Sworn Statement
The officer creates a record of the facts and the traveler’s statements using Forms I-867A and I-867B.
Understand whether CBP issued a removal order, what inadmissibility finding was recorded, how long the reentry bar may last, and what may be required before returning lawfully.
Expedited removal is a procedure that allows an immigration officer to issue a removal order without the ordinary removal hearing before an immigration judge when the person is covered by INA §235(b)(1) and is found inadmissible under specified grounds.
At a port of entry, common statutory grounds include INA §212(a)(6)(C), involving fraud or willful misrepresentation, and INA §212(a)(7), involving missing or inadequate entry documents.
A traveler may instead have withdrawn an application for admission, been refused entry under another procedure, or departed under different paperwork. The actual forms and CBP record must be reviewed.
The Procedure
The officer creates a record of the facts and the traveler’s statements using Forms I-867A and I-867B.
The statement is read to the traveler or read by the traveler, with corrections initialed and pages signed.
The officer states the charges on Form I-860, Notice and Order of Expedited Removal, and the traveler may respond.
The order must receive supervisory review and approval before it becomes final.
Except for limited statutory and regulatory exceptions, a person in expedited removal proceedings is not entitled to a standard INA §240 hearing before an immigration judge and cannot appeal the order to the Board of Immigration Appeals.
That makes the inspection record especially important.
When a person subject to expedited removal expresses an intention to apply for asylum or a fear of persecution, torture or return, the inspecting officer must refer the person for the applicable fear-screening procedure.
CBP may conclude that the traveler made a false statement, omitted a material fact or presented information inconsistent with the true purpose of travel.
The traveler may lack the visa, passport, immigrant visa, advance parole or other documentation required for the intended admission.
Messages, prior work, planned services or remote work evidence may cause CBP to question whether the traveler is seeking admission in the proper classification.
Evidence of plans to live, work, marry, adjust status or remain permanently can cause problems for classifications requiring temporary intent.
A person ordered removed under INA §235(b)(1) as an arriving applicant is generally inadmissible if seeking admission within five years of the removal.
Certain repeat removals and aggravated felony cases can carry longer consequences.
The statutory removal bar does not apply during the relevant period if the government grants consent to reapply before the person seeks admission.
Form I-212 does not by itself waive fraud, unlawful presence, criminal inadmissibility or another independent ground.
Review the purpose of travel, questions, answers, documents, device searches, signatures, interpretation and departure circumstances.
Determine whether Form I-860 was issued and which statutory grounds CBP recorded.
Analyze the removal bar separately from fraud, documentation, criminal, unlawful-presence or other issues.
The plan may involve CBP records, Form I-212, another waiver, a new visa application, correction advocacy or waiting until a statutory period expires.
There is no general administrative appeal to an immigration judge or the Board of Immigration Appeals. Possible review, correction or challenge strategies are highly fact specific and depend on the record, alleged legal error and procedure available to the agency or court.
Potential concerns may include inaccurate identity information, material translation problems, statements not read back, disputed signatures, an incorrect legal ground, failure to address a fear claim, or a status claim requiring special review.
A disagreement with CBP is not automatically a legal basis to vacate an order. The record, jurisdictional limits and practical immigration objective must be evaluated before selecting a strategy.
A new visa or ESTA response that conflicts with the CBP record can create further credibility or misrepresentation concerns.
Expiration of the removal period does not automatically erase a separate fraud, documentation or criminal ground.
Traveling without required consent to reapply can result in another refusal and more serious immigration consequences.
Form I-212 addresses permission to reapply after removal. It is not a universal waiver for every ground of inadmissibility.
Passport markings, visa cancellations and signed documents may be essential to reconstruct the event.
The controlling government record may differ from the verbal explanation provided during a stressful inspection.
Form I-860 is a key indicator, but the inspection record may also include Forms I-867A/B and other CBP documents. A return flight alone does not prove expedited removal.
A first qualifying arriving applicant removal generally creates a five-year inadmissibility period under INA §212(a)(9)(A)(i). Repeat removals and aggravated felony cases can have longer consequences.
No. Withdrawal permits departure without the same formal removal order, although the refusal and underlying inadmissibility concern can still affect future travel.
No. The first question is whether a qualifying removal order exists and whether the person is seeking admission during the applicable statutory period.
No. Consent to reapply addresses removal-related inadmissibility. A separate fraud or misrepresentation finding requires separate analysis.
A targeted request may produce Form I-860, sworn statements and related records, but no request guarantees that every responsive record will be located or released.
Learn how withdrawal differs from a formal removal order.
Review the consequences of CBP visa cancellation and future visa strategy.
Learn how to request inspection records and sworn statements.
Learn when consent to reapply may be required before returning.
A useful evaluation begins with the removal documents, sworn statement, passport markings, inspection timeline, immigration history and reason for returning to the United States.