A green card, a work visa or a pending application can feel like a solid first step into receiving a great opportunity. However, the circumstances below can cause issues that you should be aware of.
Violations of lawful status
Every admission to the United States carries conditions, and breaking them creates a basis for removal without any criminal conduct. A visitor who takes a job or a student who drops below a full course load has violated status. The same is true for a worker who remains beyond the authorized period of stay.
Overstaying also carries consequences beyond removal proceedings because unlawful presence continues to accumulate each day. Accumulating more than 180 days but less than one year of unlawful presence can trigger a three-year bar to reentry if you depart before removal proceedings begin. Accumulating one year or more can result in a 10-year bar.
A denied application, a report from the federal student tracking database or an employer audit can place your file before federal officers. Once the notice reaches the court, your case proceeds through hearings before an immigration judge at the Honolulu Immigration Court.
Convictions with removal consequences
Not every criminal conviction leads to removal. Federal law reserves that outcome for certain categories of offenses:
- Aggravated felonies, a class reaching some theft and fraud offenses, even misdemeanors with a one-year sentence
- A crime involving moral turpitude, meaning an offense of deceit or violence, within five years of admission and punishable by a year or more
- Two such offenses at any point after admission, if they arise from separate schemes
- Controlled substance convictions, apart from one offense involving 30 grams or less of marijuana for personal use
Immigration judges apply the categorical approach, comparing the elements of the statute against the federal definition rather than your conduct.
Options for your defense
A Notice to Appear begins a contested legal process rather than ending your case. For someone already admitted to the United States, the government generally must prove its charges by clear and convincing evidence. Several forms of relief may still be available, including cancellation of removal, asylum or adjustment of status through a qualifying family member.
Lawful permanent residents seeking cancellation of removal generally must meet residence requirements, while other applicants may need 10 years of continuous physical presence and proof that removal would cause exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to a qualifying spouse, parent or child. In some cases, voluntary departure may provide an alternative to a formal removal order.
Immigration court is a civil proceeding, so the government does not appoint an attorney for you. You are also responsible for meeting every deadline, including the 30-day period to appeal a decision to the Board of Immigration Appeals.