Periods of Inadmissibility
The number of years you are found inadmissible following your deportation/removal from the United States depends on the period of unlawful presence you have accrued and the circumstances surrounding your removal.
- Five-Year Bar: If you were removed upon arrival to the U.S. (expedited removal) or were placed in proceedings upon arrival and then ordered removed by immigration judge, you are subject to the five-year bar on reentry, from the date of your removal (single offense);
- Ten-Year Bar: If you entered the U.S. and were later placed in removal proceedings, or if you left the U.S. willingly but before removal proceedings were concluded, you are subject to the ten-year bar on reentry, from the date of your removal (single offense);
- Twenty-Year Bar: If you have been removed from the U.S. on more than one occasion, you are subject to the 20-year bar on reentry, from the date of removal (multiple offense);
- Permanent Bar: If you were convicted of an aggravated felony, you are permanently inadmissible and forever barred from reapplying for a visa without filing Form I-212. If you are permanently barred under Section 212(a)(9)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (I.N.A.), because you aggregated one year’s unlawful stay in the U.S. and left, or you were ordered removed from the U.S, and then you attempted to reenter illegally, you must wait ten years before filing Form I-212 even if you are married to a United States citizen or have citizen children.
Those found inadmissible to the United States based on sections 212(a)(9)(A) or 212(a)(9)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) must file USCIS Form I-212 Application for Permission to Reapply for Admission After Deportation or Removal.
212(a)(9)(A)