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After a Removal: the 5, 10 and 20-Year Bars
This is the ground that applies when someone has been removed, as distinct from having accrued unlawful presence — which is a different rule with different clocks, covered in what the previous-travel section screens for.
From 9 FAM 302.11-2, read on 21 September 2026. Not legal advice; a removal history is a lawyer's subject, and this page describes the framework rather than anyone's case.
Four bars, and which one applies depends on how you left
| Bar | Applies to |
|---|---|
| 5 years | Ordered removed as an arriving traveler — expedited removal at the port of entry under INA §235(b)(1), or removal proceedings under §240 that DHS began on arrival |
| 10 years | Removed under any provision of law, or departed while an order of removal was in effect |
| 20 years | A second or subsequent removal |
| Permanent | Removal plus a conviction for an aggravated felony |
On that last one, the manual is explicit that location does not help: "it does not matter whether the individual was convicted of an aggravated felony in the United States or elsewhere."
Leaving on your own does not avoid it
Under INA 101(g), someone who departs the United States while a final removal order is in effect is deemed to have been removed, even if the individual leaves on their own.
This is the point people most often get wrong, because leaving voluntarily feels like the opposite of being removed. If a final order was in effect, the departure counts as the removal and starts the clock.
The ten-year clock is unlike the others
The five-year and twenty-year bars require consecutive years outside the United States. The ten-year bar does not, and the manual sets out a rule that is rarely reported:
the applicant need not remain outside of the United States for 10 consecutive years. The 10-year clock starts running once a non-citizen is ordered removed but pauses during periods when the individual … is in the United States without a proper waiver. The clock starts to run again from where it left off once the non-citizen departs. The clock does not reset with each entry or departure.
So time already served outside is not thrown away by a later entry — it is paused and resumed. The manual adds that this treatment "does not impact other 9A ineligibilities", so the consecutive requirement still governs the five- and twenty-year bars.
Consent to reapply — and why a nonimmigrant applicant should not file an I-212
The bar lifts if the Secretary of Homeland Security consents to your reapplying. That consent is called Consent to Reapply (CTR), or permission to reapply, and the immigrant route is Form I-212.
For nonimmigrant visas the manual says something different, and it is the most practically useful sentence on this page:
You may recommend a waiver for an NIV applicant ineligible under INA 212(a)(9)(A)(i) or (ii) at any time within the 5, 10, 20 year, or permanent bar. When you are recommending a waiver through ARIS for NIV applicants, the applicant should not file an I-212.
Two things follow. First, a consular officer can recommend at any point within any of the bars — including the permanent one. Second, the I-212 advice that circulates widely is the immigrant route; for a nonimmigrant visa the recommendation goes through ARIS and DHS treats consent as granted on approval. That pairs with the 212(d)(3) waiver, which is the parallel mechanism for other ineligibilities.
A consent does not rewrite history:
Although the consent to reapply removes the ground of ineligibility, it does not change the circumstances which led to the original finding of ineligibility, nor does it affect any other ground of ineligibility.
So if there is a second ground — a criminal one, a misrepresentation finding — consent to reapply leaves it standing.
Frequently asked questions
I left the United States voluntarily. Was I removed?
If a final order of removal was in effect when you departed, INA §101(g) deems you removed even though you left on your own.
Do I have to stay out for ten straight years?
No. The manual says the ten-year bar need not be served consecutively — the clock pauses while you are in the United States without a waiver and resumes where it left off when you leave. It does not reset. The five- and twenty-year bars are different and do require consecutive years.
Should I file Form I-212 for a tourist visa?
The manual says an NIV applicant whose waiver is being recommended through ARIS should not file an I-212. The I-212 is the immigrant-side route. Take advice before filing anything.
Can anything be done about the permanent bar?
For a nonimmigrant visa, the manual allows a waiver recommendation "at any time within the 5, 10, 20 year, or permanent bar." Whether one would be recommended and approved in a given case is a different question entirely.
Does an aggravated felony conviction abroad count?
Yes. The manual says it does not matter whether the conviction was in the United States or elsewhere.
Is this the same as the three- and ten-year unlawful presence bars?
No. Those arise under INA §212(a)(9)(B) from accruing unlawful presence and attach on departure. This ground arises from a removal. They are different rules and can both be in play.