It's been a popular week for immigrants to argue that serving more than 180 days imprisonment for a crime that does not involve moral turpitude should not pose a statutory bar to establishing the good moral character required for cancellation of removal for non-lawful permanent residents. It has also, unfortunately for the immigrants, been a popular week for circuit courts to disagree with them.
Similar the Fourth Circuit's decision earlier this week (http://www.sabrinadamast.com/journal/2015/3/4/no-good-moral-character-for-a-non-citizen-who-served-181-days-in-jail-for-illegal-entry), the Fifth Circuit determined that an immigrant who served 7 months for a federal conviction for falsely representing himself as a US citizen was statutorily barred from establishing good moral character.
In addition, the Fifth Circuit joined the Seventh Circuit in affirming the BIA's interpretation of when an applicant must demonstrate good moral character for cancellation of removal. The court disagreed with the petitioner's argument that the 10 years of good moral character, like the 10 years of continuous physical presence, ends with service of the Notice to Appear, and determined that instead, the good moral character period continues until the issuance of a final administrative decision on the cancellation application. Thus, the petitioner's confinement, which occurred after service of the Notice to Appear, still occurred within the relevant good moral character period, barring him from cancellation of removal.
The full text of Rodriguez-Avalos v. Holder can be found here: http://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/13/13-60736-CV0.pdf