I have committed a crime, will I be deported?
While there are many crimes that could form the basis for deportation, the most common are:
- Drug offenses (possession or sale) (Click Here to access USICE's Latest News Releases on Contrabands)
- Sex offenses (including convictions for sexual abuse of a minor or endangering the welfare of a child) (Click Here to access USICE's Latest News Releases on "Operation Predator")
- Fraud convictions (including credit card fraud and visa or passport fraud) (Click Here to access USICE's Latest News Releases on Document & Benefits Fraud)
- Theft offenses (including burglary and robbery)
- Aggravated felonies (including murder, rape, and drug trafficking)
- Crimes involving moral turpitude (including petit larceny)
- Domestic violence (including stalking)
- Weapons possession (including possession of a firearm)
If you have ever been convicted of any of the crimes listed above-or any other crime-it is in your best interest to speak with Mr. Lopez. While you may believe your conviction was "just a violation" or "just a misdemeanor," it may still affect your immigration status.
How will Mr. Lopez Stop Deportation?
If you are subject to deportation or removal, depending on the specific facts of your case, you may be eligible for relief from deportation in the forms of waivers of deportation or other forms of discretionary and/or mandatory relief. Some of these forms of deportation relief include but are not limited to:
- Cancellation of deportation or removal (for green card holders and non-green card holders)
- Waivers under former INA § 212(c) (only a narrow class of people are eligible for this)
- Waivers under INA § 212(h) and INA § 212(i)
- Suspension of deportation (virtually eliminated but still available to few)
- Voluntary departure
- Adjustment of Status
- Asylum, Withholding of deportation/removal, and protection under Article 3 of United Nations Convention Against Torture
How will Mr. Lopez Win My Deportation Case?
Just because you may be eligible to apply for deportation relief does not guarantee that you will win. Be wary of any attorney who says he or she can "guarantee" that you will win. An immigration judge has to consider many factors before deciding whether you deserve to stay in this county.
Most common factors the immigration judges look at in considering various deportation waiver applications and in deciding whether you deserve to stay here include, but are not limited to:
- How long you have lived in the United States with or without a green card (the longer you have been there, the better it is for you).
- Who in your immediate family (usually a spouse, parent, or a child) is a U.S. citizen of a green card holder (more citizen and green card holder family members mean you have an established family here).
- Your employment history (the fact that you are and have been working shows you are not a public liability to someone).
- History of tax payment.
- The nature and extent of your involvement in the community (church, volunteer work, etc.).
- The nature and extent of your history of violation of the immigration laws (being present illegally or working without authorization, etc.).
- The nature and extent of your criminal history, if you have any (convictions, jail sentence, etc.)
- The extent of your rehabilitation, if you have a criminal history (single incident, pattern of criminal behavior, etc.)
- Hardships suffered by your United States citizen or lawful permanent resident family members if you were deported (their ability or inability to relocate with you, etc.)
- Any negative factors (this will depend on your case).
- Any positive factors (this will depend on your case).
The immigration judge is required to weigh and balance all of your negative factors and positive equities. If the good outweighs the bad, it is very likely that an immigration judge would grant you a waiver of deportation so that you can stay in the United States.
However, if the immigration judge finds that the negative factors in your case, mostly, the nature and extent of any criminal history, outweigh all of your positive equities, you are likely to lose your case in immigration court.
Further, even if you win, the government can appeal the immigration judge's decision to the Board of Immigration Appeals, just like you can appeal if you lose. It is very rare that a deportation or removal case simply ends in immigration court with outright victory. Majority of the times, cases wind up on appeal, then go through motions, and a significant amount wind up in federal court litigation.
Ask Mr. Lopez a question
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