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NEW UNIFIED REMOVAL PROCEEDINGS TAKE EFFECT APRIL 1st 
Pursuant to the Illegal Immigration and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 ("IIRAIRA"), new unified removal procedures take effect on April 1, 1997. On March 6, 1997, the Immigration and Naturalization Service released regulations intended to carry out the provisions of IRRAIRA. The process of removing an alien is divided into two types of procedures. Expedited removal proceedings take place when an alien enters with no documents or with false documents. If a border inspector determines that an alien is subject to removal, then the alien shall be referred to another INS officer for a secondary inspection. A supervisor must concur in the determination. If the alien is ordered removed, he or she will be barred for five years from being readmitted to the United States and will be removed from the United States by the first available means of transportation. 
If the alien expresses a fear or concern about being returned to his or her home country during the secondary inspection, then the alien will be held for a "credible fear screening." This screening must be conducted by an asylum officer within 48 hours of arrival. If a credible fear is shown, the alien will be paroled into the US. Parole is a temporary status that allows a person to remain present in the US without admission to the US. If no credible fear is shown, the asylum officer will issue an expedited removal order. The officer's finding is then subject to review by an immigration judge. If the judge concurs with the asylum officer's decision, the alien will be remove. Cuban nationals arriving by air are not subject to expedited removal procedures.
Those admitted to the US and those who claim to have been previously admitted as a lawful permanent resident, asylee, or refugee are now covered by a new unified removal proceeding. Under the prior law, separate rules existed for exclusion proceedings (for those not yet admitted to the US) and for deportation proceedings (for those already admitted). The new proceedings are simply called "removal" proceedings and are largely similar to the former deportation proceedings. Removal proceedings may be initiated by the Immigration and Naturalization Service by the filing of a Notice to Appear ("NTA") similar to the prior law's "Order to Show Cause" (if an Order to Show Cause was filed before April 1st, then the old procedural rules apply). The case is determined by an immigration judge and either party may appeal the judge's decision to the Board of Immigration Appeals ("BIA"). 
The old grounds of excludability and deportability all remain and several new grounds have been added. They are now referred to as grounds of inadmissibility. 
Under the prior rules, an alien could seek "suspension of deportation" if the alien had been continuously present in the US for at least seven years, the alien possessed good moral character and the deportation would cause substantial hardship to the alien or a US citizen or permanent resident. If granted suspension of deportation by a judge, the alien would be entitled to permanent residency. The new law makes a new remedy available called "cancellation of removal." Aliens who have been physically present in the United States for a continuous period of at least 10 years, have been of good moral character, have not been cnvicted of a criminal offense which could result in removal from the US, and whose removal would result in exceptional and extremely unusual hardshsip to a US citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse, parent or child may seek cancellation of removal. Under the new law, only 4,000 aliens are entitled to cancellation of removal each year.
Aliens are still entitled to seek "voluntary departure" whereby the alien is permitted to leave the US and not be subject to the 5 year bar on readmission those order removed must face. Under the new law, judges are limited to granting between 60 and 120 days to leave the US, depending on the stage of the proceedings when the relief is granted. 
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