U.S. Department
of Justice
Explore Relief Options
Use This Tool to Explore Relief Options for Which You May Be Eligible
Voluntary Departure is a form of relief that allows you to voluntarily depart the United States so that you may later apply from your country for admission. To see if you may be eligible, please use the following tool and answer the questions.
I have had a merits hearing on an application for relief.
I have not had a merits hearing on an application for relief.
If you are currently a lawful permanent resident, you may be eligible for cancellation of removal for permanent residents. Please use the following tool to see if you may be eligible.
I have been a lawful permanent resident for less than five years.
I have been a lawful permanent resident for five years or more.
If you have an immigrant visa immediately available (Approved Form I-130, Form I-140, Form I-360, or Diversity Visa with a current priority date), you may be eligible to adjust your status to that of a lawful permanent resident. To see if you may be eligible, please use the following tool.
If you are not a lawful permanent resident but have been in the United States for ten or more years, you may be eligible for cancellation of removal for nonpermanent residents. Please use the following tool to see if you may be eligible.
I have not been continuously physically present in the United States for at least ten years.
I have been continuously physically present in the United States for at least ten years.
If you or your child have been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty by a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse or parent, you may be eligible for Special Rule Cancellation of Removal for Battered Spouses. Please answer the following questions to see if you may be eligible.
Admissible / Admissibility:
Individuals who are admissible are permitted by law to enter or remain in the United States after inspection and authorization by an immigration officer. You may not be admissible for certain reasons such as health, criminal activity, national security concerns, or fraud and misrepresentation, among others. INA § 212 lists all of the reasons you may not be admissible to the United States.
Battered or extreme cruelty:
Battery or extreme cruelty can include, but is not limited to being the victim of any act or threatened act of violence which results or threatens to result in physical or mental injury. Acts of violence may include psychological or sexual abuse. Additionally, some actions may also be considered acts of violence if they are a part of an overall pattern of violence.
Continuously physically present:
Continuous physical presence requires you to be in the United States for a continuous period. Continuous physical presence is broken if you leave the United States for one trip of 90 days or more or for any number of trips that total 180 days or more during the ten-year period. Additionally, your continuous physical presence is stopped when you are served with an NTA or if you commit an offense that would render you inadmissible under INA § 212(a)(2) or removable under INA §§ 237(a)(2) or 237(a)(4).
Crime involving moral turpitude:
A crime involving moral turpitude is a crime that is inherently base, vile, or depraved, and contrary to the accepted rules of morality and the duties owed between persons or to society in general. The determination of whether a crime is a crime involving moral turpitude is highly technical. Some crimes that have been found to be crimes involving moral turpitude include murder, rape, robbery, mayhem, animal fighting, theft, and fraud, however many additional crimes could be considered a crime involving moral turpitude. Therefore, it is recommended that if you have been convicted of a crime that you seek legal assistance in determining the immigration consequences of that conviction.
Discretion:
Discretion refers to the immigration judge's consideration of additional factors beyond statutory eligibility for a form of relief. This means that if you establish that you are eligible for the form of relief, the immigration judge will then consider the positive and negative factors of your case to determine whether you are discretionarily deserving of a grant of that form of relief.
Extreme hardship:
Extreme hardship is hardship that is that is over and above the normal economic and social disruptions involved in the removal of a family member.
Exceptional and extremely unusual hardship:
To establish that your qualifying relative would suffer exceptional and extremely unusual hardship, you must establish that he or she would suffer hardship that is substantially beyond that which would ordinarily be expected to result from your deportation.
Good moral character:
Good moral character describes your past behavior. To establish good moral character you must establish that you are not automatically disqualified by one of the reasons listed in INA § 101(f). However, the immigration judge may also make a discretionary finding that you have not established good moral character based on previous behavior.
Aggravated Felony:
An aggravated felony is a crime that Congress has determined is serious in nature. It does not have to be a felony to be considered an aggravated felony. Some examples of aggravated felonies include murder, rape, sexual abuse of minor, illicit trafficking in a controlled substance, failure to appear, among many others. For the full list of aggravated felonies see INA § 101(a)(43). It is recommended that if you have been convicted of a crime that you seek legal help in determining the immigration consequences of that conviction.
Continuous residence:
Continuous residence requires you to maintain residence within the United States for the required period of time. Continuous physical presence is not required and short trips abroad are insufficient to break continuous residence. Continuous residence is stopped when you are served with an NTA or if you commit an offense that would render you inadmissible under INA § 212(a)(2) or removable under INA § 237(a)(2).
Membership in a particular social group:
A particular social group is a group of individuals who all share a common characteristic that they are unable to change or is so fundamental to their identities or conscience that they should not be required to change it.
Persecution:
Persecution is an extreme concept. It may include threats to your life or freedom, or the infliction of harm or suffering due to a characteristic or belief that the oppressor seeks to overcome or punish.
Removable / Removability:
An individual is removable from the United States if they are subject to any grounds of inadmissibility or deportability. To see the grounds of inadmissibility, see INA § 212. To see the grounds of deportability, see INA § 237.
Torture:
Torture is defined as any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for a specific purpose.