When someone is applying to immigrate to the United States, or has already come to the United States but has not naturalized, he or she must be extremely careful regarding his or her criminal record. There are specific crimes that will render someone either inadmissible or deportable (depending on whether he or she is inside or outside the country when the crimes are discovered) if they appear on someone’s record. Sometimes, waivers are available; often, however, it is not possible to remove the crime from one’s record, and he or she must simply stay away.

Crimes of Moral Turpitude

The term ‘crime involving moral turpitude’ (CIMT) is never expressly defined in U.S. immigration law. However, judicial precedent has delineated certain crimes that have been held to be crimes of moral turpitude. The common elements that have been shown to appear in many CIMT cases are fraud, larceny, and/or intent to harm (people or property). The more elements a crime contains, the more likely it will be held a CIMT. However, a generalized definition is that a CIMT ‘shocks the conscience of the populace.’

It is pivotal to understand CIMTs because committing a certain number of them will render a defendant inadmissible (or deportable, if they are already in the country). For quite some time, the defendant’s job was even more difficult than one might think, due to Matter of Silva-Trevino, an administrative case that held that in some cases, an immigration judge was permitted to examine facts not in evidence in order to determine whether or not the defendant had committed a CIMT. Thankfully, Silva-Trevino was overruled in 2013 by Olivas-Motta v. Holder, which restricted judges to the record.

There are two ways that committing one or more CIMTs can render an immigrant deportable. The first is if he or she commits a CIMT within the first five years after admission, while the second is committing two or more CIMTs that did not result from a single scheme of criminal misconduct any time after the immigrant is admitted. An example of the second would be if someone kidnapped one person and assaulted a second; however, if a person kidnapped two people in succession, that would likely be held as a single scheme.

Aggravated Felonies

Any illegal immigrant who is convicted of an aggravated felony is deportable and/or inadmissible, with no further palaver possible. However, something that constitutes an aggravated felony in immigration terms may be neither aggravated, nor a felony—a crime is ultimately an aggravated felony if Congress has mandated that it is.

Aggravated felonies carry significant immigration penalties, not least of all that committing one renders an immigrant deportable in nearly all circumstances. It also renders an immigrant unable to receive certain other benefits like cancellation of removal or voluntary departure. The immigrant also may not apply for asylum.

Perhaps the most difficult consequence of committing an aggravated felony is that it renders someone permanently ineligible to return to the United States once he or she has left. Commission of an aggravated felony renders someone permanently inadmissible, and only an extremely unusual and rare waiver (under Section 212(h) of the Immigration & Nationality Act) will get rid of the problem. To obtain a 212(h) waiver, one must show extreme hardship to U.S. citizen family members, as well as eligibility for a family-based green card. The aggravated felony must also not have been drug-related or especially violent.

Contact an Immigration Attorney for Help

If you have been convicted of a crime and need help determining whether it is a CIMT or aggravated felony, the Chicago immigration attorneys at Katz Law Office, Ltd. can be of assistance. We have several convenient Chicagoland locations, and one in Mexico City, to assist you with your immigration needs. Contact us for a consultation today.