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The short answer. No. A reentry permit does not cure a ground of inadmissibility. The regulation extends its protection only to a permanent resident or conditional permanent resident “who is otherwise admissible,” and the statute states that a permit “shall have no effect under the immigration laws except to show that the alien to whom it was issued is returning from a temporary visit abroad,” INA 223(e). The permit answers a question about abandonment of residence. It says nothing about admissibility. An applicant for admission to the United States who is not clearly and beyond a doubt entitled to be admitted is referred for a removal proceeding under INA 240, INA 235(b)(2)(A), 8 USC 1225(b)(2)(A).
When admissibility is tested at all. A returning lawful permanent resident is generally not regarded as seeking admission, so the grounds of inadmissibility are not applied. But that changes only where one of the six conditions is present: abandonment or relinquishment of the status; a continuous absence in excess of 180 days; illegal activity after departure; departure while under legal process seeking removal; commission of an offense identified in INA 212(a)(2), absent relief under INA 212(h) or 240A(a); or an attempt to enter without inspection.
What the permit does within that framework. A valid reentry permit speaks to the first condition and only to the first. It forecloses a finding of abandonment resting on the duration of an absence alone. Note it does not switch off the 180-day trigger, and it has no bearing at all on the criminal, illegal-activity, pending-process or improper-entry conditions.
What the grounds of inadmissibility now cover. INA 212(a) sets out ten categories of inadmissibility to the United States: health-related grounds; criminal and related grounds; security and related grounds; public charge; labor certification and qualifications; illegal entrants and immigration violators; documentation requirements; ineligibility for citizenship; prior removals; and a miscellaneous category. The health-related ground turns on a communicable disease of public health significance as that term is defined by regulation of the Department of Health and Human Services, 42 CFR 34.2(b), on missing vaccinations, on a physical or mental disorder together with associated behavior that poses a threat to person or property, and on drug abuse or addiction, INA 212(a)(1)(A). The nineteenth-century vocabulary of “loathsome or contagious” disease and of persons described as defective has no counterpart in the statute as it now stands.
Criminal grounds are the usual difficulty. A conviction for, or an admission of the essential elements of, a crime involving moral turpitude, INA 212(a)(2)(A)(i)(I), or a controlled substance offense, INA 212(a)(2)(A)(i)(II), operates twice over: it is a ground of inadmissibility, and it is also the reason the returning resident is treated as an applicant for admission in the first place under INA 101(a)(13)(C)(v). A reentry permit affects neither operation.
Relief comes from elsewhere, not from the permit. Certain criminal grounds may be waived in discretion under INA 212(h); health-related grounds may be addressed under INA 212(g); a resident who arrives without the required document may seek a good-cause waiver of that requirement under 8 CFR 211.1(b)(3); and a resident placed in removal proceedings may apply for cancellation of removal under INA 240A(a), 8 USC 1229b(a), which requires five years as a permanent resident, seven years of continuous residence after admission in any status, and no aggravated felony conviction. None of these follows from holding a permit.
The two risks are independent. A reentry permit is designed for the risk created by a long absence. It does nothing about the risk created by a criminal record, a prior removal, a security concern or a documentary defect. Obtaining one to address the first risk can create a false sense of security about the second, and where any ground of inadmissibility may be in play the analysis has to be done before departure rather than at the port of entry.
Reentry Permits introduces the subject and covers eligibility, filing and validity. What is the purpose of a reentry permit? explains what the document does and does not accomplish. Does a reentry permit guarantee that a permanent resident will be readmitted to the U.S.? addresses the limits of the document at the port of entry. Questions about a specific set of facts may be directed to Antao & Chuang through the firm’s contact page.