Legal Definitions - Vartelas v. Holder

Vartelas v. Holder is a legal case that was decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in 2012.

The case dealt with the question of whether a law passed in 1996, called the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA), applies retroactively to lawful permanent residents who were convicted of a crime and left the United States before the law was passed. The Court held that the law that was in effect at the time of the conviction applies, not the IIRIRA.

Panagis Vartelas was a lawful permanent resident of the United States who was convicted of a crime in 1994. At the time, he was allowed to briefly leave the country without losing his status. However, in 1996, the IIRIRA was passed, which changed the law and made it so that people like Vartelas could face removal proceedings if they left the country. In 2003, Vartelas went to Greece to visit family and was subject to the IIRIRA. He was placed in removal proceedings.

The example illustrates how the IIRIRA affected Vartelas' situation. Before the law was passed, he was allowed to leave the country without losing his status. However, after the law was passed, he was subject to removal proceedings if he left the country. The Court held that the law that was in effect at the time of his conviction applied, not the IIRIRA.