Cancellation of Removal
Green Cards

Cancellation of Removal is a form of relief from removal for Legal Permanent Residents (LPR), Non Legal Permanent Residents (non-LPR) and Battered Spouses who are in removal or deportation proceedings before the Immigration Judge.  It allows the LPR to keep his or her green card and the Non-LPR and Battered Spouse to obtain a green card.

For LPR’s the immigrant must have been a lawful resident for five years, must have resided continuously in the United States for seven years after a lawful admission into the country under any status, and must  not have any conviction for an aggravated felony.  LPR’s may find themselves in removal proceedings because of certain criminal convictions or because they tried to smuggle someone into the country.

For non-LPR’s, the immigrant must have been present in the United States for ten years, must be of good moral character, must not have been convicted of certain crimes, and must establish that removal would cause exceptional and extreme hardship of that immigrant’s spouse, parent or child who is an LPR or a United States citizen.  The ten years of presence clock stops when the immigrant is served with a Notice to Appear in Immigration Court.  Additionally, trips outside the United States for more than ninety days in one departure or for a total of one hundred and eighty days during that ten year period will break the continuous presence clock and Cancellation of Removal will not be available.

For Battered Spouses the immigrant who is married to an LPR or United States citizen or intended marriage but could not due to the fiancé’s bigamy, must show he or she has been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty, must have presence in the United States for three years continuously, must be of good moral character, must show that he or she or a parent or child would suffer extreme hardship if removed, and must establish that he or she is not otherwise inadmissible.  The ninety and one hundred and eighty day absence rules will apply here but the issuance of the Notice to Appear does not affect the presence clock.