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The BIA in Matter of Shanu said that an adjustment of status (obtaining a green card inside the US) is an "admission" to the US, the same as any entry at the border with a visa. The BIA has now determined that for purposes of the ground of removal (deportation) which requires that a Crime Involving Moral Turpitude (punishable by a term of imprisonment of at least one year) be committed within five years of admission, there is only one "date of admission" and therefore each of the alien's admissions to the country and any adjustment of status will not restart the five years in question. In part, the BIA reasoned that creating a uniform rule that adjustments of status never act as admissions would create problems in the areas where aliens want to count adjustments as admissions, such as for certain waivers.

Instead, the analysis of the "date of admission" is more complicated than before, but will result in many aliens no longer being removable from the United States. The "date of admission" is determined by looking at the date the alien committed the crime to see whether on that date the alien was present in the United States pursuant to an admission that occurred more than five years earlier. As the BIA put it: "we find that the most natural reading of section 237(a)(2)(A)(i) is that the phrase 'the date of admission' refers to the date of the admission by virtue of which the alien was present in the United States when he committed his crime." That means that an alien who entered the US more than five years before committing the crime, but then adjusted his status is no longer subject removal, because that subsequent adjustment just extended his or her prior admission. This is in contrast to someone who entered within five years of committing the crime, or who may have prior admissions or adjustments of status outside the five year range that are also unconnected.

Therefore, each case needs to be more carefully analyzed than it was before when the rule was that any admission, including a subsequent adjustment of status was a new admission for purposes of the five-year rule. So, if you or a client are facing removal proceedings, you can contact us to consult on the impact of this new decision on your particular fact pattern. You can reach us at 816-753-7382 or info@willmothlaw.com.