Criminal Defense of Immigrants

(A)  General Rule: Committed Within Five Years of Last Admission.  In order to trigger deportation, the conviction must be for an offense that was committed[239] within five years after the noncitizen’s latest admission into the United States.  For a discussion of what constitutes and admission, see § § 17.5-17.8, supra.

[239] This statute means what it says: the date the offense was committed governs, rather than the date on which the conviction occurred.  Matter of Yanez-Jaquez, 13 I. & N. Dec. 449, 451 (BIA 1970); see Yanez-Garcia v. Ashcroft, 388 F.3d 280 (7th Cir. Nov. 2, 2004) (dismissing for lack of jurisdiction a petition for review seeking to reverse Board of Immigration Appeals’ decision that single possession offense can qualify as aggravated felony drug trafficking crime).