SECOND OR SUBSEQUENT REMOVAL
INA §212(a)(9)(A) increases the inadmissibility period to twenty years in the case of a second or subsequent removal. A complete immigration history is necessary because travelers may have more than one removal even when they remember only the most recent event.
INA §212(a)(9)(A) provides a twenty-year period for a second or subsequent removal. This language appears in both the arriving-applicant provision and the provision covering other prior removals.
A prior removal that seems old or unrelated may still change the statutory period. The complete immigration history should be reconstructed before assuming that a five-year or ten-year rule applies.
Relevant events can include an expedited-removal order and a removal order entered in immigration proceedings. A departure while an order of removal is outstanding can also be important under §212(a)(9)(A)(ii).
A withdrawal of an application for admission is different and should not automatically be counted as a removal.
People with a long immigration history may not possess all prior orders or border records. FOIA requests to the appropriate immigration agencies can help reconstruct the history before a new visa, I-212 or admission strategy is developed.
The consent-to-reapply exception in INA §212(a)(9)(A)(iii) can be relevant when the applicant seeks permission to reapply before the applicable period has expired.
Approval is discretionary and does not waive unrelated inadmissibility grounds.
A second removal can trigger the twenty-year provision of §212(a)(9)(A), but some people with a prior removal also trigger §212(a)(9)(C) if they later enter or attempt to enter the United States without being admitted.
Those provisions are different and can require different timing and consent-to-reapply analysis.
No. The question is whether there were two qualifying removals, not merely two refusals.
A genuine withdrawal of an application for admission is not the same as a removal order.
Potentially, yes. The complete history and statutory timing must be reviewed.
Not necessarily. The §212(a)(9)(A)(iii) consent-to-reapply provision may allow an I-212 request before the period expires.
These government materials provide the principal statutory and agency framework discussed on this page.
A complete history can determine whether a repeat-removal rule applies and whether Form I-212 should be pursued before the statutory period ends.