Special Rule Cancellation of Removal

Special rule cancellation of removal is a form of relief for individuals who have been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty by a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse or parent. You are protected from removal because your removal is "cancelled." Help is also available from the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or 1-800-787-3224 (TDD). The hotline has information about shelters, mental health care, legal advice and other types of assistance, including information about filing for immigration status. For more information, visit the National Domestic Violence website.

• To be eligible for special rule cancellation of removal for nonpermanent residents, you must establish that:
• You were battered or subjected to extreme cruelty by your spouse or parent who is a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident. Or you are the parent of a child of a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident and the child has been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty in the United States by the United States citizen or lawful permanent resident parent.
• In the time immediately preceding your application for special rule cancellation of removal, you have been continuously physically present in the United States for three years or more.
• You have been a person of good moral character during that time (the previous three years before you submitted your application).
• You have not been convicted of an offense covered by INA §§ 212(a)(2), 212(a)(3), 237(a)(1)(G), or 237(a)(2)-(4).
• Your removal would result in extreme hardship to you or your child who is the child of a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident. If you are a child, your removal would result in extreme hardship to you or your parent.
• You deserve a grant of cancellation of removal as a matter of discretion.

To apply for special rule cancellation of removal, you will need to complete an Application for Cancellation of Removal and Adjustment of Status for Certain Nonpermanent Residents, Form EOIR-42B, and file it with the appropriate immigration court. You should carefully review the instructions to the Form-42B before you complete the application and file it with the immigration court.

You must also pay the filing and biometrics fees and comply with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) instructions for providing biometric and biographic information to USCIS.

You are also required to serve a copy of your application on the Assistant Chief Counsel for the DHS, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as required on the proof of service page of the application.

If granted special rule cancellation of removal, your status will be adjusted to that of a lawful permanent resident. Evidence of lawful status is obtained through the Department of Homeland Security. Please refer to the resources provided by USCIS for more information on this process.

To determine if you may be eligible for naturalization or to apply, please see the citizenship and naturalization resources provided by USCIS.