This settlement traces back to a federal class action, Calderon Jimenez v. Mayorkas (Case No. 18-10225-MLW), heard in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, the same court that presides over this settlement for every New England class member, Rhode Islanders among them. First brought in 2018, the lawsuit represented U.S. citizens and their noncitizen spouses throughout the region who were carrying deportation orders, final rulings usually issued after immigration court proceedings that direct someone to leave the country. You can read the full settlement agreement itself, which received final court approval on January 16, 2025. It runs for a two-year window that closes January 16, 2027.

Strip away the legal language, and the Calderon Settlement comes down to a handful of moving parts for Rhode Island families:

• A way back into a closed case. Qualifying noncitizen spouses can file what’s formally called a Motion to Reopen and Dismiss, a request that asks the government to look again at a deportation case that had already ended, and to close it out for good.
• The odds tilted your way. ICE has committed, in the settlement’s own words, to “presumptively” join a request that’s properly put together, meaning approval is the starting expectation rather than the exception.
• Breathing room while it’s pending. Boston-based ICE agents generally hold off on arrests, detentions, or removals of class members for as long as the settlement stays in force.
• A hard stop on the calendar. The window runs exactly two years, from January 16, 2025 to January 16, 2027, and nothing here continues past that date on its own.

None of these pieces activate by themselves. Qualifying and actually receiving the benefit both hinge on meeting the settlement agreement’s terms and filing a request ICE can act on.

Wondering whether your family in Rhode Island fits the class? A Calderon Settlement attorney would start by walking through these points:

• One spouse is a U.S. citizen; the other is not.
• The noncitizen spouse is carrying a deportation order and hasn’t left the country under it.
• The citizen spouse has filed Form I-130 (proof of the marriage relationship), whether it’s still pending or already approved.
• The noncitizen spouse lives in, or is currently detained in, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, or Maine.
• The noncitizen spouse is at least 17 and has no pending green card application (Form I-485) already on file with USCIS.
• Set the deportation order aside, and the noncitizen spouse would otherwise have a real shot at a marriage-based green card in the U.S., or a waiver clearing the way to consular processing abroad.

Brooks Law Firm holds licenses to practice in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Connecticut. Vermont and Maine residents who think they qualify should still call and mention where you live, and we’ll point you toward the right way to get help.

Checking these boxes is a starting point, not a verdict. The full picture, meaning your immigration record, any earlier court history, and the precise language in your removal order, shapes whether your particular case actually qualifies. That’s the kind of read an immigration attorney can give you once they’ve seen your documents.

A strong request from a Rhode Island applicant isn’t a one-page letter asserting eligibility. It’s a documented package ICE can move on without having to chase down answers. At a minimum, expect to assemble:

• A signed statement declaring your plan to seek a green card, whether through adjustment of status here or consular processing abroad, once the case reopens.
• Proof that you’re married to your U.S. citizen spouse.
• Records showing your spouse’s I-130 petition, pending or approved.
• Proof that you live in Rhode Island.
• Documentation supporting your eligibility for adjustment of status or a provisional waiver, whichever fits how you entered the country.

Everything goes to ICE OPLA’s settlement-specific inbox by email (Calderon-JMTR-Requests@ice.dhs.gov), built around the format in the Calderon Joint Motion to Reopen template. Response times vary widely, weeks for some and months for others, and there’s no set clock. The single biggest reason a request drags on is incomplete paperwork, or a package that leaves ICE with open questions. Let us put together a thorough, well-organized submission from day one, so it has the best possible run through review. Reach out for a free consultation and we’ll get moving.

This settlement was never meant to last forever, and that catches a lot of Rhode Island families off guard. Every request to reopen a case has to land with ICE before January 16, 2027, full stop. Countless people who’d qualify simply haven’t heard the settlement exists, and discovering it after the window shuts won’t do them any good. An old deportation order sitting quietly behind an otherwise pending spousal petition is worth investigating now; waiting only shrinks the runway you have left.

ICE doesn’t automatically sign on to every Motion to Reopen and Dismiss that comes across its desk, so it’s worth knowing upfront what can trip up a Rhode Island family’s request. The settlement lets ICE pass on joining if it finds:

• A threat to public safety, usually rooted in serious criminal conduct.
• A threat to national security.
• Evidence of serious immigration benefit fraud.
• A pattern of repeat immigration violations.

None of these get applied by rote. ICE looks at the individual circumstances, and having one of these show up somewhere in your history doesn’t automatically end your chances. If you’re worried something in your background might raise a flag, that’s worth discussing with an attorney before you file anything, not a signal to give up before you’ve started.

Clearing the deportation order is only step one for Rhode Island families. The green card itself still has to be earned through a separate process afterward, and which route applies comes down to how the noncitizen spouse first entered the country.

Adjusting Status Without Leaving the U.S.

Entered on a visa? Filing Form I-485 could let the noncitizen spouse pursue a marriage-based green card without ever leaving Rhode Island. Whether this route is open depends heavily on the details of that original entry and everything else in the person’s immigration file. Those who crossed the border without inspection, or who carry certain criminal convictions, typically can’t adjust status while remaining in the U.S. and need to go the other route instead.

The I-601A Waiver and Consular Processing

Entered without inspection? Departing the U.S. to finish green card processing at a consulate abroad can trip a separate bar on reentry, lasting three or ten years depending on the circumstances. Form I-601A offers a provisional waiver that some people can secure before they ever leave, cutting down how long a family spends apart. Getting this right means syncing the reopened case, the I-130 petition, and the waiver application together, and discretion still plays a role at each step.

None of this moves quickly or automatically. Still, for a lot of Rhode Island families, it’s the closest thing to real progress they’ve seen in a long time.

Short answer for Rhode Island residents carrying an old deportation order: yes, but there’s no button that simply erases it. What actually happens is a court process: ICE first has to agree to join a Motion to Reopen and Dismiss, and that motion then goes before the immigration court that originally issued the order. A judge granting that motion is what vacates the order, stripping it of the power it once had over your case. Worth noting: this isn’t the same thing as an appeal, which challenges whether the original ruling was correct. Reopening under Calderon sidesteps that fight entirely and offers a different route around the order. Either way, it’s the court’s action, not the settlement on its own, that actually clears your path to a green card.

We don’t publish success-rate numbers for Rhode Island Calderon Settlement cases at Brooks Law Firm, and honestly, any firm that hands you a specific percentage for this kind of relief should raise an eyebrow; nobody tracks or releases an official approval rate for the settlement overall. What we can point to is the settlement’s actual text: ICE has agreed to “presumptively” approve a well-documented request, which tells you the built-in expectation favors a yes unless one of a short list of disqualifying issues shows up. Bottom line: how solid your individual request is matters far more than any statistic would. Talk to an attorney, and you’ll get an honest read on where you actually stand.

Rhode Island sits under the authority of ICE’s Boston field office, the same office responsible for Massachusetts and the rest of New England, and that’s exactly where this settlement’s enforcement protections come from. Reopening your case is only part of the picture; the settlement also puts real constraints on what ICE can do to class members in the meantime. Throughout the two-year window, Boston’s ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations team is barred from arresting, detaining, removing, or forcing a class member out of the country, unless a senior official there determines the person poses a threat to public safety or national security. Think of it as running in parallel with the reopening process, not a replacement for it, and it only lasts as long as the settlement itself does.

Requests under this settlement land first with the ICE Office of the Principal Legal Advisor field office holding jurisdiction over the original removal order; for a case tied to Rhode Island, that’s the Boston OPLA office as well, not the immigration court itself. Once ICE signs on, an attorney files a joint Motion to Reopen and Dismiss with whichever immigration court originally issued the order. Because both sides are on record asking for the same result, immigration judges tend to grant these motions. Vacating the order is what removes the deportation case standing between someone and their next steps.

It doesn’t matter if the original order came out of a court outside Rhode Island. Reopening is still available under this settlement as long as the person now lives somewhere in the qualifying New England footprint. Given how closely ICE reviews these submissions, it’s typically an attorney handling the preparation and filing rather than someone tackling it solo.

Calderon Settlement matters at Brooks Law Firm run on a flat fee paid over time, so Rhode Island families aren’t left guessing about cost before the work even starts. We’ll lay out exact numbers for your situation once we’ve talked through your case in a consultation.

An old deportation order doesn’t get the final say over your Rhode Island family’s future. If you’re married to a U.S. citizen and a past removal order is still hanging over you, a Calderon Settlement attorney at Brooks Law Firm will give you a straight read on your situation and map out your options before the January 16, 2027 deadline shuts the door. Ready to talk about your immigration case? Call Brooks Law Firm at (617) 245-8090 or contact us online to schedule a free consultation.

This content is for general information only and is not legal advice. Every immigration case is different, and only an attorney who has reviewed your full history can tell you whether you qualify for relief under the Calderon Settlement.