212(c) Relief

The Sofia Law Firm has successfully helped clients with old criminal convictions apply for relief under section 212(c) with USCIS and then apply for naturalization without even stepping foot inside an immigration courtroom.

An application for relief under section 212(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act is an old form of relief that is only available to people who would have qualified when it was in effect. 212(c) relief waives the consequences of certain criminal convictions, including aggravated felonies, if the applicant was already a permanent resident when the conviction occurred and it occurred before April 1, 1997. You must show that you have been in lawful status for seven years, served less than five years in prison, and that your positive equities outweigh any negative equities. This is generally not difficult for people who qualify for 212(c) relief to prove because it will have been decades since they were convicted.  

An application for 212(c) relief can be filed with an immigration judge if you are already in removal proceedings. If you are in removal proceedings, you will file the application with the court along with supporting evidence of your rehabilitation, ties to the community, positive equities, and criminal records. You will then have an “individual hearing” which is the equivalent of a trial to convince the immigration judge that you deserve the opportunity to remain in the United States. However, unlike cancellation of removal, if you are not in removal proceedings but you know that you will need the waiver and qualify for relief, you can apply affirmatively with USCIS. This prevents you from having to go into removal proceedings and can lead to a quicker decision on the case. 

However, please note that for certain aggravated felony convictions you will be able to retain your green card with a grant of 212(c) relief, but you will never be able to naturalize.