Law Office of Camille K. Cook – Experienced attorneys protecting the rights of immigrants

On April 29, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision in Niz-Chavez v. Garland that could impact a large number of people in immigration court proceedings. To qualify for Cancellation of Removal, an individual must, among other things, have been physically present in the United States for 10 years. The “stop-time” rule cuts off the amount of time that an individual has accrued for cancellation of removal purposes. Federal law states the “stop-time” rule is triggered when an immigrant is served with a Notice to Appear. In Niz-Chavez, the Supreme Court stated that a Form I-862 that does not list the date and time of the initial hearing is insufficient to trigger the “time-stop” rule for purposes of cancellation of removal. The decision states that the federal law requires that the time and date of the initial hearing, among other things, to be included in the Notice to Appear. By failing to include this information in Notices to Appear, the documents that the government has issued are not Notices to Appear as defined by federal law. Thus, the document in Niz-Chavez, and thousands of similar forms issued by the government, failed to trigger the “stop-time” rule. The ruling further states that the federal government cannot cure a defective NTA by issuing a subsequent Notice of Hearing providing the date and time of the initial hearing. The decision in Niz-Chavez has the potential of having a much wider impact on individuals who have been issued defective NTA’s than just triggering the “stop-time” rule. If you believe the Niz-Chavez decision could impact your case, give our office a call at (559) 558-5118 to discuss your immigration options with one of our three immigration lawyers.