Cancellation of Removal ("COR") is a type of relief from removal that is available to both lawful permanent residents and non-lawful resident aliens under certain legally defined circumstances.

Permanent Residents

An individual who is a lawful permanent resident of the United States and who is placed into removal proceedings in Immigration Court may be eligible for the relief known as cancellation of removal ("COR") if s/he meets the following three requirements:

(1) S/he has been lawfully admitted for permanent residence for at least five (5) years;

(2) S/he has resided in the United States continuously for seven (7) years after having been admitted in any legal status; and

(3) S/he has not been convicted of an aggravated felony.

The term "aggravated felony" refers to a list of crimes set forth by Congress. The term can be deceiving, as there is no requirement that the listed offenses be either "aggravated" or felonies. In fact, many misdemeanors can qualify as aggravated felonies.


Non-Permanent Residents

An individual in removal proceedings who is NOT a lawful permanent resident may still qualify for cancellation of removal if s/he meets the following four (4) requirements:

(1) S/he has been physically present in the United States for a continuous period of at least ten (10) years preceding the date of the application for cancellation of removal;

(2) S/he has been a person of "good moral character" during the ten-year period;

(3) S/he has not been convicted of any crime(s) that will render him/her inadmissible or deportable from the United States; and

(4) S/he must establish that removal would result in "exceptional and extremely unusual hardship" to his/her U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse, parent, or child.

"Good Moral Character"

Although the term "good moral character" is not actually defined by Congress, the Immigration and Nationality Act ("INA") does list persons who are NOT of good moral character.

Examples of such persons include, but are not limited to:

• Habitual drunkards;
• Persons who have engaged in prostitution, commercialized vice, and/or alien smuggling;
• Aliens previously removed from the United States;
• Aliens who have committed a crime involving moral turpitude or a controlled substance offense;
• Aliens suspected of trafficking in controlled substances;
• Aliens with multiple criminal convictions which carry sentences of 5 years or more confinement;
• Aliens with 2 or more gambling offenses or whose income is primarily derived from illegal gambling;
• Aliens who have given false testimony for the purpose of obtaining an immigration benefit;
• Aliens imprisoned for a total of 180 days or more during the required period of physical presence;
• Aliens who have committed an aggravated felony.

Deportable/Inadmissible Crimes

The crimes that most often make an alien deportable or inadmissible are aggravated felonies and crimes involving moral turpitude.

Aggravated felonies, as noted above, are listed in the INA. Crimes involving moral turpitude ("CIMT"), however, are not defined in the INA. Courts have determined that the term generally refers to conduct that is inherently base, vile, or depraved. It is an illegal act that is, in itself, morally reprehensible and intrinsically wrong, as opposed to an act that is wrong simply because it is prohibited by law. For example, offenses involving fraud, as well as crimes of theft, are considered as "CIMT".

"Exceptional and Extremely Unusual Hardship"

This is the most difficult requirement to meet when applying for "COR" as a non-lawful resident. The term refers to hardship that is "substantially beyond that which would ordinarily be expected to result from the person's departure."

It must be well established and proven that the hardship would be suffered by the U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse, parent, or child of the removable alien, NOT by the removable alien.

• The age of the qualifying U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident relative; for example, an elderly and infirm parent, or very young children who would be left without a caregiver with the persons' departure; 
   
• The health of the qualifying relative, particularly if that relative can be shown to suffer from very serious, preferably life-threatening, health issues; 
   
• Circumstances of the qualifying relative. For example, a U.S. citizen child with special needs in school; 

In situations when a removable alien legitimately fears returning to his/her home country, but lacks a qualifying relative, to enable him/her to apply for "COR", he/she should explore other forms of relief such as asylum, withholding of removal, or relief under the Convention Against Torture.

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