212(c) Waiver
DESCRIPTION
The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA) and the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA) eliminated 212(c) Waiver relief and replaced it with cancellation of removal for lawful permanent residents (LPRs).Relief under former 212(c) Waiver remains available to LPRs placed in removal proceedings because of criminal convictions that were obtained through guilty plea agreements made prior to April 1, 1997. However, different versions of 212(c) Waiver apply, depending on the date the applicant pled guilty.
Relief under former 212(c) Waiver applies only to charges of deportability or removability for which there are “comparable grounds” of exclusion or inadmissibility for the specific category of aggravated felony charged. The ground of exclusion or inadmissibility need not be a perfect match, but it must address essentially the same category of offenses as the removal or deportation ground.
BASIC REQUIREMENTS
To qualify for this type of relief, an applicant must meet the following requirements:(1) The applicant was lawfully admitted for permanent residence;
(2) The applicant must have 7 continuous years of lawful domicile in the U.S., as either a lawful permanent resident or a lawful temporary resident prior to the date of the final administrative order of deportation or removal or, if the person does not have a final order, by the time that he or she applies for 212(c) Waiver relief;
(3) The applicant was eligible to apply for 212(c) Waiver relief at the time the guilty plea was made;
(4)The applicant is removable or deportable on a ground that has a corresponding counterpart in INA §212(a), and that ground must not be under any of the security or foreign policy grounds of inadmissibility; and
In addition to meeting the requirements set forth above, the applicant must demonstrate that he or she merits a favorable exercise of discretion, and may do so by showing that the hardships of removal and fairness of granting the waiver outweigh the negative factors.