancellation of removal for lawful permanent residents, withholding of removal, and asylum, under 8 U.S.C. §§ 1229b(a), 1231(b)(3), and 1158(b), respectively, and CAT relief. In support of his requests for relief, Shnegelberger testified before the Immigration Judge (“IJ”) that when he was a child in Tajikistan, he was bullied because he is a light- skinned Christian of Russian and German ethnicity, whereas most of the population consisted of darker-skinned Muslims. In one incident, he was beaten by multiple children, which resulted in Shnegelberger breaking his hand and tooth. He was also 2 threatened and taunted for not being circumcised and ultimately proceeded with circumcision at the age of eleven. His mother also testified about his mistreatment, and his stepfather testified about Shnegelberger’s close relationship with his mother. In addition, an expert testified that Shnegelberger is part of the ethnic and religious minority in Tajikistan and that the country has serious problems with religious and ethnic discrimination. Shnegelberger asserts that he was persecuted on the basis of his ethnicity, religion, and membership in a particular social group of “light-haired, fair-skinned, blue/green-eyed Christians of German or Russian descent.” A.R. 778, 800. The IJ denied all of Shnegelberger’s requested relief. The IJ determined that Shnegelberger’s 2010 marijuana conviction occurred before he ...
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