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Immigration consequences worksheet

The following chart is based on materials presented by Michael T. Purcell at a continuing legal education (CLE) session sponsored by the Eugene Public Defenders Office on November 5, 2010. It is intended to be a tool for assessing potential immigration consequences of Oregon criminal convictions. It is not a substitute for study of the case record and applicable statutes.

		Consequence	Agg. felony	*Moral turpitude*	*Dom. violence*	Drug
Immigration consequences of common Oregon criminal convictions.
Defendant status		Consequence	Conviction category
		Deportability, naturalization, return to U.S. and jail pending removal.
I	Lawful permanent residents (Recent and long-immigrants.)
		Deportable? (Recent imm.)	Deportable.	Deportable (fel/A misd.)	Deportable.
		Deportable? (Long-term imm.)	Deportable.	Deportable. (if 2nd CIMT)	Deportable.
		Naturalize?	Perm. bar	5 year bar	Possible bar	5 year bar
		Jail in removal?	Mandatory	Possible detention		Mandatory
		Return to U.S.?	Perm. bar	Ten year min. bar, waiver maybe available.
		Relief from removal/deportation
		Cancel removal?	Perm. bar	Maybe, if otherwise eligible.
		Adjust status?	Maybe	Maybe, if otherwise eligible.		Perm. bar
		Asylum?	Perm. bar	Maybe, if otherwise eligible.
		212(h)?	Unclear	Maybe, if otherwise eligible.		Perm. bar

II	Undocumented immigrants
		Deportability, naturalization, return to U.S. and jail pending removal.
		All	same as Category I for most purposes.
		Relief from removal/deportation.
		Cancel removal?	Permanent bar
		All other	same as Category I for most purposes.

Use of this chart. This chart is an effort to summarize a complicated area of law in a way that is readily useable as a starting point for analysis. It does not cover all contingencies. In particular:

This chart does not cover all immigration consequences and does not cover all convictions or conduct which may carry such consequences.
A single criminal conviction can fall into multiple grounds of deportability and all effects are cumulative.
Material has been simplified for ease of presentation; there may be exceptions or qualifications not listed in this chart and detailed examination of every case is required.
Some criminal conduct may have immigration consequences even without a conviction.
"Conviction" is a defined term under federal immigration law; expunged, vacated, or sealed convictions generally continue to count as convictions for federal immigration and naturalization purposes.
Nothing in this chart should be considered legal advice of any kind.

Definitions The following definitions are used for the purposes of this chart. They are not necessarily legal terms, and have been adopted for ease of presentation:

"Recent immigrant". Any person holding a green card who is not a "long-term immigrant"
"Long-term immigrant". Any person holding a green card who, as of the date of the commission of the offense in question has resided continuously in the United States for seven years in any kind of legal status, and has also held a green card for at least five years.

Main statutory sources (all from Title 8 U.S. code):

1182(a)(2) (criminal and other grounds barring admission to the U.S.).
1227(a)(2) (deportable offenses).
1101(a)(43) (aggravated felonies defined).
1101(a)(48)(B) (certain forms of suspended sentence count as incarceration for immigration purposes).
1101(f)(3) (certain criminal convictions bar an applicant for naturalization,or a defendant in immigration court, from proving good moral character.)
1101(f)(8) (aggravated felony conviction is permanent bar to naturalization).
1226(c) (mandatory detention in removal proceedings for certain offenses).
1229b (qualifications for eligibility for cancellation of removal).

Michael T. Purcell
Attorney at Law
16771 Boones Ferry Rd, Suite 100
Lake Oswego, OR 97035
(503) 241-8203
mpurcell.law@gmail.com

Michael T. Purcell, Attorney at Law

16771 Boones Ferry Rd, Suite 100 Lake Oswego, OR 97035 (503) 241-8203 mpurcell.law@gmail.com

Immigration consequences worksheet