Our office recently achieved success vacating an order of expedited removal and the underlying charges of inadmissibility on behalf of a client who was issued an order of expedited removal at a land border port of entry one year earlier on charges of fraud and misrepresentation [INA § 212(a)(6)(C)(i)] and as an intending immigrant [INA § 212(a)(7)(A)(i)(I)]. The order of expedited removal was vacated by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) Chief Inspector of the land border port of entry where the original expedited order was issued.
Our client, a native of India and citizen of Canada, was applying for admission at the land border port of entry for the purpose of attending a family event in the United States. Although not a native of Canada, our client has lived in that country for nearly 15 years. Significantly, our client has never lived in the United States for any period of time. Rather, he has been consistently employed in Canada and also runs his own Canadian-based business.
Our client also suffers from a number of medical conditions, for which he has been prescribed several medications and is also under the care of a team of physicians. In fact, he had a doctor’s appointment in Canada 3 days after the date on which he applied for admission to the U.S. and was issued the order of expedited removal. At the time of the expedited removal order, our client’s combination of medications caused him to suffer the side effects of dizziness, hypotension, and incoherence.
These side effects apparently caused our client to appear suspicious during his inspection by CBP officials at the land border port of entry. Our client, however, was extremely confused during the U.S. inspection process. In fact, it was even recorded by CBP officials in the record of the sworn statement they took from our client (Form I-867A). On at least 10 occasions during the interview/inspection process, our client specifically stated that he was confused by the inspecting officers’ questions. Despite his confusion, however, the interview and inspection continued.
At the end of the inspection, CBP officials issued our client a Form I-860, Notice and Order of Expedited Removal, charging him with committing fraud in his application for admission to the U.S. and also charging him as attempting to enter the U.S. for the purpose of residing here permanently.
Our client then contacted our office to inquire about challenging the order of expedited removal. Working together, we were able to compile extensive documentation showing that both of the charges lodged against our client were not sustainable. Specifically, we collected substantial medical documentation, including letters from our client’s physicians confirming that the combination of his medications and disorders at the time caused him to suffer a number of side effects, including incoherence, dizziness, and hypotension. Our client's physician also confirmed in writing his medical appointment in Canada only 3 days following the expedited removal order.
We also gathered extensive documentation of our client’s full-time employment and business ownership in Canada, as well as his family and property ties in that country. With this supporting documentation, we were able to put together a strong request to vacate the expedited removal order.
In addition to the supporting documents described above, our request to vacate the expedited order included a detailed legal brief that set forth why the order of expedited removal could not be sustained. After making initial contact with the issuing port of entry, we sent our request to the Chief Inspector of that particular location. We also sent a copy to the CBP Office of Chief Counsel with jurisdiction over the issuing port of entry.
Only a short time after submission, the Chief Inspector contacted our office and notified us that our request was granted and the order of expedited removal was to be vacated, as were the charges of inadmissibility. This is extremely significant, as a charge of fraud or misprepresentation pursuant to INA § 212(a)(6)(C)(i) carries with it a lifetime bar to admission to the United States. A few weeks later, our client received a letter from CBP confirming that his records had been updated to reflect that he was no longer inadmissible due to the order of expedited removal or due to either of the originally lodged charges. He can now travel to the U.S. as a visitor freely, without the need for a waiver.