When everything else has failed, sometimes a “stay” of removal is the last option to save your case! In order to request a typical stay of deportation or removal, you must file Form I-246, Application for Stay of Deportation of Removal, with the local Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) office of U.S. Immigrations and Custom Enforcement. Along with your application, you must provide current and valid passports for you and your family, copies of your birth certificates and/or identity documents, and any police reports and court documents relating to any arrests and criminal convictions that you have on your records. You also must pay a $155 fee to process your application. You also must provide ERO with evidence supporting your claim that you should not be deported or removed from the United States to your home country. This evidence will differ from case to case. The strongest types of evidence will include letters from friends and family members that show your good moral character, documented evidence showing how long you have been present in the U.S., and evidence of any medical or psychological hardship that your close family member who depends on you would suffer if you were deported. Additionally, if you do have any arrests or criminal convictions, you should provide evidence that you have been rehabilitated since the time of the arrest or conviction. You should be aware that ICE currently has a set of guidelines to follow in deporting immigrants. In other words, if your case does not fall into one of the ICE priority classifications, then you may be eligible for a stay of removal. This means that you could stay in the U.S. longer, even though you technically could be removed or deported at any time. In general, ICE may exercise prosecutorial discretion and grant you a stay of removal if your case contains one of the following factors:
- Extenuating circumstances concerning the offense of conviction
- Extended time period since the offense of conviction
- Length of time in the United States
- Military service
- Family or community ties in the United States
- Status as a victim, witness, or plaintiff in civil or criminal proceedings
- Compelling humanitarian factors, such as age, poor health, pregnancy, a young child, or a seriously ill family member
Other similar factors also may contribute to the ICE analysis of a request for stay of deportation or removal. ICE must consider the totality of the circumstances in analyzing and processing your request. Obviously, the more detailed and extensive information concerning one or more of these factors that you can provide to ICE with your application, the more successful your application is likely to be. Whether you potentially are eligible to file an I-246 stay, or another mechanism that would allow you to remain in the U.S., we devote all of our efforts to advocating on behalf of you and your family before the immigration court and ICE. Don’t hesitate to contact the Bay Area immigration lawyers of Landerholm Immigration, A.P.C., and set up your free evaluation today. We are here to help!