8 USC 1227 - Deportable aliens

U.S Code last checked for updates: Nov 22, 2024

§ 1227.

Deportable aliens

(a)

Classes of deportable aliens

Any alien (including an alien crewman) in and admitted to the United States shall, upon the order of the Attorney General, be removed if the alien is within one or more of the following classes of deportable aliens:

(1)

Inadmissible at time of entry or of adjustment of status or violates status

(A)

Inadmissible aliens

(B)

Present in violation of law

(C)

Violated nonimmigrant status or condition of entry

(i)

Nonimmigrant status violators

(ii)

Violators of conditions of entry

(D)

Termination of conditional permanent residence

(i)

In general

(ii)

Exception

(E)

Smuggling

(i)

In general

(ii)

Special rule in the case of family reunification

(iii)

Waiver authorized

(F)

Repealed. Pub. L. 104–208, div. C, title VI, § 671(d)(1)(C), Sept. 30, 1996, 110 Stat. 3009–723

(G)

Marriage fraud

An alien shall be considered to be deportable as having procured a visa or other documentation by fraud (within the meaning of section 1182(a)(6)(C)(i) of this title) and to be in the United States in violation of this chapter (within the meaning of subparagraph (B)) if—

(i)

the alien obtains any admission into the United States with an immigrant visa or other documentation procured on the basis of a marriage entered into less than 2 years prior to such admission of the alien and which, within 2 years subsequent to any admission of the alien in the United States, shall be judicially annulled or terminated, unless the alien establishes to the satisfaction of the Attorney General that such marriage was not contracted for the purpose of evading any provisions of the immigration laws, or

(ii)

it appears to the satisfaction of the Attorney General that the alien has failed or refused to fulfill the alien’s marital agreement which in the opinion of the Attorney General was made for the purpose of procuring the alien’s admission as an immigrant.

(H)

Waiver authorized for certain misrepresentations

The provisions of this paragraph relating to the removal of aliens within the United States on the ground that they were inadmissible at the time of admission as aliens described in section 1182(a)(6)(C)(i) of this title, whether willful or innocent, may, in the discretion of the Attorney General, be waived for any alien (other than an alien described in paragraph (4)(D)) who—

(i)

(I)

is the spouse, parent, son, or daughter of a citizen of the United States or of an alien lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence; and

(II)

was in possession of an immigrant visa or equivalent document and was otherwise admissible to the United States at the time of such admission except for those grounds of inadmissibility specified under paragraphs (5)(A) and (7)(A) of section 1182(a) of this title which were a direct result of that fraud or misrepresentation.

(ii)

is a VAWA self-petitioner.

A waiver of removal for fraud or misrepresentation granted under this subparagraph shall also operate to waive removal based on the grounds of inadmissibility directly resulting from such fraud or misrepresentation.

(2)

Criminal offenses

(A)

General crimes

(i)

Crimes of moral turpitude

Any alien who—

(I)

is convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude committed within five years (or 10 years in the case of an alien provided lawful permanent resident status under section 1255(j) of this title) after the date of admission, and

(II)

is convicted of a crime for which a sentence of one year or longer may be imposed,

is deportable.

(ii)

Multiple criminal convictions

(iii)

Aggravated felony

(iv)

High speed flight

(v)

Failure to register as a sex offender

(vi)

Waiver authorized

(B)

Controlled substances

(i)

Conviction

(ii)

Drug abusers and addicts

(C)

Certain firearm offenses

(D)

Miscellaneous crimes

Any alien who at any time has been convicted (the judgment on such conviction becoming final) of, or has been so convicted of a conspiracy or attempt to violate—

(i)

any offense under chapter 37 (relating to espionage), chapter 105 (relating to sabotage), or chapter 115 (relating to treason and sedition) of title 18 for which a term of imprisonment of five or more years may be imposed;

(ii)

any offense under section 871 or 960 of title 18;

(iii)

a violation of any provision of the Military Selective Service Act (50 U.S.C. App. 451 et seq.) [now 50 U.S.C. 3801 et seq.] or the Trading With the Enemy Act (50 U.S.C. App. 1 et seq.) [now 50 U.S.C. 4301 et seq.]; or

(iv)

a violation of section 1185 or 1328 of this title,

is deportable.

(E)

Crimes of domestic violence, stalking, or violation of protection order, crimes against children and

(i)

Domestic violence, stalking, and child abuse

(ii)

Violators of protection orders

(F)

Trafficking

(3)

Failure to register and falsification of documents

(A)

Change of address

(B)

Failure to register or falsification of documents

Any alien who at any time has been convicted—

(i)

under section 1306(c) of this title or under section 36(c) of the Alien Registration Act, 1940,

(ii)

of a violation of, or an attempt or a conspiracy to violate, any provision of the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 (22 U.S.C. 611 et seq.), or

(iii)

of a violation of, or an attempt or a conspiracy to violate, section 1546 of title 18 (relating to fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and other entry documents),

is deportable.

(C)

Document fraud

(i)

In general

(ii)

Waiver authorized

(D)

Falsely claiming citizenship

(i)

In general

(ii)

Exception

(4)

Security and related grounds

(A)

In general

Any alien who has engaged, is engaged, or at any time after admission engages in—

(i)

any activity to violate any law of the United States relating to espionage or sabotage or to violate or evade any law prohibiting the export from the United States of goods, technology, or sensitive information,

(ii)

any other criminal activity which endangers public safety or national security, or

(iii)

any activity a purpose of which is the opposition to, or the control or overthrow of, the Government of the United States by force, violence, or other unlawful means,

is deportable.

(B)

Terrorist activities

(C)

Foreign policy

(i)

In general

(ii)

Exceptions

(D)

Participated in Nazi persecution, genocide, or the commission of any act of torture or extrajudicial killing

(E)

Participated in the commission of severe violations of religious freedom

(F)

Recruitment or use of child soldiers

(5)

Public charge

(6)

Unlawful voters

(A)

In general

(B)

Exception

(7)

Waiver for victims of domestic violence

(A)

In general

The Attorney General is not limited by the criminal court record and may waive the application of paragraph (2)(E)(i) (with respect to crimes of domestic violence and crimes of stalking) and (ii) in the case of an alien who has been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty and who is not and was not the primary perpetrator of violence in the relationship—

(i)

 So in original. No cl. (ii) has been enacted.

upon a determination that—

(I)

the alien was acting is 2

 So in original. Probably should be “in”.

self-defense;

(II)

the alien was found to have violated a protection order intended to protect the alien; or

(III)

the alien committed, was arrested for, was convicted of, or pled guilty to committing a crime—

(aa)

that did not result in serious bodily injury; and

(bb)

where there was a connection between the crime and the alien’s having been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty.

(B)

Credible evidence considered

(b)

Deportation of certain nonimmigrants

(c)

Waiver of grounds for deportation

(d)

Administrative stay

(1)

If the Secretary of Homeland Security determines that an application for nonimmigrant status under subparagraph (T) or (U) of section 1101(a)(15) of this title filed for an alien in the United States sets forth a prima facie case for approval, the Secretary may grant the alien an administrative stay of a final order of removal under section 1231(c)(2) of this title until—

(A)

the application for nonimmigrant status under such subparagraph (T) or (U) is approved; or

(B)

there is a final administrative denial of the application for such nonimmigrant status after the exhaustion of administrative appeals.

(2)

The denial of a request for an administrative stay of removal under this subsection shall not preclude the alien from applying for a stay of removal, deferred action, or a continuance or abeyance of removal proceedings under any other provision of the immigration laws of the United States.

(3)

During any period in which the administrative stay of removal is in effect, the alien shall not be removed.

(4)

Nothing in this subsection may be construed to limit the authority of the Secretary of Homeland Security or the Attorney General to grant a stay of removal or deportation in any case not described in this subsection.

(June 27, 1952, ch. 477, title II, ch. 4, § 237, formerly ch. 5, § 241, 66 Stat. 204; July 18, 1956, ch. 629, title III, § 301(b), (c), 70 Stat. 575; Pub. L. 86–648, § 9, July 14, 1960, 74 Stat. 505; Pub. L. 87–301, § 16, Sept. 26, 1961, 75 Stat. 655; Pub. L. 89–236, § 11(e), Oct. 3, 1965, 79 Stat. 918; Pub. L. 94–571, § 7(e), Oct. 20, 1976, 90 Stat. 2706; Pub. L. 95–549, title I, § 103, Oct. 30, 1978, 92 Stat. 2065; Pub. L. 97–116, § 8, Dec. 29, 1981, 95 Stat. 1616; Pub. L. 99–570, title I, § 1751(b), Oct. 27, 1986, 100 Stat. 3207–47; Pub. L. 99–603, title III, § 303(b), Nov. 6, 1986, 100 Stat. 3431; Pub. L. 99–639, § 2(b), Nov. 10, 1986, 100 Stat. 3541; Pub. L. 99–653, § 7(c), Nov. 14, 1986, 100 Stat. 3657; Pub. L. 100–525, §§ 2(n)(2), 9(m), Oct. 24, 1988, 102 Stat. 2613, 2620; Pub. L. 100–690, title VII, §§ 7344(a), 7348(a), Nov. 18, 1988, 102 Stat. 4470, 4473; Pub. L. 101–649, title I, § 153(b), title V, §§ 505(a), 508(a), 544(b), title VI, § 602(a), (b), Nov. 29, 1990, 104 Stat. 5006, 5050, 5051, 5061, 5077, 5081; Pub. L. 102–232, title III, §§ 302(d)(3), 307(h), (k), Dec. 12, 1991, 105 Stat. 1745, 1755, 1756; Pub. L. 103–322, title XIII, § 130003(d), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2026; Pub. L. 103–416, title II, §§ 203(b), 219(g), Oct. 25, 1994, 108 Stat. 4311, 4317; Pub. L. 104–132, title IV, §§ 414(a), 435(a), Apr. 24, 1996, 110 Stat. 1270, 1274; renumbered ch. 4, § 237, and amended Pub. L. 104–208, div. C, title I, § 108(c), title III, §§ 301(d), 305(a)(2), 308(d)(2), (3)(A), (e)(1)(E), (2)(C), (f)(1)(L)–(N), (5), 344(b), 345(b), 347(b), 350(a), 351(b), title VI, § 671(a)(4)(B), (d)(1)(C), Sept. 30, 1996, 110 Stat. 3009–558, 3009–579, 3009–598, 3009–617, 3009–619 to 3009–622, 3009–637 to 3009–640, 3009–721, 3009–723; Pub. L. 106–386, div. B, title V, § 1505(b)(1), (c)(2), Oct. 28, 2000, 114 Stat. 1525, 1526; Pub. L. 106–395, title II, § 201(c)(1), (2), Oct. 30, 2000, 114 Stat. 1634, 1635; Pub. L. 107–56, title IV, § 411(b)(1), Oct. 26, 2001, 115 Stat. 348; Pub. L. 108–458, title V, §§ 5304(b), 5402, 5501(b), 5502(b), Dec. 17, 2004, 118 Stat. 3736, 3737, 3740, 3741; Pub. L. 109–13, div. B, title I, § 105(a)(1), (b), May 11, 2005, 119 Stat. 309, 310; Pub. L. 109–248, title IV, § 401, July 27, 2006, 120 Stat. 622; Pub. L. 109–271, § 6(c), Aug. 12, 2006, 120 Stat. 763; Pub. L. 110–340, § 2(c), Oct. 3, 2008, 122 Stat. 3736; Pub. L. 110–457, title II, §§ 204, 222(f)(2), Dec. 23, 2008, 122 Stat. 5060, 5071.)

cite as: 8 USC 1227

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