U.S. Supreme Court hands victory to struggling immigrant families facing deportation

Last week, the Supreme Court made a decision that may have very good news for those at risk of being removed from the country. The decision may affect those who have been ordered removed from the United States.

If a person with no immigration papers has been in the United States for over ten years and if he/she has a child, spouse, and/or parent that would suffer if he/she were to be removed, he/she may be able to get a green card through the “10 year case.” However, if the person in question is served a “notice to appear,” any time that he/she spends in the United States after the notice is sent is not considered to be a part of those ten years.

But, as of the Supreme Court hearing on April 29, 2021, this may no longer be the case for some. It was decided that if a person was served a “notice to appear,” but that notice did not have the time and place of his/her initial removal hearing, any time that he/she spends in the United States after the notice is sent is considered to be a part of those ten years.

So, if a person is eligible for a “10 year case” but was denied or did not file because he/she was served a “notice to appear” before he/she was in the United States for ten years, if that notice didn’t have all the required information on it, he/she may now be able to get that removal order tossed.

Good news indeed.