NOT PRECEDENTIAL UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT ___________ No. 18-1126 ___________ GUIPING ZHENG, Petitioner v. ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Respondent _______________________ On Petition for Review of a Decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals BIA No. A089-150-297 (U.S. Immigration Judge: Honorable Walter A. Durling) ______________ Submitted Pursuant to Third Circuit L.A.R. 34.1(a) October 4, 2018 Before: SHWARTZ, SCIRICA, and ROTH Circuit Judges. (Filed: January 7, 2019) ________________ OPINION * ________________ * This disposition is not an opinion of the full Court and pursuant to I.O.P. 5.7 does not constitute binding precedent. SCIRICA, Circuit Judge Guipeng Zheng faces immigration removal proceedings on the basis of a felony child abuse conviction. The Immigration Judge (IJ) granted Zheng a waiver of inadmissibility and an adjustment of his status to lawful permanent resident. On administrative appeal, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) reversed the IJ’s decision and denied Zheng’s applications for relief. Zheng now files a petition for review, contending that the BIA incorrectly engaged in de novo review of the IJ’s factual findings, and that its decision was not supported with sufficient explanatory reasoning to satisfy Zheng’s due process rights. We will deny the petition. I. Zheng, a native and citizen of China, entered the United States as a nonimmigrant student in 2000 and adjusted his status to lawful permanent resident in 2009. Zheng’s wife and his two children are U.S. citizens. On July 26, 2014 after a jury trial, Zheng was convicted of indecent assault against a minor less than thirteen years old in violation of 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 3126(a)(7), a third degree felony; unlawful contact with a minor for the purpose of engaging in unlawful sexual activity in violation of 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 6318(a)(4); endangering the welfare of a child while acting as a supervisory adult or guardian in violation of 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 4304(a)(1); and corruption of a minor by a person at least eighteen years old in violation of 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 6301(a)(1)(ii). Commonwealth v. Guiping Zheng, No. 533 WDA 2015, 2016 WL 4954188, at *1 n.1 (Pa. Super. Ct. July 11, 2016). Evidence at trial established Zheng had sexually abused a ten- year-old minor referred to as Jane Doe since Doe was six years old. Id. Zheng frequently 2 “lay on top of the victim … fondled her over her clothing, and attempted to kiss her.” Id. at *1. Zheng was sentenced to fifteen to thirty months of incarceration and three years of probation. Id. Because Zheng was convicted of a crime of child abuse and of an aggravated felony, he became removable under immigration law. See 8 U.S.C. §§ 1227(a)(2)(E)(i) & (A)(iii), 1101(a)(43)(A). To avoid removal, Zheng was required to seek adjustment of status to lawful permanent resident. Id. § 1255(a). But Zheng’s conviction belongs to a statutory category rendering Zheng inadmissible, a status creating a special barrier to lawful admission. Id. § 1182(a)(2). To be eligible for an adjustment of ...
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