Although legal permanent residents in the United States usually enjoy many rights that U.S. citizens have, unlike U.S. citizens, there are certain circumstances under which a legal permanent resident can be deported. For example, legal permanent residents can be deported for committing certain crimes. When a legal permanent resident receives notice that he or she is to be deported, he or she can apply for relief from deportation if he or she can show that he or she meets certain conditions.

Cancellation of Removal

When a legal permanent resident receives a Notice to Appear from the government, it usually means that removal or deportation proceedings against the person may be started. The notice usually has details about removal proceedings and the reason for the proceedings.  

Legal permanent residents who are facing deportation have a form of relief available to them known as the cancellation of removal. The legal permanent resident can apply for a cancellation of removal by showing that he meets three conditions.

The lawful permanent resident must show that he or she:

• Has been an immigrant lawfully admitted for permanent residence for not less than five years;
• Has resided in the United States continuously for seven years after having been admitted in any status; and,
• Has not been convicted of any aggravated felony.

Once these three conditions are met, the Attorney General can exercise his authority to cancel the deportation proceedings against a lawful permanent resident. However, even if the three conditions are met, the application may still be rejected.

Stop Time Rule

Under what is known as the stop time rule, the seven years of continuance residence required for a cancellation of removal stops running when the lawful permanent resident commits a crime that makes him eligible for deportation, or at the time he receives a Notice to Appear. If more than one Notice to Appear has been issued, then the stop time rule applies to the most recent notice. Therefore, if the lawful permanent resident began residing continuously in the U.S. in 2000, and received the Notice to Appear that leads to deportation in 2006, he would not have the seven years required to apply for a cancellation of removal.

Other Cancellation of Removal Cases

Other immigrants who do not have lawful permanent resident status can also apply for the cancellation of removal relief, but they must meet different conditions than lawful permanent residents. These conditions are often harder to meet. An applicant for cancellation of removal who is not a lawful permanent resident is required to show that removal will result in exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to the applicant’s spouse, parent, or child, who is either a U.S. citizen or a lawful permanent resident.

The residence requirement is shortened to three years for a person who is a victim of domestic abuse by a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. In addition, the victim of domestic abuse must show that he or she was of good moral character during the three years, and that removal will result in extreme hardship to his or her parent or child.

Contact Us for Legal Assistance

If you are a legal permanent resident and have received a notice informing you of deportation proceedings against you, you need to contact an experienced immigration attorney immediately. Deportation will mean a loss of important rights you hold as a permanent resident. Do not delay; contact our multi-lingual staff to speak to experienced immigration attorney Nathan Wei from Strassburg, Gilmore & Wei, LLP, in Pasadena, California.