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La Opinión Hoy: Green Cards for undocumented immigrants

Avatar of Andrea Espinoza

By Andrea Espinoza

11 Oct 2023, 12:51 PM EDT

Undocumented immigrants who have been in the United States for more than 10 years could obtain a Green Card If they manage to cancel the deportation process, this through a petition before a court, although it is a procedure that can take years, it is viable, which allows about 4,000 people a year to receive the benefit of this according to the immigration case review office itself on which the judges depend migratory.

If the immigration judge approves the cancellation of removal “you can obtain a Green Card also known as Legal Permanent Residence”, says a document published by the aforementioned review office.

The publication clarifies that once the deportation is canceled, the person must apply for the Green Card before the Citizenship Immigration Services Office.

The request for cancellation of deportation has two basic requirements: the first has not been convicted of any serious crime and has obeyed the laws of the United States; The second is that the person must demonstrate good moral character, as established by the immigration and nationality law. This good moral character is part of an evaluation that immigration officials carry out in visa, Green Card and naturalization requests that considers many variables.

USCIS is very clear on these criteria established in Part F of the INA and that could include road problems and even lawsuits with landlordsto mention a few cases, but it contemplates various types of misdemeanors and crimes.

Some offenses that are considered a problem of “good moral character” are failure to comply with the terms of bail for a crime; bank fraud; conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance; not filing or paying taxes; false claim to US citizenship.

Also contemplated is the falsification of records; forgery for fraud; insurance fraud; obstruction of justice; sexual assault; Social Security fraud; harassment; illegal registration to vote; illegal voting; and violation of a US embargo (in any country).

Even an unresolved traffic violation or an administrative dispute with a landlord can be considered a GMC, which is why it is important that immigrants seeking cancellation of deportation are honest when exposing their history of stay in the US to a lawyer.

In emergency cases

The EOIR also remembers that immigrants in cases of emergency or whose deportation may have serious consequences for their family, then it is possible to obtain a waiver of deportation and, therefore, the possibility of obtaining a Green Card.

“Whether your U.S. citizen or legal permanent spouse, parent, or child would suffer exceptional and extremely unusual hardships if ordered to leave the United States,” the EOIR says.

This is in reference to the fact that if the undocumented immigrant were deported, his family would have “extremely unusual” consequences, then there would be the possibility of allowing him to stay in the United States.

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