How to Fight Deportation in U.S. Immigration Court
- 1). ** Review the charging document **
When one is charged with a crime, he is formally indicted by an indictment or a complaint. Similarly, when the U.S. government through the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE, a branch of the DHS) initiates deportation proceedings against an individual, a formal charging document called the "Notice to Appear" (NTA) will be issued and given to the foreigner. Review this document carefully. It contains all the facts and reasons as to why the respondent (foreigner) should be deported from the U.S. If there are errors in the factual allegations, they should be pointed out to the immigration judge as soon as possible. The NTA sometimes also contains the location and the date and time of the immigration hearing. Important warnings about the respondent's rights are also provided in the NTA. - 2). ** Hire a good immigration lawyer **
The immigration law and regulations are extremely complicated. It is also impossible to fight deportation without a good immigration lawyer. However, the emphasis here is a "good" lawyer. Hiring an incompetent or inexperienced lawyer sometimes would do more harm than good. Follow the link below to visit the American Immigration Lawyers Association's website for referrals. Discuss everything ahead of time before hiring a lawyer including the specific services to be performed and the fees. You don't have to hire the first lawyer that you talk to. - 3). ** Know your defenses **
A good lawyer should be able to analyze the case for you including all possible defenses. For example, if you have a spouse, parent, or an adult child who is a U.S. citizen, you may be able to apply for an immigrant visa and adjustment of status (green card) based on your family relationship. If you have been in the U.S. for ten years or longer and have substantial family ties and equities, you may be able to apply for cancellation of removal if you can show that your resident or citizen parent, spouse or child will suffer "exceptional and extremely unusual hardship" as a result of your removal. If you have previous immigration violations, you may be able to apply for a waiver to overcome these violations. Sometimes, the only application that you are eligible to apply for is "voluntary departure" or leaving the U.S. on your own without the stigma of deportation. However, you must possess good moral character in order to get voluntary departure. Many of these benefits and defenses require extensive documentation and support from your family, friends and community. You would need documents and statements to explain your story, your character, your family ties and ties to the community, and also the hardship that you and your family members will suffer if you are deported. - 4). ** Work hard and be realistic **
Cooperate with your lawyer and gather all required documents to support your case. You would have to work very hard to ask your friends and community leaders for statements and documents. You should think about all the equities that you have in the U.S. If you are in detention, you would need help from your family and friends. But be realistic as to the result. - 5). ** Decide if you want to appeal a deportation order **
Your case will most likely be heard by an immigration judge in the immigration court, which is a branch of the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) under the U.S. Justice Department. If you lost your case, the judge will issue a deportation order against you. For the most part, you can appeal an unfavorable decision to the Board of Immigration Appeal (also a branch of the EOIR). If that fails, you may also be able to file an appeal with the federal court. Again, discuss with your lawyer as to the odds of winning on appeal before proceeding. - 6). ** Return to the U.S. legally **
Unfortunately, it would be very difficult for a deportee to return to the U.S. soon. Deportees are usually barred from returning to the U.S. for five or more years. However, there are waivers available for those who are eligible - depending on the nature of their deportation and family ties in the U.S. Keeping yourself abreast with the changes in U.S. immigration law and policy is important.
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