Immigrant Daily

Waiver of Inadmissibility under Former Section 212(c) of the INA

The three judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit vacated the judgment of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) which upheld the Immigration Judge’s (IJ’s) order that the petitioner Garcia-Padron was denied for waiver of inadmissibility under former section 212 (c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The former section 212(c) states that legal permanent residents who were subject to deportation and who resided in the United States for seven consecutive years were eligible to apply for waiver of deportation.

In the year 1992, petitioner Garcia-Padron was convicted for numerous crimes in violation of New York Penal law and was sentenced to one-to-three years in prison. Garcia Padron was served with a show cause notice and deportation proceedings were initiated against him. He applied for a waiver of inadmissibility under former section 212(c)of the INA, but was denied by the IJ on the ground that his conviction of petit larceny was after the effective date of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA),which rendered him ineligible for such relief and the BIA upheld the Immigration judge’s order.

The Second Circuit Court held that the BIA failed to apply the law as it existed before the IIRIRA. It also held that the section 309(c)(1) of the IIRIA states that the aliens who are in exclusion or deportation proceedings before April 1, 1997,are eligible for the relief of section 212(c). Hence, the petitioner is eligible for relief under former section 212(c) because his deportation proceedings are commenced prior to the effective date of IIRIRA. The Second Circuit vacated the judgment of the BIA and remanded the case for further proceedings.

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Waiver of Inadmissibility under Former Section 212 (c) of the INA