Hello Immigration Experts, I have a quick question for you.
1) I have been living in the U.S. for 16 years. I went out of country in 2009 for 1.5 months and 2006 for 2 months and other times I was always present in United States.
2) I have 10 year and 5 year old US citizen daughters who are dependent on me since I am earning source in the family.
3) I never had any legal issue, unethical or felonies.
4) Never violated any laws or committed any crime. In fact, paid all my taxes and bills on time with 780+ FICO.
5) My EB3 based green card was rejected in 2011 on the basis of willful misrepresentation and finally the appeal was denied. Therefore I am technically out of status since 2011.
My question is whether I can apply for green card through cancellation of removal. I would like to go with the attorney who have handled such cases and very thorough with the cancellation of removal process. Fyi, when I call immigration courts to check the status on my A#, it says the file has not submitted to immigration courts.
Carl Michael ShustermanImmigration AttorneyLos Angeles, CA ·
If you have been placed in removal proceedings and you have resided in the United States for a long period of time, you can apply for Cancellation of Removal for non-LPRs before an Immigration Judge if you satisfy each of the following conditions.
You have been physically present in the U.S. for a continuous period of ten years prior to the institution of removal proceedings. (This requirement is not applicable if you have served a minimum of 24 months in the U.S. Armed Forces, were present in the U.S. during your enlistment or induction, and are either serving honorably or have received an honorable discharge.) “Continuous” means that you can not be out of the U.S. for more than 90 days at a time, or 180 days in the aggregate, during the ten-year period.
You have been a person of good moral character for ten years;
You are not inadmissible under §212(a)(2) or (3) (criminal and security grounds) or deportable under §237(a)(1)(G) (marriage fraud), (2) (criminal grounds), (3) (failure to register and falsification of documents) or (4) (security and related grounds).
Your removal would result in exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to your spouse, parent, or child, who is a citizen of the United States or a lawful permanent resident.
Please see http://www.attorneyqna.com/legal-guides/ugc/cancellation-of-removal-for-non-permanent-residents
Cancellation of Removal is a form of relief for those that are already in deportation proceedings in immigration courts. You cannot simply apply for it. You should most certainly speak with an immigration attorney to go over your options. Too many individuals file the wrong documents on their own and wind up being referred over to court for removal.
You would need to be in removal proceedings (a notice to appear filed with the immigration court by ICE) in order to apply for cancellation of removal.
I concur with the recommendations of my distinguished colleagues. Cancellation of removal does not give you a green card. Immigration is a very complex area of law. It is a lot more than merely filling out forms. You need to retain an immigration attorney to handle all immigration proceedings. This prevents errors that can sometimes prove costly and may even be irreversible. Good luck.
