Lazovic

MEMORANDUM ***

Radomir Lazovic, a native and citizen of the former Yugoslavia, petitions for review of a final order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”), which dismissed his claims for suspension of deportation, asylum, withholding of deportation and voluntary departure because of his 1996 felony conviction for annoying or molesting a child under 18, a violation of CaLPenal Code § 647.6. Lazovic argues both that his crime is not an aggravated felony, and that because his conviction was expunged under CaLPenal Code § 1203.4, it may not count as a conviction for purposes of immigration law. We have jurisdiction pursuant to former 8 U.S.C. § 1105a, and the transitional rules set forth in section 309(c) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (“IIRIRA”), Pub.L. No. 104-208, 110 Stat. 3009 (1996), as amended by the Act of October 11, 1996, Pub.L. No. 104-302, 110 Stat. 3656, and deny the petition.

Although we normally review the BIA’s legal interpretations de novo, see Garcia-Lopez v. Ashcroft, 334 F.3d 840, 843 (9th Cir.2003), when the statute in dispute “is silent or ambiguous with respect to the specific issue, the question for the court…