Form EOIR-42B, Application for Cancellation of Removal and Adjustment of Status for Certain Nonpermanent Residents, is filed in immigration court by a noncitizen without LPR status who has been placed in removal proceedings. If the immigration judge grants the application, the respondent becomes a lawful permanent resident. The relief is discretionary, narrowly available (annual cap of 4,000 grants), and requires meeting the strict statutory requirements under INA §240A(b).
Statutory requirements under INA §240A(b)(1)
- 10 years of continuous physical presence in the United States immediately before the application (stop-time rule applies — service of the NTA stops the clock; brief, casual, and innocent absences may be tolerable depending on length and circumstances).
- Good moral character during those 10 years (no disqualifying conduct under INA §101(f)).
- No conviction of an offense under INA §212(a)(2), §237(a)(2), or §237(a)(3).
- Exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to the noncitizen's US-citizen or LPR spouse, parent, or child if removal is ordered. (This is a higher standard than "extreme hardship" — it requires hardship substantially beyond what would ordinarily result from removal.)
A separate VAWA-based cancellation under §240A(b)(2) is available for noncitizens battered or subjected to extreme cruelty by a US-citizen or LPR spouse or parent, with shorter time requirements and different hardship standards.
What we prepare
- Form EOIR-42B accurately completed with biographic, family, presence, and criminal-history data.
- Form EOIR-28 notice of representation if a licensed attorney is appearing.
- Form EOIR-26A fee waiver where applicable; the $100 application fee plus $30 biometrics fee otherwise.
- Continuous-presence evidence — tax returns and W-2s for 10+ years, lease and utility records, employment letters, school records, medical records, dated photos, sworn declarations from witnesses who can attest to presence.
- Good-moral-character evidence — clean record letters, employer letters, community letters, certified disposition for every criminal incident if any.
- Hardship evidence — qualifying relative's US-citizen / LPR status documentation, medical records, educational records, country-conditions evidence, financial dependence evidence, mental-health evaluations where relevant.
- Country-conditions packet — Department of State Country Reports, news articles, expert declarations on conditions affecting the qualifying relative if the family moved.
- Witness list and exhibit index per EOIR Practice Manual chapter 4.
What we do not do
Imverica does not represent clients in immigration court. Non-LPR cancellation involves legal argument about the §240A(b) hardship standard, cross-examination of witnesses, and judicial discretion — that is the practice of law and requires a licensed attorney or BIA-accredited representative. As a California Legal Document Assistant and Immigration Consultant, we accurately prepare the EOIR-42B and the evidence packet under your attorney's direction, organize court-ready indices and tabs per the EOIR Practice Manual, and translate foreign-language documents. We refer cases without counsel to our network of California immigration attorneys.
Statutory authority: INA §240A(b)(1), 8 U.S.C. §1229b(b)(1) (cancellation for nonpermanent residents); INA §240A(b)(2) (VAWA cancellation); INA §240A(d) (stop-time rule); INA §240A(e) (annual cap of 4,000 grants); EOIR Practice Manual. Court representation requires a licensed attorney or BIA-accredited representative.