# Question 33: The Stop-Time Proviso

## Your role

You represent Idris Vale in removal proceedings under the fictional Immigration Relief Act of the Commonwealth of Rhyse. Idris seeks resident cancellation. Eligibility turns on statutory definitions, a defective charging notice, and two prior dispositions.

## Governing law

Assume the following Rhyse statute applies exactly as written:

1. A noncitizen may receive resident cancellation if the person: (a) was lawfully admitted; (b) accrued seven years of continuous residence after admission; (c) maintained good moral character during those seven years; (d) was not convicted of a disqualifying offense; and (e) proves exceptional hardship to a citizen spouse, parent, or child.

2. Continuous residence ends on the earliest of: (a) service of a complete charging notice stating the legal charge and the date, time, and place of the first hearing; or (b) commission of a clock-stopping offense that later results in a conviction as defined in rule 4.

3. A charging notice that omits the hearing date, time, or place is incomplete. If a later written hearing specification supplies every omitted item, residence stops on service of that later specification, not on the earlier incomplete notice.

4. A conviction exists when there is a formal judgment, or when adjudication is withheld after a guilty or no-contest plea and the court imposes punishment, restraint, or probation. A later rehabilitative expungement does not erase the conviction. A vacatur for substantive legal invalidity does.

5. A clock-stopping offense is only an offense listed in rule 6. Conduct outside rule 6 does not stop time, even if it produces a conviction.

6. Disqualifying and clock-stopping offenses are: (a) fraud causing actual property loss greater than $10,000; (b) a controlled-substance offense, except one offense of simple possession of no more than 5 grams of cannabis; or (c) a crime of violence for which a sentence of at least one year is imposed.

7. "Actual property loss" means property obtained or withheld through the offense. Investigation costs, contractual fees, and restitution imposed for collateral expenses do not count toward the $10,000 threshold.

8. A suspended portion of a sentence counts toward the one-year sentence threshold. An offense requiring only reckless injury is not a "crime of violence" under this statute; intentional or knowing force is required.

9. Good moral character is assessed from conduct during the seven-year residence period. A listed offense is not the only possible adverse conduct, but the decision-maker must evaluate the actual record and may not invent misconduct.

10. Exceptional hardship requires consequences substantially beyond ordinary family separation. Medical dependency, unavailable care, and severe educational disruption may qualify when proved.

## Facts

Idris was lawfully admitted on February 1, 2014. He has resided continuously since then.

On November 15, 2020, the government served a charging notice alleging overstay. The notice stated the legal charge but listed the hearing date, time, and place as "to be set." On April 20, 2021, the government served a written hearing specification giving the complete date, time, and place.

Idris has two prior dispositions:

* In 2018, he pleaded guilty to submitting false reimbursement forms to an employer. He obtained $8,900. The criminal court ordered $11,400 in restitution, consisting of $8,900 returned property and $2,500 in audit expenses. He received six months' probation.
* On January 5, 2021, police cited him for simple possession of 4 grams of cannabis. On March 10, 2021, he entered a guilty plea under deferred adjudication and received six months' probation. The case was expunged after completion for rehabilitation, not substantive invalidity. Idris has no other controlled-substance offense.

In 2019, Idris was also convicted of reckless injury after a bicycle collision. The statute required recklessness, not intentional force. The court imposed 14 months, all suspended, and community service.

Idris's citizen daughter, age 10, has a rare blood disorder. Her treating specialist states that Idris administers home infusions four nights per week, that no other trained caregiver is currently available, and that interruption would create a substantial hospitalization risk. The government does not dispute the medical evidence.

Idris paid restitution, completed every sentence, has maintained employment, and has no other adverse conduct in the supplied record. The government argues that the November 2020 notice stopped residence before seven years, that the cannabis disposition independently stopped time in January 2021, and that the $11,400 restitution makes the fraud offense disqualifying.

## Assignment

Counsel Idris on:

* The date continuous residence began and the date it stopped under the complete-notice rule.
* Whether Idris accrued seven years before stop time.
* Whether the cannabis disposition is a conviction and, separately, whether it falls within the statutory exception.
* Whether the fraud loss exceeds $10,000 under the supplied definition.
* Whether the reckless-injury disposition is a crime of violence, including the effect of the suspended sentence.
* Good moral character on the supplied record.
* Exceptional hardship.
* The government's strongest textual arguments and the correct responses.
* Whether Idris is statutorily eligible to apply and the concrete evidence and motion posture counsel should present.

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