Tooby's California Post-Conviction Relief for Immigrants

(A)

Who Is Subject to Deportation.  The grounds of deportation apply only to those noncitizens who have been “admitted”[10] to the United States after having been inspected at an official point of entry.  People who were admitted with valid visas, but who then did something to overstay or invalidate those visas, are still subject to the grounds of deportability until they leave the United States.  Undocumented immigrants, who entered without having been admitted, however, are subject to the grounds of inadmissibility, not deportability, even if they have been in the United States for many years and have never left.[11] 

A person who has been admitted to the United States (even a Lawful Permanent Resident) may be inadmissible and prevented from re-entering if s/he leaves the country and attempts to return.  A noncitizen “admitted” to the United States may also be considered deportable because s/he was inadmissible at that time, and therefore the admission was improper.[12]

For these reasons, criminal defense counsel should always consider both whether a criminal conviction could render the client inadmissible and deportable.

[10] INA § 101(a)(13), 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(13).  See Criminal Defense of Immigrants § 17.5.

[11] See Criminal Defense of Immigrants Chapter 18.

[12] INA § 237(a)(1)(A), 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(1)(A).