Court Representation
Cancellation of Removal
It is one of the most powerful defenses in immigration court: if you qualify, the judge cancels your deportation and you receive lawful permanent residence. The requirements are strict and preparation is everything.
Cancellation of removal is not an application you file — it is a defense you raise before an immigration judge once you are already in removal proceedings. If the judge grants it, your case ends with a green card. If it is presented unprepared, one of the few real opportunities to stay is lost. Attorney Jesus Reyes builds these cases with the evidence judges expect to see.
What Is Cancellation of Removal?
Cancellation of removal is a form of relief under section 240A of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). It allows an immigration judge to cancel a person’s removal order and, in most cases, grant lawful permanent residence. It can only be requested before the Immigration Court, either because you were placed in proceedings or because your case is already before a judge.
There are two distinct forms with very different requirements. The first is for lawful permanent residents facing removal, generally after a criminal conviction. The second is for non-permanent residents — the most common in Miami — and requires proving ten years of continuous physical presence and exceptional hardship to a close qualifying relative who is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
There is also a third path under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), with reduced requirements for those who suffered abuse by a U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse or parent. This version requires three years of presence rather than ten, and the hardship standard is less demanding.
One practical limitation matters: the law caps grants of non-LPR cancellation at 4,000 per year nationwide. When the cap is exhausted, a judge may grant the case but the decision is reserved until a number becomes available.
Who Can Qualify?
The requirements depend on which of the three forms applies to you. These are the general criteria set by law:
- NON-PERMANENT RESIDENTS: at least 10 years of continuous physical presence in the United States before receiving the Notice to Appear
- NON-PERMANENT RESIDENTS: good moral character throughout that entire 10-year period
- NON-PERMANENT RESIDENTS: proof that your removal would cause exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to your U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse, parent, or child — hardship to yourself does not count
- NON-PERMANENT RESIDENTS: no conviction for certain offenses the law treats as disqualifying
- PERMANENT RESIDENTS: at least 5 years as a lawful permanent resident
- PERMANENT RESIDENTS: 7 years of continuous residence after being lawfully admitted in any status
- PERMANENT RESIDENTS: no conviction for an aggravated felony as defined by immigration law
- ABUSE SURVIVORS (VAWA): 3 years of continuous presence instead of 10, if you suffered battery or extreme cruelty by a U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse or parent
How the Case Is Handled
Eligibility assessment
We review your full immigration history, entries and departures, and any criminal record. We determine which of the three forms applies and whether anything interrupts your continuous presence.
Filing with the court
We prepare and file your application with the immigration judge, with everything the court requires. We handle the deadlines, the fees, and the parallel filings.
Building the evidence
This is what decides the case. We gather proof of your 10 years in the country, community letters, medical and school records for your relatives, psychological evaluations, and everything that supports the hardship showing.
Individual merits hearing
Your hearing day arrives. You testify before the judge and government counsel may question you. We prepare you in advance so you know what to expect and nothing catches you off guard.
The judge’s decision
If granted, you receive lawful permanent residence. If denied, we assess an appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) within the 30-day deadline.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I apply for cancellation of removal without being in court?+
No. Cancellation of removal can only be granted by an immigration judge, and only within removal proceedings. It is not an application filed with USCIS, nor something you can initiate on your own.
What does "exceptional and extremely unusual hardship" mean?+
It is a deliberately high standard. Family separation, loss of income, or difficult conditions in the home country are not enough — judges consider those to be what any family in this situation faces. It requires something substantially beyond that: a child’s serious illness with no treatment available in your country, a disability requiring care only you can provide, or comparable circumstances. The hardship must also be to your qualifying relative, not to you.
Does traveling outside the country break my 10 years?+
It can. The law provides that a single absence of more than 90 days, or absences totaling more than 180 days, breaks continuous presence. Service of a Notice to Appear also stops the clock. That is why your entry and exit history is one of the first things we review.
Does a criminal record disqualify me automatically?+
Not always, but it depends on the offense and on which of the three forms applies. Certain convictions are disqualifying outright; others affect the good moral character requirement without closing the door. Each record must be analyzed individually, and a crime’s immigration classification often does not match its name under state law.
How long does a cancellation case take?+
It depends on the Miami immigration court’s docket, which is heavily backlogged. Several years typically pass between the initial hearing and the merits hearing. That time is not wasted: it is what we use to build the evidence.
What happens if the judge denies it?+
You have 30 days to appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA). The deadline is strict and cannot be extended. Depending on the case, other defenses may also be available and are often raised in the alternative from the start.
Your situation has a solution.
Schedule a consultation of up to 30 minutes with Attorney Jesus Reyes and learn your legal options. $200.
Schedule Consultation — $200Or call: (888) 644-3683