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Page Number: 5

Cite as:  585 U. S. ____ (2018) 

1 

Opinion of SOTOMAYOR, J. 
Opinion of the Court 

NOTICE:  This opinion is subject to formal revision before publication in the
preliminary  print  of  the  United  States  Reports.  Readers  are  requested  to
notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Court of the United States, Wash-
ington,  D. C.  20543,  of  any  typographical  or  other  formal  errors,  in  order
that corrections may be made before the preliminary print goes to press. 

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES 

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No. 17–459 
_________________ 

WESCLEY FONSECA PEREIRA, PETITIONER v. 
JEFFERSON B. SESSIONS, III, ATTORNEY GENERAL 

ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF 
APPEALS FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT 

[June 21, 2018] 

JUSTICE SOTOMAYOR delivered the opinion of the Court. 
Nonpermanent  residents,  like  petitioner  here,  who  are
subject to removal proceedings and have accrued 10 years
of continuous physical presence in the United States, may 
be  eligible  for  a  form  of  discretionary  relief  known  as
cancellation  of  removal.    8  U. S. C.  §1229b(b)(1).    Under 
the  so-called  “stop-time  rule”  set  forth  in  §1229b(d)(1)(A),
however,  that  period  of  continuous  physical  presence  is 
“deemed  to  end  . . .  when  the  alien  is  served  a  notice  to 
appear  under  section  1229(a).”  Section  1229(a),  in  turn,
provides  that  the  Government  shall  serve  noncitizens  in 
removal  proceedings  with  “written  notice  (in  this  section 
referred  to  as  a  ‘notice  to  appear’)  . . .  specifying”  several
required  pieces  of  information,  including  “[t]he  time  and 
place  at  which  the  [removal]  proceedings  will  be  held.” 
§1229(a)(1)(G)(i).1 

The narrow question in this case lies at the intersection 

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1 The  Court  uses  the  term  “noncitizen”  throughout  this  opinion  to
refer to any person who is not a citizen or national of the United States. 
See 8 U. S. C. §1101(a)(3).