Practice Advisory: Understanding and Overcoming Bars to Relief Triggered by a Prior Removal Order

People who have been ordered removed by an immigration judge or other immigration official face significant risks and hurdles in establishing eligibility for immigration benefits for which they might otherwise be eligible. For example, individuals with removal orders are generally at risk of summary removal at any time. Having a removal order may also trigger bars to eligibility for immigration relief. And in the case of applications for immigration benefits such as adjustment of status and asylum, the noncitizen must typically first reopen the order before they can apply, and reopening carries its own list of requirements. It is thus important to conduct a careful eligibility analysis at the outset, as part of case assessment.