Cancellation of removal is a form of relief an immigration judge can grant that stops your deportation and lets you stay in the United States. Two separate tracks exist under Section 240A of the Immigration and Nationality Act: one for lawful permanent residents, and a harder one for people without a green card. Both are discretionary, meaning meeting every legal requirement only earns you the chance to ask; the judge still decides whether your case deserves it.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1229b – Cancellation of Removal; Adjustment of Status
Who Qualifies as a Green Card Holder
If you already have a green card, you apply under Section 240A(a). Three conditions must all be true when the judge decides your case:
- You have held your green card for at least five years.
- You have lived in the United States continuously for seven years after being admitted in any lawful status, not only as a permanent resident.
- You have never been convicted of an aggravated felony.
The aggravated felony bar is permanent and broader than the name suggests. It covers murder, sexual abuse, and drug trafficking, but also theft offenses, crimes of violence, fraud over $10,000, certain firearms offenses, money laundering, human smuggling, and document fraud when the sentence imposed is at least one year. Some state misdemeanors count as aggravated felonies for immigration purposes if the sentence hits that one-year mark. A single qualifying conviction, no matter how old, ends eligibility.
The seven-year residence clock generally stops when the government serves you with a Notice to Appear, the charging document that starts removal proceedings. It also stops if you commit certain criminal offenses listed in the inadmissibility grounds, even without a formal charge under those grounds. There is a significant exception. In Pereira v. Sessions, the Supreme Court held that a Notice to Appear that fails to include the specific time or place of the hearing does not trigger the stop-time rule.2Supreme Court of the United States. Pereira v. Sessions, 585 U.S. 198 (2018) Many NTAs are issued without that information, so a deficient notice may mean the clock kept running past the date the government thought it stopped. That can decide eligibility for someone who was close to seven years when proceedings began.
There is no annual cap on green card holder grants. If you clear the three thresholds, the judge weighs the positives (length of residence, family ties, community involvement, military service) against the negatives (whatever made you deportable, criminal history, immigration violations) and decides.
Who Qualifies Without a Green Card
Section 240A(b) sets four requirements for people without lawful permanent resident status, and all four must be met:
- Ten years of continuous physical presence in the United States before the judge’s decision.
- Good moral character throughout that ten-year period.
- No conviction for certain disqualifying offenses, including any aggravated felony.
- Proof that your removal would cause exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse, parent, or child.
Short trips abroad don’t automatically break the ten-year clock, but a single absence over 90 days, or absences totaling more than 180 days, will. The stop-time rule applies here as well: a proper NTA or certain criminal conduct stops the clock.
Good moral character is defined by statute and regulation, and specific conduct destroys it automatically. A murder or aggravated felony conviction is a permanent bar. During the ten-year period, disqualifiers include a conviction for a crime involving moral turpitude, a controlled substance violation (other than simple possession of 30 grams or less of marijuana), giving false testimony to obtain an immigration benefit, being jailed 180 days or more, and involvement in prostitution or human smuggling.3eCFR. 8 CFR 316.10 – Good Moral Character The bars reach past convictions: habitual drunkenness, income mainly from illegal gambling, polygamy, willfully failing to support dependents, and even admitted criminal conduct that never resulted in charges can disqualify you. Judges also have discretion to weigh other unlawful acts that reflect on character.
The Hardship Standard
Most non-LPR cases fail here. “Exceptional and extremely unusual hardship” is one of the highest burdens in immigration law. The Board of Immigration Appeals has defined it as harm “substantially beyond that which ordinarily would be expected” from a family member’s deportation.4U.S. Department of Justice. Matter of Buri Mora, 29 I&N Dec. 186 (BIA 2025) Emotional distress from separation doesn’t qualify because separation is the ordinary consequence of removal. Financial hardship alone is not enough either.
Cases that succeed tend to involve a qualifying relative with a serious medical condition that can’t be adequately treated in the country of removal, a child with compelling special needs, or an elderly parent who depends solely on the applicant for care. The BIA looks at the ages, health, and full circumstances of each qualifying relative. You need documentary proof, not testimony alone: medical records, treatment plans, school evaluations, expert opinions. Generalized hardship claims almost never succeed.
The 4,000 Annual Cap
Federal law caps non-LPR cancellation grants at 4,000 per fiscal year (October 1 through September 30). The cap does not apply to green card holders. When the cap has been reached, a judge who intends to grant your case issues a reserve decision, and your grant waits until numbers become available in a future fiscal year. That wait can stretch for years, and during it you must stay eligible: no conduct that would undermine good moral character, and no departure that could void the case.
A Different Path for Abuse Survivors
A separate provision, Section 240A(b)(2), often called VAWA cancellation, exists for certain victims of domestic violence and uses easier standards. You need three years of continuous physical presence rather than ten, and issuance of an NTA does not stop the three-year clock. Absences tied to the abuse (fleeing a dangerous household, seeking shelter elsewhere) don’t count against the 90-day or 180-day limits. You must show good moral character for the three years and demonstrate “extreme hardship” to yourself, your child, or your parent, a lower bar than the standard non-LPR hardship test.5Executive Office for Immigration Review. Special Rule Cancellation of Removal VAWA applicants file the same form as other non-LPR applicants.
How to Apply
The form depends on your status. Green card holders file Form EOIR-42A. Non-permanent residents, including VAWA applicants, file Form EOIR-42B.6U.S. Department of Justice. Form EOIR-42A – Application for Cancellation of Removal for Certain Permanent Residents7U.S. Department of Justice. Form EOIR-42B – Application for Cancellation of Removal and Adjustment of Status for Certain Nonpermanent Residents Both require complete residential history (at least seven years for the 42A, ten for the 42B), a full employment history back to your arrival, every family member with their status and address, and your entire criminal history, including arrests that didn’t lead to conviction and dismissed cases. Any inconsistency between the form and your live testimony gives the government an opening on credibility, and credibility problems sink these cases.
Supporting Evidence
The form is the shell. Around it you need a substantial evidence package. Tax return transcripts help prove both physical presence and good moral character. Birth certificates establish qualifying family relationships. Medical records, school evaluations, and mental health assessments document the specific hardships a qualifying relative would face. Letters from employers, community members, and religious leaders speak to character and community ties. Bank statements, leases, utility bills, employment records, and school records help fill in physical presence. Label each document and organize chronologically. Anything not in English needs a certified translation. Gathering this material commonly takes months, so start well before your hearing.
Filing, Fees, and Biometrics
You file the original with the immigration court handling your case and serve a complete copy on the Assistant Chief Counsel for DHS/Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the government’s attorney in your proceedings.
Fees changed for fiscal year 2026. Form EOIR-42A now costs $710, and Form EOIR-42B costs $1,640.8Federal Register. Inflation Adjustment for EOIR OBBBA Fees; Fiscal Year 2026 USCIS charges a separate $30 biometric services fee paid through pay.gov.9U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Instructions for Submitting Certain Applications in Immigration Court and Providing Biometric and Biographic Information to USCIS EOIR fees must be paid electronically through the EOIR Payment Portal; the agency stopped accepting checks and money orders as of February 23, 2026.10Executive Office for Immigration Review. EOIR Forms and Fees If you cannot afford the fee, request a fee waiver on Form EOIR-26A.
After filing, USCIS will send instructions to appear at an Application Support Center for fingerprints and a photograph, which are used for identity verification and a background check.11U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Immigration Benefits in EOIR Proceedings The notice goes to your address of record with the court, so keep it current. Missing the appointment can delay your case or cause your application to be treated as abandoned.
What Happens at Court
You’ll first have one or more Master Calendar hearings, where the judge confirms the charges, takes your plea, sets deadlines, and schedules future dates. The case eventually moves to an Individual (merits) hearing, where you and any witnesses testify under oath, the government attorney cross-examines and can put on evidence against you, and the judge decides. Decisions are often given orally at the close; some judges issue a written order later. Court backlogs mean the gap between filing and the merits hearing can run for years in some jurisdictions.
After the Judge Decides
If the judge grants relief to a green card holder, the removal order is cancelled and you keep your existing permanent resident status. A grant for a non-LPR adjusts your status to lawful permanent resident. If the 4,000 cap has been hit for the fiscal year, your grant goes into reserve status and the green card issues once a number becomes available; you must stay eligible and stay in the country during the wait.
If the judge denies relief, you’re ordered removed. You can appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals, but the window is short. As of March 9, 2026, the deadline is 10 calendar days from an oral decision or the mailing of a written decision, down from 30 days.12Federal Register. Appellate Procedures for the Board of Immigration Appeals Certain asylum-related cases keep the 30-day deadline. If the final day is a weekend or federal holiday, it moves to the next business day. Miss it and your right to appeal is gone.
Working While the Case Is Pending
With a pending Form EOIR-42B, you can apply for a work permit on Form I-765 under eligibility category (c)(10).13U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Instructions for Application for Employment Authorization You must show you’re in active removal proceedings and that the cancellation application has been properly filed with the court before you file the I-765. The authorization is temporary and must be renewed while the case is pending. Green card holders already have work authorization from their permanent resident status.
What Representation Typically Costs
Cancellation is one of the more complex forms of immigration relief, and going without an attorney is risky given the evidence and legal standards involved. Attorney fees for a contested cancellation case commonly run from roughly $4,000 to $10,000, separate from the EOIR filing fee ($710 or $1,640) and the $30 biometrics fee. Some attorneys charge additional amounts for evidence gathering, expert witnesses, or translation. Free or low-cost representation may be available through legal aid organizations and pro bono programs; the immigration court can usually provide a list of local providers.