Non-Permanent Residents Cancellation of Removal in Virginia
Non-legal permanent residents can be eligible for cancellation of removal if they meet a number of statutory requirements, but the requirements are more difficult than for lawful permanent residents. There are many reasons that an individual would be facing removal proceedings in Virginia, but no matter the cause, an experienced Virginia cancellation of removal attorney should be contacted to effectively represent you in court.
Facing Removal Proceedings
A non-legal permanent resident can face Virginia removal proceedings in a number of different ways. They can commit a criminal offense that lands them into removal proceedings, or they can simply just be picked at any time. If an individual is in the United States without proper documents, they can be placed into removal proceedings whenever they are picked up by Immigration and Customs. In reality, it is much more likely to be placed into removal proceedings only if an individual has committed a crime, but technically anyone can be placed into proceedings.
One other common way to face removal proceedings is if people apply for something that they are not eligible for with USCIS. At the time that the application was denied by USCIS, USCIS can syndicate to the immigration court. An issuance of the notice to appear will happen.
The judge in the immigration court will make the initial decision on whether to grant cancellation of removal. If the case is denied and an individual wants to appeal the case, the open decision can be made at a higher court, like the board of immigration appeals or an individual’s federal circuit court.
Eligibility Requirements
For non-legal permanent residents, the eligibility requirements are that they must have been living in the United States for at least 10 years, and they have been continuously and physically present in the country. This means that the individual has not left the United States for 10 years. However, in some cases, if an individual has left for a very brief period of time an attorney can make an argument that will be up to the judge’s discretion. A lawyer will be able to argue that the individual had not abandoned the continuous physical presence because of a short departure. This is something that an individual will need to speak to an attorney about.
Another requirement is that an individual’s removal from the United States would cause exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to the qualifying relatives that the individual is going to be using to present the cancellation case. The qualifying relative will need to be a United States citizen, or a legal permanent resident. Further, they will need to be a spouse, a child, or a parent. Those are the only people who can qualify.
Initially, it will be a question of whether or not a person has a qualifying relative, then the individual will have to determine what kind of hardship that person will suffer if the individual is deported. Finally, the individual will need to show that they are a person of good moral character, and that they have not been convicted of certain crimes.
Difficulty for Non-LPRs
It is much harder for non-lawful permanent residents to be granted cancellation of removal in Virginia because they need the qualifying relative who has legal status, who is either a U.S. citizen or LPR, and they will have to prove the hardship to that qualifying relative. Both are needed in order to get a grant of cancellation. Also, the time requirements for physical presence are longer if you are a non-LPR.
Time Constraints
The clock starts on an individual’s continuous physical presence clause when they enter the country legally or illegally. In summary, it is either the first time an individual entered the U.S., or the period since the last time an individual entered the U.S. Again, there are arguments that an individual can make about a brief departure that does not interrupt the continuous physical presence, but in general it is the date that the individual last entered the United States. As is the same with lawful permanent resident cancellation of removal case, the clock stops ticking on the date the notice to appear is issued.