Cite as 26 I&N Dec. 254 (BIA 2014) Interim Decision #3796
254
Matter of Ezzat H. ABDELGHANY, Respondent
Decided February 28, 2014
U.S. Department of Justice
Executive Office for Immigration Review
Board of Immigration Appeals
(1) A lawful permanent resident who has accrued 7 consecutive years of lawful
unrelinquished domicile in the United States and who is removable or deportable by
virtue of a plea or conviction entered before April 24, 1996, is eligible to apply for
discretionary relief under former section 212(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act,
8 U.S.C. § 1182(c) (1994), unless: (1) the applicant is subject to the grounds of
inadmissibility under sections 212(a)(3)(A), (B), (C), or (E), or (10)(C) of the Act,
8 U.S.C. §§ 1182(a)(3)(A), (B), (C), or (E), or (10)(C) (2012); or (2) the applicant has
served an aggregate term of imprisonment of at least 5 years as a result of one or more
aggravated felony convictions entered between November 29, 1990, and April 24, 1996.
(2) A lawful permanent resident who has accrued 7 consecutive years of lawful
unrelinquished domicile in the United States and who is removable or deportable by
virtue of a plea or conviction entered between April 24, 1996, and April 1, 1997, is
eligible to apply for discretionary relief from removal or deportation under former
section 212(c) of the Act unless: (1) the applicant’s removal or deportation proceedings
commenced on or after April 24, 1996, and the conviction renders the applicant
removable or deportable under one or more of the deportability grounds enumerated in
section 440(d) of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, Pub. L.
No. 104-132, 110 Stat. 1214, 1277 (as amended); or (2) the applicant is subject to the
grounds of inadmissibility under sections 212(a)(3)(A), (B), (C), or (E), or (10)(C) of
the Act; or (3) the applicant has served an aggregate term of imprisonment of at least 5
years as a result of one or more aggravated felony convictions entered between
November 29, 1990, and April 24, 1996.
(3) A lawful permanent resident who is otherwise eligible for relief under former section
212(c) of the Act may apply for such relief in removal or deportation proceedings
without regard to whether the relevant conviction resulted from a plea agreement or a
trial and without regard to whether he or she was removable or deportable under the
law in effect when the conviction was entered.
FOR RESPONDENT: Mumtaz A. Wani, Esquire, Falls Church, Virginia
FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY: Justin M. Leone, Assistant
Chief Counsel
AMICI CURIAE: American Immigration Lawyers Association; 1
Federation for
American Immigration Reform2
1
Steven W. Manning, Esquire
2 Michael M. Hethmon, Esquire