Process of Cancellation of Removal for Lawful Permanent Residents in DC

The first type of cancellation of removal, called 42A, is for people who have been living in the United States as lawful permanent residents or green card holders for at least five years at the time the Notice to Appear in immigration court was issued. You also must have a continuous physical presence and continuous residence in the United States for at least seven years after being admitted to the United States in any status.

If you think you may be eligible for a cancellation of removal, call and schedule a consultation with a DC cancellation of removal lawyer for lawful permanent residents today.

Eligibility Requirements

The eligibility requirements for cancellation for LPRs are that you must be a lawful permanent resident or green card holder, and you must have had that green card or that lawful permanent resident status for at least five years when your removal proceedings were initiated – the date on the Notice to Appear, or “NTA.” You also must prove continuous physical presence and continuous residence in the United States for seven years after you were admitted to the U.S. in any status, and you cannot have any aggravated felony convictions.

When the Clock Starts on Physical Presence and Residence

For LPR cancellation, you have to establish two time periods.

The first one is that you have been a legal permanent resident for five years and that’s simple to prove. Usually, you just need to look at the date that you were granted your legal permanent residence status for the start date, and the date the NTA was issued for the end date.

You also must have continuous residence in the United States for seven years after being admitted and you have to prove continuous residence by showing the date that you were actually physically present and had an active residence in the U.S. for this period of seven years.  This usually means that you haven’t departed the United States for longer than six months at a time and you’ve maintained other signifiers of residence – such as paid taxes, etc., – in the country for the seven years.

Sometimes, the start-dates and end-dates of these required time periods can be tricky to calculate. Basically, the time will stop accruing on dates that you are either issued a notice to appear or the date that you committed a crime that is going to disqualify you for cancellation of removal.

Generally, most controlled substance offenses and other crimes involving moral turpitude will stop the clock. So, even if you are put into removal proceedings after you have had eight years of continuous residence, but you committed a crime, let’s say five years ago, that will actually stop the clock earlier such that you will not have the requisite time periods to qualify.  Sometimes this is something that actually needs to be litigated in court – the definition of what type of crime you have committed and whether or not it actually stops the clock.

Difficulty of Cancellation of Removal for LPRs

It’s easier for lawful permanent residents than for people who are not in any immigration status. Number one, it’s much easier for lawful permanent residents because the time period that they have to be present in the United States is shorter. Number two, it’s because they do not have to establish the final prong that is required for non-lawful permanent residents, which is to say that they don’t have to establish that they have a qualifying family member that’s going to suffer extremely unusual hardship if they’re ordered deported. There’s a whole element that is required of non-LPRs that legal permanent residents don’t have to satisfy. The time period that LPRs have to be present in the United States is shorter and LPRs don’t have to prove exceptional or extremely unusual hardship to their qualifying family members.