Crimes That Would Cause a Green Card Holder To Be Deported


A Person with a Green Card and not a US citizen can be placed in deportation. This is called “Being in Removal Proceedings”. The Green Card can be taken away and the immigrant be placed in Jail–Immigration Jail–even after completion of criminal sentence.


Can all crimes make a Green Card holder lose his immigration status? In summary conviction of two types of crimes will be grounds for deportation:

1- Crimes of Moral Turpitude and 2-Aggravated Felonies. The conviction may be through acceptance of crime without admittance to the guilt. This type of conviction is called “Nolo Contendere”. Although guilty pleas such as Nole Contendere appear to be a good deal for a charged individual, but it bears no positive outcome for immigration purposes.


A Green Card holder who has been charged with a crime which is not a crime of moral turpitude or aggravated felony may be placed in deportation if he leaves the US and later comes back. At the port of entry he would be taken in, marked as inadmissible and depending on the crime he may be placed into immigration detention.


It may be possible to argue that your conviction should not be classified as a crime of moral turpitude, or that the statute that you violated contains elements that would not always pertain to a crime of moral turpitude.


These types of defenses will be highly dependent upon the wording of the statute under which you were convicted. Criminal statutes almost always come from state law, so you may be raising brand new questions about how these statutes are interpreted under federal immigration law.


Under INA § 237(a)(2)(E) Domestic Violence or related crimes are grounds for deportation for example: stalking , child abandonment, neglect or abuse, court determination of violation of restraining order or Domestic Violence.

Criminal Immigration is a complex field of law. Also it is constantly changing as the new case laws come into affect. If you or your loved ones are immigrants; their immigration status would most likely be affected as the unfortunate consequence of their conviction.


It is heartbreaking but there might be a solution. Sometimes there is a possibility of a second chance. You must immediately contact our office today for legal guidance and representation.

It is advisable to seek legal guidance from our office today as we strive to help guide you with your specific case. 

Attorney Ramona Kennedy cares about your case and will fight for you.

You can contact attorney Ramona Kennedy Law Offices (Kennedy Law LC) for an initial consultation and case evaluation. The first consultation is free of charge. 

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