Last week, the Fifth Circuit issued a terrific decision construing the requirements for cancellation of removal for lawful permanent residents. Specifically, the court addressed what it means to be "admitted in any status" for the requisite 7 years. The petitioner had been granted his lawful permanent residence less than 7 years prior to the commission of a controlled substance offense, but more than 7 years after he was waved into the United States as a passenger in a car. The Board of Immigration Appeals had previously ruled that such a "wave through" constituted an admission, but in this case, had found that "admission in any status" requires admission in a lawful status. The Fifth Circuit disagreed, and found that a wave-through was an admission in "any status," regardless of whether that status was legal or illegal, and such, the petitioner had the necessary 7 years following admission in any status to qualify for cancellation of removal for lawful permanent residents.
The full text of Tula-Rubio v. Lynch can be found here: http://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/14/14-60183-CV0.pdf