Cancellation of removal is a provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

that allows some

aliens Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, intelligent extrate ...

who are in

removal proceedings Removal proceedings are administrative proceedings to determine an individual's removability under United States immigration law. Removal proceedings are typically conducted in Immigration Court (the Executive Office for Immigration Review) by an ...

, who have lived in the United States for a long period of time and meet certain other conditions, to apply to remain in the United States and have the removal proceedings terminated.INA § 240A(a), Cancellation of removal was crafted by the

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washin ...

to replace "suspension of deportation," a similar form of relief available prior to April 1, 1997.''Othi v. Holder''
734 F.3d 259
264-65 (

4th Cir. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (in case citations, 4th Cir.) is a federal court located in Richmond, Virginia, with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * District of Maryla ...

2013) ("In 1996, Congress 'made major changes to immigration law' via

IIRIRA The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA or IIRAIRA), Division C of , made major changes to the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). IIRIRA's changes became effective on April 1, 1997. Former United State ...

. . . . These IIRIRA changes became effective on April 1, 1997."). Cancellation of removal is potentially available to aliens. A non-Lawful permanent resident (LPR) who is granted cancellation of removal becomes an LPR.INA § 240A(b), ("Cancellation of removal and adjustment of status for certain nonpermanent residents").

Background

Prior to April 1, 1997, the effective date of

, a legal remedy known as "suspension of deportation" was available to aliens in deportation proceedings. Although functionally similar to cancellation of removal, suspension of deportation did not distinguish between "permanent residents" of the United States and "nonpermanent residents." To obtain suspension of deportation, an applicant under the pre-IIRIRA standard was required to fulfill the following: (1) continuous physical presence in the United States for a period of at least seven years; (2) "

good moral character Good moral character is an ideal state of a person's beliefs and values that is considered most beneficial to society. In United States law, good moral character can be assessed through the requirement of virtuous acts or by principally evaluatin ...

" during that entire period; and (3) that the applicant's deportation from the United States would result in "

extreme hardship Extreme Hardship is a legal term in the United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of ...

" to the applicant or any qualifying relative, which was mainly the applicant's spouse,

parent A parent is a caregiver of the offspring in their own species. In humans, a parent is the caretaker of a child (where "child" refers to offspring, not necessarily age). A ''biological parent'' is a person whose gamete resulted in a child, a male t ...

s, or

child A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger ...

ren, who were either

citizens Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...

or LPRs of the United States. After these three requirements were met, the LPR was granted relief irrespective of his or her

age Age or AGE may refer to: Time and its effects * Age, the amount of time someone or something has been alive or has existed ** East Asian age reckoning, an Asian system of marking age starting at 1 * Ageing or aging, the process of becoming older ...

health Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...

race Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to: * Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species * Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...

color Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associ ...

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...

nationality Nationality is a legal identification of a person in international law, establishing the person as a subject, a ''national'', of a sovereign state. It affords the state jurisdiction over the person and affords the person the protection of the ...

, political affiliation, political opinion, etc.

Legal standard

Lawful permanent residents of the United States

The INA states the following: According to the BIA, "cancellation of removal is both discretionary and prospective in nature."''Matter of Perez''
22 I&N Dec. 689
691 (BIA 1999) (en banc) (reversed on other grounds).

Nonpermanent residents

Regarding a nonpermanent resident, the Attorney General is expected to cancel the removal proceedings (and adjust the status of such alien to that of an LPR) if the alien:

References

''This article in most part is based on

law of the United States The law of the United States comprises many levels of Codification (law), codified and uncodified forms of law, of which the most important is the nation's Constitution of the United States, Constitution, which prescribes the foundation of the ...

, including

statutory A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs the legal entities of a city, state, or country by way of consent. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. Statutes are rules made by le ...

and latest

published Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

case law Case law, also used interchangeably with common law, is law that is based on precedents, that is the judicial decisions from previous cases, rather than law based on constitutions, statutes, or regulations. Case law uses the detailed facts of a l ...

.'' {{Reflist

External links

Application for Cancellation of Removal and Adjustment of Status for Certain Nonpermanent Residents
(Form EOIR-42B, July 2015)
Application for Cancellation of Removal for Certain Permanent Residents
(Form EOIR-42A, July 2016) Immigration to the United States United States immigration law