I’ve already explained that the immigration court defense called “cancellation of removal” has five requirements:
- Ten years of presence in the United States;
- A wife, parent, or child that is a US citizen or legal permanent resident;
- The person must prove good moral character;
- That person may not have serious criminal offenses on his or her record (for example, drug crimes or crimes related to fraud or theft).
- The person must be able to prove that his wife, parent, or child would suffer “una dificultad extrema, excepcional, y unusual.”
I’ve also mentioned that the fifth requirement is the most difficult one to satisfy. Proving this fifth requirement requires MORE than proving that the wife, parent, or child would lose the applicant’s physical presence in their home or the applicant’s income to help pay the bills. An applicant has to prove that their case is DIFFERENT somehow; that the difficulties his or her family would face would be WORSE than those faced by normal families when someone is deported. Many cases where an applicant has a parent, spouse, or child that is very sick can win cancellation of removal cases. Or perhaps where the parent, spouse, or child does not speak the language of the country to which the applicant would be deported, this would be a good cancellation of removal case. There are many other possible examples of cases that could win.
However, there is a big difference between applying for cancellation of removal and WINNING a case for cancellation of removal. A person in immigration court may APPLY for cancellation of removal, but would then have a trial later where he or she would have to prove to an immigration judge that his or her parents, spouse, or child would suffer “una dificultad extrema, excepcional, y unusual.”
There is usually a very long time between the date when a person applies for cancellation of removal and the date that he or she has a trial, with an immigration judge. This wait can be many years. While an applicant is waiting for a trial, he or she qualifies for a work permit. This benefit means that even if a person does not win his or her case, he or she will be able to work legally with a social security card and a work permit while he or she is fighting her case.
However, I must repeat that cancellation of removal is only available if a person is already in immigration court. If someone reading this would qualify, but is NOT in immigration court proceedings, it would be a terrible idea to try to turn oneself into immigration so that he or she could apply for cancellation of removal. As I mentioned earlier, perhaps only one case out of every ten has a chance of winning. Thank you for reading.