The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently clarified two related requirements for obtaining Cancellation of Removal for non-Lawful Permanent Residents. Rodriguez-Avalos v. Holder, No. 13-60736, slip op. (5th Cir. March 4, 2015). Specifically, the court concluded that the good moral character requirement doesn’t involve an analysis of moral turpitude and that the applicant must have established GMC during the ten years immediately preceding the immigration judge or Board of Immigration Appeals’ decision. This case involved a migrant who entered without inspection and was later [...]
10 Cir: Sentence reduction doesn’t alter period actually confined for good moral character determination
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit held that the period of confinement actually served governs a determination of whether a migrant lacks good moral character even if a criminal court reduces the sentence to a period less than the time actually spent behind bars. Garcia-Mendoza v. Holder, No. 13-9531, slip op. (10th Cir. June 2, 2014). Judge Briscoe wrote the panel’s opinion. This case involved a man who overstayed a visa and, years later, was convicted of driving under the influence and leaving the scene of an accident. He spent 104 days in jail prior to his conviction, all of [...]