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Relief from Removal Attorneys in Palm Beach, Florida

In removal (deportation) proceedings, the non-citizen may be entitled to apply for relief from removal depending on the ground of removability. Applications for relief from removal are filed with the immigration court. This means only those who are in removal proceedings can apply for these reliefs in immigration court.

In order to be successful in an application for relief from removal, the non-citizen has to satisfy certain requirements and merit a favorable exercise of discretion by the immigration judge. The immigration judge will balance the positive and negative factors in the case. The non-citizen positive factors should outweigh or be greater than the non-citizen’s negative factors.

Applications for Particular Forms of Relief

Many forms of relief require that the non-citizen establish good moral character. In order to establish good moral character, the non-citizen must show that he is not barred from establishing good moral character under section 101(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) which prevents the non-citizen from establishing good moral character if he falls in any of the following classes:

  • A habitual drunkard;

  • Inadmissible for prostitution and commercialized vice, alien smuggling, practicing polygamy, crimes involving moral turpitude, multiple criminal convictions if the aggregate term of imprisonment is 5 years or longer, controlled substance traffickers and family members who benefited;

  • principal income is derived from gambling;

  • has given false testimony under the INA to obtain immigration benefits;

  • has been incarcerated as a result of a criminal conviction for an aggregate period of 180 days or more regardless of when the offense(s) were committed;

  • has been convicted of an aggravated felony;

  • has made a false claim of U. S. citizenship, registered to vote, or voted in any local, state, or federal election (there is an exception for those under the age of 16 and reasonably believed he was a U.S. citizen or did not have the capacity to understand the nature and consequences);

Even if the non-citizen does not fall within one of the above classes, the immigration judge can still find that the non-citizen lacks good moral character.

A. Cancellation of Removal.

  1. Cancellation of Removal for Lawful Permanent Residents.

Eligibility Requirements.

The lawful permanent resident must prove that:

  • Was lawfully admitted as a permanent resident for at least 5 years;

  • Resided in the US continuously for 7 seven years after admission in any status. Continuous residence can be cut off by conviction for certain offenses or by issuance of a notice to appear;

  • Has not been convicted of an aggravated felony;

  • The non-citizen merits a favorable exercise of discretion, and

  • Is a person of good moral character.

  1. Cancellation of Removal for Nonpermanent Residents.

Eligibility Requirements.

The non-citizen must prove that:

  • He has been physically present in the US for a continuous period of not less than 10 years immediately preceding the issuance of the notice to appear;

  • He was a person of good moral character immediately preceding the date of the application for relief;

  • He has not been convicted of certain criminal offenses;

  • Removal would result in exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to his US citizen or LPR spouse, parent, or children, and

  • He merits a favorable exercise of discretion.

  1. Cancellation of Removal for Battered Spouses and Children.

Eligibility Requirements.

The non-citizen must prove that:

  • Has been battered or subject to extreme cruelty by a US citizen or LPR spouse, or

  • Has been battered or subject to extreme cruelty by a US citizen or LPR parent, or

  • Has been battered or subject to extreme cruelty by a US citizen or LPR whom he intended to marry, but whose marriage is not legitimate because of the US citizen or LPR bigamy, or

  • Is the parent of a child of a US citizen or LPR and the child was battered or subject to extreme cruelty by the US citizen or LPR parent, and?

  • He has been physically present in the US for a continuous period of not less than 3 years before filing the application;

  • He was a person of good moral character during the 3 years period immediately preceding the application;

  • He is not inadmissible under certain criminal grounds, security grounds, or deportable for marriage fraud, security and related grounds, or false documents;

  • He has not been convicted of an aggravated felony;

  • Removal will result in extreme hardship to himself or his child(ren) or parent.

B. Other Forms of Relief

  1. Adjustment of Status.

A foreign national (FN) who is in a removal proceeding may apply for adjustment of status before the immigration judge. It requires an approved visa petition through a USC family member, employer, or diversity visa.

The FN may adjust under INA §245(a) or if eligible under 245(i). The adjustment of status application is filed with the immigration court but the filing fee is paid to USCIS.

There are several requirements to be satisfied.

  1. Voluntary Departure.

Voluntary departure can be sought at the beginning of the proceeding or at the conclusion of the proceeding.

Voluntary Departure at the Commencement of Proceeding

The following requirements must be satisfied:

  • FN not convicted of an aggravated felony;

  • Not deportable as a terrorist;

  • Must be able to pay own expenses to travel;

  • Admit removability;

  • Waives any and all appeals, and

  • Makes no additional request for other reliefs.

Voluntary Departure at the Conclusion of Proceeding

When other forms of relief are denied, voluntary departure is sought as an alternative form of relief. This form of relief is sought at the Master Calendar Hearing in addition to any other form of relief.

The following requirements must be satisfied:

  • FN was physically in the US for at least 1 year immediately before the NTA was served;

  • FN was a person of good moral character for at least five years immediately preceding his or her application for voluntary departure;

  • Not convicted for an aggravated felony or deportable for security-related grounds;

  • Has established by clear and convincing evidence that he/she has the financial means to depart the US;

  1. Waivers.

Waivers can be sought as a form of relief in immigration proceedings. These are basically pardons.

Waivers for Criminal Activity

INA § 212(h) provides for waivers of certain crimes or criminal grounds of inadmissibility including crimes involving moral turpitude, single-use of controlled substance violations-marijuana of fewer than 30 grams, prostitution, multiple criminal convictions where the aggregate sentences to confinement were 5 years or more but not including controlled substance violations.

This waiver is not available to individuals convicted of murder, torture or attempt to commit murder or torture.

LPRs must be lawfully residing in the US for a period of 7 years after any admission, not convicted of an aggravated felony, and did not obtain LPR status by consular processing.

Waiver for Fraud or Willful Misrepresentation of a Material Fact

This is a 212(i) waiver for being admissible for fraud or willful misrepresentation and is not available for false claims to US citizenship.

The requirements are:

  • FN must be the spouse, son, or daughter of a USC or LPR, and

  • Refusal of admission would result in extreme hardship to the USC or LPR spouse, son or daughter or

  • The FN is the spouse or child of USC or LPR and was the victim of domestic violence and refusal of admission would result in extreme hardship to him or her or to the USC or LPR spouse, son, or daughter.

Smuggling Waivers

INA §212(d)(11) provides for this waiver.

The requirements are:

  • The alien is an LPR;

  • He or she temporarily left the US voluntary;

  • The alien being smuggled is the spouse, parent, son, or daughter of the LPR smuggler;

  • The LPR alien smuggler admission would be to ensure family unity, for humanitarian purposes,s or for the public interest.

This waiver is also available to immediate relatives seeking admission or adjustment of status as immediate relatives if the person who was being smuggled was the spouse, parent, son, or daughter of the immediate relative.

Waiver for Inadmissibility at Time of Admission.

INA §237(a)(1)(H) provides a waiver of deportability for willful misrepresentation for being inadmissible at the time of admission for fraud or misrepresentation if the following requirements are satisfied:

  • The FN is the spouse, parent, son, or daughter of a USC or LPR;

  • The FN national was in possession of an immigrant visa or equivalent document, and

  • The FN is otherwise admissible at the time of admission except for lack of labor certification and lack of valid documentation that was the direct result of that fraud or misrepresentation.

This waiver is also available to spouses and children of USC or LPR who were subject to domestic violence. The waiver is not available to waive fraudulent claims to US citizenship at the time of admission.

This is a discretionary waiver.

Waiver of Unlawful Presence.

Unlawful presence means the FN national has overstayed his or her authorized time or was not inspected and admitted. There are certain periods of time when unlawful presence does not accrue.

The following requirements must be satisfied:

  • The FN is the spouse, son, or daughter of a USC or LPR (it does not include parents);

  • Refusal of admission would cause extreme hardship to the USC or LPR relative.

This is a discretionary waiver.

Other Waivers

The FN may qualify for other waivers also such as waiver for document fraud-INA §212(d)(12); Waiver of the two-year foreign residency requirement-INA §212(e); waiver for refugees-INA §209(c), and other waivers.

Call 561-847-4798 to set up a consultation for us to evaluate your immigration case. Our experienced immigration attorney will examine your situation, the applicable immigration laws, how he can help you, and the likelihood of success.

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We’d be happy to meet with you virtually via Zoom or phone. In some cases (usually Criminal Defense and DUI matters) you might not need to visit the office at all. Immigration and Expungement matters will likely require eventual visits to complete certain paperwork. If you choose a virtual consultation and decide to retain our firm, we can send your contract via email.

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