is there a 10 year law?

Hey everyone,

I usually try to maintain myself educated on current immigration laws or at least the ones that most affect us as undocumented immigrants. I've heard people mention that if you've been in the country for 10 years, you would be able to be legalized. Now, I know that is not the case (or if it was, it's not anymore and hasn't been for a while) as we have many older dreamers who have been pushing for the age limit to be increased on DACA so they can qualify for some sort of legalization or legal status. With that said, my parents like to remain hopeful and brought me a newspaper with an article from an immigration lawyer that talks about a other options since DAPA is pretty much dead and mentions a "10 year law". I don't want to flat out crush my parents' dreams so I wanted to check with people here if there's in fact such a law.

Here's a link/screenshot of the newspaper article (in Spanish): http://gyazo.com/7225b8c32fda5a505476624ca349fece

The reference is on the last column. The only thing I found online was this: http://www.alllaw.com/articles/nolo/...rd-status.html

It refers to 10 years in the concept of trying to cancel removal proceedings (which my parents dont have). I remember some time before DACA was announced, hearing about a big court case (after seeing the article on this forum) where someone was granted deferred action in a similar fashion (not via DACA). Is that what the "10 year law" might refer to?

Thanks everyone!

Where do you guys come up with these nonsense?
The 10 year BAN refers to the "get tough" stance of the 1996 immigration law that was passed which among other things said Illegal aliens with six to 12 months of unlawful presence are barred for three years; those here for more than a year illegally are barred for 10 years.

In other words, 1996 dropped the gauntlet and said "Hey you illegals! This is your last warning. Get the hell out of the US now on your own and we'll let you leave without a penalty, but if we catch you and throw your ass out, if you've been here for less than a year we'll ban you for 3 years or otherwise we ban you for 10 years before ever being able to come here".

Thanks for the reply!

I understand how frustrating it must be to see people not doing enough research. That's why, as I stated, I like to keep myself informed well. I'm usually the go to in my community when people need applying for financial assistance to hospitals, reaching out to universities to still obtain financial aid despite status, and even dealing with state assembly members to obtain support when people ignore us due to our status. Trust me, I've even personally helped fill out DACA applications for multiple people (funny enough, I don't qualify) and even accompany people and work with banks when they don't want to accept their documents. However, I just wanted to verify this as my parents came up to me with this article and I was trying to not totally dismiss their little bit of hope.

I'm not sure what you have gone through that seems to be making you give a harsh response like that; however, I want you to know that if you need someone to talk to or a shoulder to cry on, feel free to message me. I'm only saying that because I understand how frustrating and detrimental to one's health it can be. Remember that we're all in this together and that, although I might not be able to fully understand where you're coming from, I'm always willing to help someone in need. Most importantly though, try to focus on the positives, enjoy life and be happy! It's much easier said than done but your quality of life will be very low if you focus on the hardships.

This is a common rumor among the community. But actually this 10 year residence can be used in a process in defense of someones removal proceedings. Cancellation of Removal for Certain Non Permanent Residents requires that you have continuously lived in the US for 10 years among other requirements. So, yes SOME people who have found themselves in removal proceedings and have the requirements to win this type of relief do end up with a green card.

The biggest issue with the Cancellation of Removal (EOIR-42B) is that you are to show that your USC/LPR relative (Kids, wife, parents) will suffer Extreme AND unusual hardship. So its a very high bar of evidence and only extreme cases end up getting granted.

The firm i work for, has in very good cases have had people surrender to immigration with the purpose of having them put in removal proceedings knowing that they have the level of evidence to win their case.

I thought you were an engineer, txgirl?

That right there is important. It's not just about having lived 10 years, but you have to already have a way to adjust (being related to Citizens/PRs). It only helps a small subset of the population who couldn't adjust normally and this way would be better AND easier...

I'd like to also add that the 10 years for cancellation of removal starts from the date you enter US, up to the date you get a notice to appear before an immigration court. So if you've had removal proceedings before, cancellation of removal is not a benefit you can seek (unless of course the proceedings initiated when you were already in US for more than 10 years). I don't think there's any way to resume the clock in any way.