Having a green card is not an absolute guarantee that an alien will not be removed from the United States. A permanent resident alien who commits certain crimes may be subject to removal.
The Immigration law however affords permanent residents discretionary relief from removal if they meet the following requirements:
- The alien has been lawfully admitted for
permanent residence for not less than five years,
-
The alien has resided in the United
States continuously for 7 years after having been admitted in any status, and
- The alien has not been convicted of any
aggravated felony.
This discretionary relief which
essentially waives the criminal ground for removal is available to aliens who
have committed crimes involving moral turpitude, or those who have been
convicted of two or more offenses, if the aggregate sentences to confinement
actually imposed were five years or more, and those who have engaged in
prostitution the United States.
If the green card holder has committed an
offense constituting an aggravated felony as defined under Sec. 101a(43) of the
Immigration Act, the cancellation of removal relief is not available. Examples
of aggravated felonies are: murder, rape, sexual abuse of a minor, drug
trafficking, money laundering, violent crimes and theft offenses punished by at
least 1 year imprisonment, ransom, child pornography and several others.
If you have a green card, stay out of
trouble or you still could face removal proceedings. Or better yet, consider
applying for naturalization if you are already qualified.
