Cancellation of Removal of Permanent Residents

Deporation HearingPermanent Resident Aliens Eligible for Cancellation of Removal

You may be eligible to have your removal cancelled under section 240A(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). To qualify for this benefit, you must establish in a hearing before an Immigration Judge that:

  • You have been a permanent resident for at least five (5) years;
  • Prior to service of the Notice to Appear, or prior to committing a criminal or related offense referred to in sections 212(a)(2) and 237(a)(2) of the INA, or prior to committing a security or related offense referred to in section 237(a)(4) of the INA;
    • you have at least seven (7)years continuous residence in the United States after having been lawfully admitted in any status; and
  • You have not been convicted of an aggravated felony.

NOTE: If you have served on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States for at least 24 months, you do not have to meet the requirements of continuous residence in the United States. You must, however, have been in the United States when you entered the Armed Forces. If you are no longer in the Armed Forces,
you must have been separated under honorable conditions.

Permanent Resident Aliens NOT Eligible for Cancellation of Removal

You are not eligible to have your removal cancelled under section 240A(a) of the INA if you:

  • Entered the United States as a crewman after June 30, 1964;
  • Were admitted to the United States as, or later became, a nonimmigrant exchange alien as defined in section 101(a)(15)(J) of the INA in order to receive a graduate medical education or training, regardless of whether you are subject to or have fulfilled the 2-year foreign residence requirement of section 212(e) of the INA;
  • Were admitted to the United States as, or later became, a nonimmigrant exchange alien as defined in section 101(a)(15)(J) of the INA, other than to receive graduate medical education or training, and are subject to the 2-year foreign residence requirement of section 212(e) of the INA but have neither fulfilled nor obtained a waiver of that requirement;
  • Are an alien who is either inadmissible under section 212(a)(3) of the INA or deportable under section 237(a)(4) of the INA;
  • Are an alien who ordered, incited, assisted, or otherwise participated in the persecution of an individual because of the individual’s race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion; or
  • Are an alien who was previously granted relief under section 212(c) of the INA, or section 244(a) of the INA as such sections were in effect prior to the enactment of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, or whose removal has previously been cancelled under section 240A of the INA.

For more information regarding applying for Cancellation of Removal, please contact an attorney at our office.