Case: 18-11910 Date Filed: 01/31/2019 Page: 1 of 20 [DO NOT PUBLISH] IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT ________________________ No. 18-11910 Non-Argument Calendar ________________________ Agency No. A209-908-615 WASIQ ULLAH, Petitioner, versus U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL, Respondent. ________________________ Petition for Review of a Decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals ________________________ (January 31, 2019) Before BRANCH, HULL and JULIE CARNES, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: Case: 18-11910 Date Filed: 01/31/2019 Page: 2 of 20 Wasiq Ullah, a native and citizen of Afghanistan, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’s (“BIA”) final order affirming the Immigration Judge’s (“IJ”) denial of his claims for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the United Nations Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). After review, we deny the petition for review. I. BACKGROUND FACTS A. Interpreter Work with U.S. Forces in Afghanistan Between 2008 and 2011, Ullah’s brother Amdadullah worked as a linguist at the U.S. Army Base Fenty in Afghanistan. As a result of his brother’s employment, Ullah’s family received warnings announced over a loudspeaker at their hometown mosque that they were in danger from the Taliban. In 2010, Ullah’s family relocated to Jalalabad. Between January 2011 and January 2014, Ullah worked as a linguist for the U.S. Army at Camp Leatherneck in Afghanistan. Camp Leatherneck was a trucking terminal that received and distributed supplies to security forces and Afghan citizens. Ullah worked as an interpreter for the camp’s logistical units, speaking with local truck drivers and other Afghans. In August 2011, after a security screening, Ullah’s brother Amdadullah was terminated from his linguist position because of his involvement with Taliban sympathizers and his enabling of racism among the linguists on the base. As a 2 Case: 18-11910 Date Filed: 01/31/2019 Page: 3 of 20 result, Ullah was designated a “tier 6” risk, which did not preclude his employment at Camp Leatherneck, but meant that Ullah was watched more closely. After his termination, Ullah’s brother Amdadullah worked as a consultant for the Nangarhar Provincial Council. Ullah has two other brothers who are Afghan police officers. None of Ullah’s brothers have ever been harmed in Afghanistan. While working at Camp Leatherneck, Ullah received four certificates of appreciation. In 2012, Ullah began the process of applying for a special immigrant visa under § 602(b) of the Afghan Allies Protection Act of 2009, Pub. L. No. 111-8 (March 11, 2009), based on his service as an interpreter at Camp Leatherneck.1 In August 2013, Ullah received a Chief of Mission letter that confirmed his eligibility to apply for a special immigrant visa, one of the required steps in the process. B. Termination and Tier Four Security Risk Designation On January 22, 2014, Ullah was terminated from his job at Camp Leatherneck because he failed a routine screening conducted by a counterintelligence officer. As part of the screening, Ullah underwent a polygraph test and received a negative result for his answers to two questions—whether he was a member of an anti-coalition group and whether he had ever ...
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