What Is Cancellation of Removal and Who Qualifies?

Cancellation of removal is a form of relief available to certain immigrants who are in removal proceedings before the immigration court. If granted, it stops the deportation and, for non-permanent residents, results in the grant of a green card. It is one of the most powerful defenses in immigration law, and one of the most difficult to win.

There are two types of cancellation of removal: one for lawful permanent residents (green card holders) and one for non-permanent residents (undocumented immigrants and others without permanent status). The requirements are different for each.

For lawful permanent residents facing deportation, the requirements are: (1) you have been a permanent resident for at least five years, (2) you have lived continuously in the US for at least seven years after any lawful admission, and (3) you have not been convicted of an aggravated felony. If you meet these three requirements, the immigration judge may, but is not required to, grant cancellation as a matter of discretion.

For non-permanent residents, the requirements are much stricter: (1) you must have lived continuously in the US for at least ten years, (2) you must have had good moral character for those ten years, (3) you must not have been convicted of certain crimes, and (4) your deportation must cause exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to a qualifying US citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse, parent, or child. That last requirement is the hardest to meet.

The hardship standard for non-permanent residents is not simply that your family would suffer or miss you, it must be hardship that is substantially beyond what would ordinarily be expected. Courts look at factors like the age and health of the qualifying relative, their ties to the US, their ability to adapt to life in the immigrant's home country, language barriers, educational disruption for children, medical needs, and financial dependence.

One critical concept to understand is the stop-time rule. Your ten years of continuous physical presence is counted from when you entered the US until you are served with a Notice to Appear or commit a disqualifying crime. The Notice to Appear stops the clock. This means that if someone has lived in the US for fifteen years but was served a Notice to Appear after only eight years, they do not have ten years of continuous presence for purposes of cancellation.

There is also an annual cap of 4,000 grants of cancellation per year for non-permanent residents. When the cap is reached, the immigration court suspends decisions on pending cases. This has created massive backlogs that stretch years into the future.

Cancellation of removal requires strong evidence and a compelling presentation. At Gracie Johnson Law in Compton, we have helped South LA families build the hardship case, gather declarations and documentation, and present the strongest possible argument to the immigration judge. If you are in removal proceedings and have been in the US for a long time, contact us at (310) 554-4630 to find out whether cancellation might be available in your case.