John Lennon deportation from the United States was halted on 1 May 1972.
Lennon’s lawyer Leon Wildes filed a complaint in the morning at the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. It requested that the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) act upon Wildes’ 3 March petition for Lennon to be granted third preference status, which would enable Lennon to apply for permanent residency.
At 4.25pm, Judge Morris E Lasker halted the deportation hearings, and demanded that Sol Marks, the New York District Director, demonstrate by 10am the following day why they should continue prior to the petition being addressed.
The hearing took place at the United States Courthouse in Manhattan on 2 May, during which Lennon was finally granted third preference, which allowed him permission to apply for permanent residency in a position of preference behind those with strong family ties to the US.