VAWA Cancellation of Removal a. General Eligibility Requirements b. Extreme Hardship c. Continuous Physical Presence d. Good Moral Character (GMC) e. Not Inadmissible or Deportable on Certain Criminal Grounds f. Stop-Time RuleVIII. Important Case Law a. Overview of Changes in Cancellation-B Eligibility Interpretation b. Matter of Almanza-Arenas, 24 I&N Dec. 771 (BIA 2009) c. Matter of Cortez, 25 I&N Dec. 301 (BIA 2010) d. SummaryI. Introduction:Cancellation of removal for aliens who are not lawful permanent residents (cancellation-B or cancellation of removal, part-B) is a defensive form of immigration relief that an alien may apply for before an immigration judge when embroiled in removal proceedings.

This is a significant change for the Ninth Circuit, but also an important move away from the BIA’s position which it adopted when Almanza-Arenas’s case was before it. Matter of Almanza-Arenas, 24 I&N Dec. 771, 774 (BIA 2009).Here’s how I explain this situation in my forthcoming book Crimmigration Law, to be published by the American Bar Association next summer:Whose obligation is it to show that an applicant for cancellation meets the statutory eligibility requirements? The INA leaves no room to doubt that the burden rests on the migrant’s shoulders.

This week the BIA released a decision interpreting the application of the REAL ID Act of 2005, Division B of Pub. L. No. 109-13, 119 Stat. 231 (enacted May 11, 2005), on applications for relief from removal. See Matter of Almanza-Arenas, 24 I&N Dec. 771 (BIA 2009). As a preliminary matter, the BIA clarified that the REAL ID Act applies to all applications for relief filed on or after May 11, 2005.