How Do I File for Form I-212 to Reapply for Admission Into the U. S. After Deportation or Removal in Arizona?

People cannot return to the United States until their Form I-212 has been filed and approved, as failure to do this can result in permanent inadmissibility to the United States. Anybody who is dealing with inadmissibility concerns will want to work with an experienced Arizona immigration lawyer because there are different forms of inadmissibility that may require different waivers, and people will want to be sure they are submitting the proper paperwork.

How Form I-212 Works in Arizona

The three sections of the INA that address nonimmigrants and their need to obtain consent to reapply in advance of applying for admission into the United States are INA § 212(a)(9)(A), INA § 212(a)(9)(C), and INA § 276. People can fall into a variety of different situations in these cases.

If a person is inadmissible under INA § 212(a)(9)(A), but not INA § 212(a)(9)(C), and they are an applicant for a nonimmigrant visa, they may not have to file Form I-212 to obtain consent to reapply for admission. The United States Consulate with jurisdiction over the person’s nonimmigrant visa application can advise them on whether and how to file to obtain consent to reapply for admission through established Department of State and CBP channels.

If a person is inadmissible under INA § 212(a)(9)(C), and they are an applicant for a nonimmigrant visa, they need to contact the United States Consulate or Embassy with jurisdiction over their nonimmigrant visa application.  If the person is not in the United States and has been physically outside the United States for more than 10 years since the date of their last departure from the United States, the consular officer will advise them on whether and how to file to obtain consent to reapply for admission with CBP.

If a person is inadmissible under INA § 212(a)(9)(A) and/or INA § 212(a)(9)(C), but not required to obtain a visa to enter the United States as a nonimmigrant, they can file Form I-212 electronically or at a CBP designated port of entry. A Form I-212 and accompanying documents must be filed in advance of travel.

If a person requires consent to reapply and is inadmissible to the United States because of other reasons, they may have to file Form I-192 in conjunction with Form I-212. People who are citizens or eligible nationals of Visa Waiver Program (VWP) countries and inadmissible under any INA § 212 need to contact the nearest United States Consulate or Embassy for further instructions.

Required initial evidence in these cases will include copies of all documentation relating to any exclusion, deportation, or removal proceeding initiated against a person, including any final order(s) of exclusion, deportation, or removal, evidence of a person’s relationship to any relatives listed in their application and when relatives are not United States citizens, applicants must submit their full names, dates of birth, places of birth, places of admission or entry into the United States, current immigration statuses, immigration statuses at the time of entry, and A-Numbers, when known, evidence regarding inadmissibility under INA § 212(a)(9)(c), including a person’s exclusion, deportation, or removal from the United States, the date a person entered or attempted to reenter the United States that did not involve being admitted or paroled, the date of a person’s last departure from the United States, and evidence of a person’s absence from the United States for 10 years since their last departure, such as copies of entry or exit stamps from foreign countries in their passport, receipts for, or copies of, airplane tickets, registration of a person’s residence abroad, utility bills in a person’s name at the residence abroad, employment records from a foreign job, and evidence of both favorable and unfavorable factors listed in the form instructions.

As it relates to Form I-212, INA § 212(a)(9)(A) is the section of federal immigration law establishing that foreign nationals ordered to be removed cannot be readmitted to the United States until they have stayed abroad for 5, 10, or 20 years. A person must file a Form I-212 when they are inadmissible under INA § 212(a)(9)(A) because they were removed from the United States or departed the United States after being issued an order of removal.

INA § 212(a)(9)(C) relates more to permanent inadmissibility, although inadmissibility ends up being for three or 10 years in many cases. A person must file a Form I-212 when they are inadmissible under INA § 212(a)(9)(C) and they are an applicant for an immigrant visa, an applicant seeking admission as a nonimmigrant at a United States port-of-entry, or an applicant for a nonimmigrant visa at a United States Consulate.

The permanent bar of inadmissibility comes into play when an immigrant accrues more than one year of unlawful presence or is removed under INA § 235(b)(1). If an immigrant satisfies either of those conditions and attempts to reenter the United States, it can lead to a permanent bar of inadmissibility.

Years of inadmissibility often depend on the circumstances surrounding a person’s removal. In general, the prohibitions work as follows:

• Five-Year Bar: People removed upon arrival to the United States or placed in proceedings upon arrival and then ordered removed by an immigration judge are subject to a five-year bar on reentry from the date of their removal.

• 10-Year Bar: People who entered the United States and were later placed in removal proceedings or left the United States willingly before removal proceedings were concluded are subject to a 10-year bar on reentry from the date of their removal.

• 20-Year Bar: People removed from the United States on more than one occasion are subject to a 20-year bar on reentry from the date of their removal.

• Permanent Bar: People convicted of aggravated felony offenses are permanently inadmissible and forever barred from reapplying for a visa without filing Form I-212. If a person is permanently barred under INA § 212(a)(9)(C) because of an aggregated one-year unlawful stay in the United States and left or were ordered removed from the United States and attempted to reenter illegally, they must wait 10 years before filing Form I-212 even if they are married to a United States citizen or have citizen children.

People seeking consent to reenter the United States should file Form I-212 while they are residing outside the United States, as Form I-212 must be completed and filed by the appropriate immigration officials. People could be dealing with USCIS, a United States consulate, United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP), or an immigration court.

People who have remained in the United States despite having been ordered to be removed can file Form I-212 prior to departing the United States. If a Form I-212 earns approval while a person is still in the United States, the approval will remain conditional until the person has been deported or otherwise removed.

If a person is inadmissible pursuant to INA § 212(a)(9)(A) because they have been physically removed after having a removal order entered, they do not have to file Form I-212 if their inadmissibility time period has expired. Form I-212 will only be beneficial when a person is seeking admission to the United States while a time bar is still pending.

In most Form I-212 cases, USCIS will be seeking applicants who have good moral character, family ties within the United States, a previous duration of lawful presence within the United States, and will not be on public charges who require public assistance. A case can be negatively impacted by any criminal convictions, past violations of immigration law, unauthorized employment, or fraudulent marriages.

People will not have to file for consent to reapply when:

• They were inadmissible under INA § 212(a)(9)(A) but their inadmissibility period expired
• They were allowed to withdraw their application for admission at the border, and they departed the United States within the time specified for their departure
• They were refused entry at the border, but not formally removed
• They were refused admission as an applicant under the Visa Waiver Program
• They departed from the United States following an unlawful presence of one year or more, in the aggregate, but were not inadmissible under INA § 212(a)(9)(C)(i)(1) because while they were returning to the United States through a United States port-of-entry, they were paroled into the United States
• They were previously deported after having been ordered excluded, deported, or removed, but they are not inadmissible under INA § 212(a)(9)(C)(i)(I) because while returning to the United States through a United States port-of-entry, they were paroled into the United States
• An immigration judge issued an order of voluntary departure and the person left the United States during the time period specified in their voluntary departure order
• They are an applicant for Registry under INA § 249
• They are in U nonimmigrant status and are applying for adjustment of status under 8 CFR 245.24
• They are an applicant for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) under INA § 244

Call Us Today to Speak with an Arizona Immigration Lawyer

Are you thinking that you are going to need help reapplying for readmission to the United States? Diamondback Legal can be by your side the entire time and will walk you through every step of the process so you are not left to handle anything by yourself.

Our firm will work very closely with you and take the time to answer all of your questions so you can always know what is happening with your case. Call (602) 584-8938 or contact us online to take advantage of a free consultation.

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