Being inadmissible for a non-US citizen is not the same as being deportable. While being deportable simply means that you may be removed from the United States, inadmissibility is a trickier concept. Basically, if a non-US citizen becomes inadmissible, s / he is not eligible to receive any kind of benefit from the US immigration authorities. Inadmissibility matters if you are: An undocumented (illegal) immigrant seeking to adjust your status to that of a legal immigrant, A legal immigrant who leaves the United States and then needs to re-enter, or A legal immigrant seeking US citizenship (aka naturalization). In any of these cases, being inadmissible means you will not be able to receive the benefit you are seeking. But being inadmissible does not mean that you can be removed from the country--with one exception. If you entered the country or received an immigration benefit while you were inadmissible (and the authorities just did not catch it at the time), then you may be deported.