“Hi this is immigration attorney Abhisha Parikh and today I will be briefly going over the permanent bar. always consult a competent immigration attorney if this situation applies to you. the permanent bar is a ten year bar that requires you to stay outside the US for a full 10 years before you can qualify for any immigration benefits or release. unlike the 10 year bar for unlawful presents, there is no waiver available for the permanent bar. It does not matter if you are married to a US citizen or have parents willing to sponsor you. if you’ve triggered the permanent bar outside the US there is usually no legal release. you must wait outside the us for a full 10 years. the bar can be triggered in two different ways. The first way to trigger the permanent bar is through unlawful presence. if you have been in the US for a year or longer, leave the US and try to renter illegally- you have triggered the permanent bar. the second way to trigger the permanent bar is if you have a final order of removal and you leave the US and illegally reenter to the US. Now you can successfully renter the US illegally or you can be caught trying to enter. you do not have to be successful in entering for the permanent bar to attach. Even if you attempted to come back illegally and were successful they can still put the permanent bar on you. for purposes of the permanent bar, when you renter after this period of 10 years, which was created on April 1 1997, when you renter after this period of time they will count the unlawful presence before April 1997 against you. however, if you’ve reentered before April 1997 before the law was in place there may be options available to you. For purposes of the one year period of unlawful presence the permanent bar adds up every day you have been in the US illegally, even if it was for many trips. The minute you hit the one year mark, all your trips added up and then attempt to reenter the US illegally- you have triggered the Permanent bar. if you are currently in the US and have already triggered the permanent bar there is little relief available to you. However, if you are an immigration corp. you may be granted cancellation of removal, even if you’ve triggered the permanent bar. Cancellation of removal is a form of relief that is very difficult to be granted. it is one of the most common forms of relief, so judges are usually not impressed with your argument if it sounds like everyone else’s that they’ve already seen. Victims of crime through the tv programs may also be able to get around the permanent bar. Lastly, political asylum and abused spouses may be able to get around the permanent bar. there may be relief available to you if you believe you’ve been triggered by the permanent bar.”
