After a plea
A plea already entered is not the end of the analysis. Three questions remain, in this order. Does the conviction actually fit the ground of removal the government says it does? Can the conviction or the sentence be changed in the criminal court for a defect in the case? And if it stands, which waiver or form of relief survives it? Each is a separate piece of work, on a separate clock.
Current as of October 2026. We re-check this page regularly and after any rule change.
Run the conviction through the tool first
The plea tool can be run on a conviction that already exists exactly as it is run on an offer: enter the offense category, the sentence the court imposed, the date of the offense and your status, and it shows what the conviction does and where the answer depends on the statute or the record.
That is the first step. The pages below are the next three.
Three questions, in order
1Does it actually fit?
The Notice to Appear asserts that the conviction is a CIMT, an aggravated felony, a drug offense. That is a legal conclusion, tested under the categorical approach against the statute as it read on the date of the offense. A conviction under a statute that is broader than the federal definition, or a record that does not show which subsection you pleaded to, can defeat the charge. See removal proceedings after a plea.
2Can it be changed?
A vacatur for a defect in the case removes the conviction. A sentence modification for a defect in the sentencing changes the number the thresholds are measured against. Both happen in the criminal court, on its rules and its deadlines. See post-conviction relief, vacating a plea and sentence modification.
3What survives it?
If the conviction stands and fits, the question becomes which waiver or form of relief is still open: 212(h) for a CIMT or a single small marijuana possession, former 212(c) for a plea before April 1, 1997, cancellation where the conviction is not disqualifying, protection under CAT regardless. See waivers after a conviction.
Where to go next
Post-conviction relief
Which vacaturs count under Pickering, which sentence changes count under Thomas and Thompson, and how the two cases run on one calendar.
Read →Vacating a plea
The Padilla ground, what has to be proved, and the filings and deadlines in New York, New Jersey, Florida and federal court.
Read →Sentence modification
When a shorter sentence changes the immigration result, and when the immigration judge will not give it effect.
Read →Waivers after a conviction
212(h), former 212(c), cancellation, and protection under CAT: what each requires and which convictions close each one.
Read →Removal proceedings after a plea
What to expect when the Notice to Appear arrives, what not to concede, and where the court side of the case lives.
Read →Expungement and sealing
Why a sealed record still counts and what has to be disclosed.
Read →The clocks
Four deadlines that decide what is possible
The criminal court's deadline for a post-conviction motion. None in New York under CPL 440.10. Generally five years in New Jersey under Rule 3:22-12. Generally two years in Florida under Rule 3.850. One year for a federal 2255 motion. Each has exceptions, and each takes time to prepare.
Thirty days to appeal an immigration judge's order to the Board of Immigration Appeals. A 10-day rule published in 2026 was vacated before it took effect and never applied.
Ninety days to reopen after a final order, and one motion, counted across the immigration judge and the Board. The vacatur has to exist before the motion is filed.
The date of the offense, which is fixed and which stops the cancellation clock and starts the five-year CIMT rule.
Where the court side of the case lives
This site is about the conviction. What happens in front of the immigration judge is on our removal defense site, page by page.
Criminal convictions and removal: how the charge is contested in court, who bears the burden, and what an inconclusive record means under Pereida.
Criminal convictions and removal →
immigrationtrial.comUsing a vacatur in a pending case and after a removal order: motions to terminate, motions to reopen, continuances and stays.
Post-conviction relief in removal proceedings →
immigrationtrial.comThe 212(h) waiver as it is litigated before the judge: the three routes, the LPR bar, and the violent-or-dangerous standard.
The 212(h) waiver →
usherlegal.comThe firm's criminal defense practice, which litigates the post-conviction motion where our attorneys are admitted, working from the same file as the immigration lawyers.
The full firm at usherlegal.com →
Read next: post-conviction relief, vacating a plea, waivers after a conviction, or the plea tool.
Common questions
Is it too late once I have been sentenced?
No. A conviction can be challenged in the criminal court for a defect in the case, most often a plea entered without the immigration advice Padilla v. Kentucky requires. In New York a CPL 440.10 motion has no fixed deadline. In New Jersey a Rule 3:22 petition is generally due within five years, and in Florida a Rule 3.850 motion within two, each with exceptions. The earlier the review, the more options.
If the criminal court vacates my conviction, does immigration have to accept that?
Only if the vacatur was for a substantive or procedural defect in the original case. Under Matter of Pickering, a vacatur granted solely to avoid immigration consequences or because you have been rehabilitated leaves the conviction in place for immigration purposes. The motion and the order have to say why the plea was defective.
Can the sentence be changed instead?
Sometimes, and for the rules that turn on sentence length it can be enough. Under Matter of Thomas and Thompson, a sentence modification is given effect for immigration purposes only if it was based on a procedural or substantive defect in the original sentencing. A reduction granted because a shorter sentence would help with immigration is not.
I am already in removal proceedings. Where does this fit?
The immigration case and the criminal motion run at the same time and have to be planned together. A qualifying vacatur while the case is pending goes to a motion to terminate. After a final order it goes to a motion to reopen, generally within 90 days. Our removal defense practice at immigrationtrial.com handles the court side; this site covers the conviction.
Tell us about the charge before you take the plea. Not after.
You get a free conversation with an immigration attorney, in your language. We speak English, Russian, Spanish and Uzbek in-house, and we bring in a live interpreter for anything else. We will read the charge against the immigration statute, tell you what the offered plea does to your status and to every form of relief, and tell you what to ask your criminal lawyer to negotiate instead. If the plea has already been entered, we will tell you what can still be done.