Cancellation of removal
Cancellation of removal is an order by an immigration judge that ends the case and lets you stay. INA 240A holds three versions of it: one for permanent residents who keep their green card, one for people with no status who receive a green card, and one for people abused by a citizen or resident spouse or parent. Each has its own clock, its own bars and its own hardship rule, and all three are discretionary and available once in a lifetime.
Current as of September 2026. We re-check this page every quarter and after any rule change.
Every form of cancellation works the same way at the hearing. You file the application, you carry the burden under 8 C.F.R. 1240.8(d) of proving each element and of showing that the judge should grant it as a matter of discretion, and the judge decides after a full individual hearing. What differs is what you have to prove, and that depends on who you are when the Notice to Appear arrives. This page compares the three versions and sends you to the right one. It is one item on the full list of relief from removal.
The three forms, side by side
| Element | Permanent residents INA 240A(a) | Non-permanent residents INA 240A(b)(1) | VAWA INA 240A(b)(2) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who | A lawful permanent resident | Anyone without a green card | A person battered or subjected to extreme cruelty by a U.S.-citizen or LPR spouse or parent, or the parent of such a child |
| Time | 5 years as an LPR and 7 years of continuous residence after admission in any status | 10 years of continuous physical presence immediately before the application | 3 years of continuous physical presence |
| Hardship | None required | Exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to a U.S.-citizen or LPR spouse, parent or child | Extreme hardship to you, your child or your parent |
| Good moral character | Not an element, but part of discretion | Required for the 10 years | Required |
| Aggravated felony | Bars | Bars, along with any conviction under 212(a)(2), 237(a)(2) or 237(a)(3) | Bars |
| Result | You keep the green card | You are granted a green card | You are granted a green card |
| The 4,000 cap | No | Yes | Yes |
| Form | EOIR-42A | EOIR-42B | EOIR-42B |
The two words that separate the first two columns are residence and presence. A permanent resident counts seven years of continuous residence, and the clock starts at any admission, not only the admission as a resident. A person without status counts ten years of continuous physical presence, and a single absence of more than 90 days, or absences adding up to more than 180 days, breaks it under INA 240A(d)(2).
The other word is hardship. Permanent residents do not have to show any. People without status have to show hardship to a qualifying relative that the Board in Matter of Monreal-Aguinaga, 23 I&N Dec. 56 (BIA 2001), described as "substantially beyond" what ordinarily follows from a family member's deportation. VAWA applicants show extreme hardship, a lower standard, and it may be hardship to themselves.
The stop-time rule
All three clocks are subject to INA 240A(d)(1). Continuous residence or physical presence is deemed to end at the earlier of two events: service of a Notice to Appear under INA 239(a), or the commission of an offense referred to in INA 212(a)(2) that renders you inadmissible under 212(a)(2) or removable under 237(a)(2) or (a)(4). Two points about the offense prong: it is the date of commission, not the conviction, under Matter of Perez, 22 I&N Dec. 689 (BIA 1999), and under Barton v. Barr, 590 U.S. 222 (2020), an offense that "renders" a permanent resident inadmissible stops the clock even though the resident is not seeking admission.
Defective Notices to Appear
The Notice to Appear prong has been litigated to the Supreme Court twice. In Pereira v. Sessions, 585 U.S. 198 (2018), the Court held that a document that omits the time and place of the hearing is not a "notice to appear under section 239(a)" and does not stop time. In Niz-Chavez v. Garland, 593 U.S. 155 (2021), it held that the notice has to be a single document; the government cannot complete a defective notice with a later hearing notice. For a person who was short of the required years when served with a defective notice, the clock kept running, and many people reached seven or ten years while their cases were pending.
The defect does not end the case. Under Matter of Arambula-Bravo, 28 I&N Dec. 388 (BIA 2021), the court still has jurisdiction, and under Matter of Fernandes, 28 I&N Dec. 605 (BIA 2022), an objection to the missing time and place has to be raised before the close of pleadings or it is generally forfeited. The stop-time consequence and the objection are two different things, and both are covered on defective Notices to Appear.
Check the date on the notice before anything else
The first question in every cancellation case is what day the clock stopped, if it stopped at all. That depends on what the Notice to Appear says, when it was served, and what is in the criminal record. Get the notice and the certified dispositions before deciding which form of cancellation, if any, is open.
One time only, and the other bars
INA 240A(c) lists the people who cannot receive cancellation at all, whichever version they would otherwise fit. Under 240A(c)(6), anyone previously granted cancellation of removal, suspension of deportation or relief under former section 212(c) is barred. It is a one-time remedy, and a prior grant under any of the three names counts. The rest of 240A(c) bars crewmen, certain J-1 exchange visitors, and people inadmissible under INA 212(a)(3) or deportable under 237(a)(4), the security and related grounds.
Discretion
Meeting the elements makes you eligible. It does not make you a grantee. Cancellation is discretionary, and under 8 C.F.R. 1240.8(d) you carry the burden of showing that it "should be granted in the exercise of discretion." For permanent residents the Board set out the balancing in Matter of C-V-T-, 22 I&N Dec. 7 (BIA 1998), adopting the framework from Matter of Marin, 16 I&N Dec. 581 (BIA 1978): the favorable factors in your life are weighed against the adverse ones. For the other two forms the hardship showing does most of the work, but the judge still weighs the whole record.
Forms and fees
The application is Form EOIR-42A for permanent residents and Form EOIR-42B for non-permanent residents and VAWA applicants. Both are filed with the immigration court, and biometrics are processed through USCIS. As of September 2026 the government filing fee is $710 for Form EOIR-42A and $1,640 for Form EOIR-42B, for filings postmarked on or after February 1, 2026, each made up of a $100 EOIR fee and a fee added by the 2025 reconciliation law, plus a $30 biometrics fee per person. None of it is our legal fee. A fee waiver may be requested from the judge for the EOIR component; whether the 2025 component can be waived is a question we have not confirmed. The EOIR forms and fees page is authoritative, and we confirm the amount with you before filing.
The 4,000 cap
INA 240A(e)(1) limits grants of cancellation and suspension of deportation to 4,000 per fiscal year. When the cap is reached, a judge who would grant reserves the decision until a number is available, which can be a later fiscal year. The cap affects when the order issues, not whether you qualify. VAWA cancellation counts against it too; 240A(e)(3) exempts only certain NACARA applicants and people who applied for suspension of deportation before April 1997.
Go to your form of cancellation
Permanent residents
Five years as an LPR, seven years of residence after any admission, no aggravated felony. The stop-time rule and the categorical approach decide most of these cases. INA 240A(a).
Read →Non-permanent residents
Ten years, good moral character, no disqualifying conviction, and exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to a citizen or resident spouse, parent or child. INA 240A(b)(1).
Read →VAWA cancellation
Three years, extreme hardship to you or your child or parent, and abuse by a citizen or resident spouse or parent. The abuser's cooperation is not needed. INA 240A(b)(2).
Read →If none of the three fits
People who miss cancellation by a few months, or by one conviction, usually have something else on the list. A permanent resident with a waivable ground may re-adjust with a 212(h) waiver. A resident whose plea predates April 1, 1997 may still have former 212(c) relief. A person with a citizen spouse may qualify for adjustment of status in court. A person who fears return may have an asylum, withholding or CAT claim. And before any application, the charge itself may not hold: see motions to terminate.
Read next: cancellation for permanent residents, cancellation for non-permanent residents, defective Notices to Appear, or the individual hearing.
Common questions
Which form of cancellation applies to me?
If you hold a green card, INA 240A(a) applies and asks for five years as a permanent resident, seven years of continuous residence after any admission, and no aggravated felony conviction. If you have no status, INA 240A(b)(1) applies and asks for ten years of physical presence, good moral character, no disqualifying conviction, and exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to a citizen or resident spouse, parent or child. If you were battered or subjected to extreme cruelty by a citizen or resident spouse or parent, INA 240A(b)(2) asks for three years and extreme hardship.
Can I apply outside of immigration court?
No. Cancellation of removal exists only in removal proceedings and only an immigration judge can grant it. The application is Form EOIR-42A for permanent residents and Form EOIR-42B for everyone else, filed with the court. There is no USCIS version. A person who is not in proceedings cannot ask for it.
What does the stop-time rule do?
Under INA 240A(d)(1), the years you are counting stop accruing when you are served with a Notice to Appear that contains the time and place of your hearing, or when you commit an offense referred to in INA 212(a)(2) that makes you inadmissible or removable, whichever comes first. A Notice to Appear that omits the time and place does not stop the clock, under Pereira v. Sessions and Niz-Chavez v. Garland, and a later hearing notice cannot complete it.
Can I get cancellation twice?
No. Under INA 240A(c)(6), cancellation is not available to anyone who was previously granted cancellation of removal, suspension of deportation or relief under former section 212(c). One grant is all the statute allows. A person who was granted cancellation once and is back in proceedings has to look elsewhere on the list of relief.
Tell us where your case is. We will tell you what is still possible.
You get a free case review with an attorney, in your language. We speak English, Russian, Spanish and Uzbek in-house, and we bring in a live interpreter for anything else. We will tell you what stage you are at, which forms of relief are open to you, what your deadlines are, and whether we can help. If we cannot, we will say so.