Eligibility for a Suspension of Deportation under NACARA 203

There are many extenuating circumstances that can arise that affect the decision of the US government as to whether or not they will deport an individual who is living in the United States illegally.  In some cases, these individuals have fallen through the cracks, and are quickly deported once they have been noticed by government officials.  However, certain types of individuals have been specifically selected as being eligible for suspension of deportation because they may be subject to racial or ethnic intimidation or other problems if they are returned to their home country.  Under the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act of 1997, also known as NACARA 203 K, certain individuals are eligible to avoid deportation and have their status converted to lawful citizenship.

Eligibility for a Suspension of Deportation under NACARA 203

To be eligible for NACARA to apply to your situation, you must meet specific criteria: 

• You have to be either a national of El Salvador or Guatemala, or, prior to December 31st, 1991, you must have been a national of Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Soviet Union or any recognized portion of the former Soviet Union, Romania, Russia, Yugoslavia or any one of the former Yugoslavian republics. 
• If you are a national of one of these countries and have been living in the US since that time, you will be eligible to have your deportation suspended and your immigration status changed to lawful permanent resident under NACARA 203 K.

Other eligibility requirements include:

• an uninterrupted residency period for seven years prior to the deportation arrangements being made;
• an affidavit that you have been an individual of good moral character during those seven years, and
• proof that your deportation back to your home country would prove to be an extreme hardship to you or your family.

In addition to these requirements, you may be asked to prove that you have been a resident in good moral standing for up to ten years if your initial application has been denied or if some portion of it has been rejected.  The only way you can be determined to be automatically ineligible is if you have been convicted of an aggravated felony charge while in the US.

Spouses or unmarried children of either type of NACARA-eligible foreign nationals are also eligible to have their deportation suspended by the NACARA 203 process.  You are not eligible to apply for NACARA relief unless you have a current case pending with the United States Customs and Immigration offices or unless your deportation has already been approved and is pending.  If you are not currently facing deportation, NACARA will not apply to you and you must wait until you have a case pending to invoke the NACARA statutes.

Getting Legal Help

If you are facing deportation, you should consult with an experienced US immigration attorney who can help you to determine whether you are eligible for a suspension of deportation under NACARA 203 and who can help you determine what your options are to stay in the US.