What makes you Removable and Inadmissible?

What Makes You Removable and Inadmissible?

Inadmissibility (INA §212(a))
Applies at the threshold—when seeking a visa, admission at the airport/land border, adjustment of status, or certain benefits. Removability Grounds often overlap with inadmissibility criteria.

• Health issues (untreated communicable diseases), required vaccinations missing.
• Criminal grounds (crimes involving moral turpitude; controlled-substance violations—note the very narrow exception for ≤30g marijuana simple possession).
• Security/terrorism grounds.
• Immigration fraud/misrepresentation, false claim to U.S. citizenship, or smuggling.
• Public charge (rare in most family cases with a valid I-864).
• Unlawful presence bars (3/10-year bars after certain overstays and departures).
  

Removability/Deportability (INA §237(a))

• Certain criminal convictions (aggravated felonies, some CIMTs, controlled-substance offenses, firearms). These are common Removability Grounds to consider.
• Status violations (overstaying or working without authorization for nonimmigrants).
• Fraud discovered after admission, marriage fraud, or smuggling.
• Failure to register/address updates, conditional green card termination, or public charge within five years in rare scenarios.
  

Why the distinction matters

• Strategy changes: A person seeking a green card faces §212; a current LPR charged in court faces §237.

Protect yourself
Gather dispositions, immigration history (I-94s, entries/exits), and consider waivers or post-conviction relief where eligible. Early, precise lawyering often turns a Removability Ground into an approvable pathway. It’s key to understand these grounds to protect your status.