Deportation & Removal Defense Lawyers
Are you in danger of being deported?
Did you receive a notice to appear before an immigration judge?
If you are facing removal or deportation proceedings, or if you have previously received an order of removal, you need an attorney with extensive experience in the immigration courts to protect your rights. The attorneys at Lamb & Turner, PLLC aggressively fight removal and deportation cases before immigration courts all over the country, as well as appeals before the Board of Immigration Appeals.
The deportation process is complex and unforgiving, but our attorneys can help you prove that your potential removal from the country is not warranted. There are many forms of relief from removal, but when time is limited, you can trust the attorneys at Lamb & Turner, PLLC to guide you and your family through this difficult process.
Types of Relief from Removal
To apply for cancellation of removal for certain lawful permanent residents, the applicant must:
- Be a green card holder for at least five years;
- Have maintained continuous physical presence in the United States for at least seven years;
- NOT have certain crimes on their criminal record, particularly those involving murder, trafficking of controlled substances, or crimes of violence; and
- Be deserving of a favorable decision on the part of the immigration judge.
Even if you are not a permanent resident, you may still be able to apply for Cancellation of Removal for Certain Nonpermanent Residents. To be eligible for this relief, you must:
- Have been physically present in the United States for at least ten years;
- Have maintained good moral character for ten years;
- NOT have certain crimes on your criminal record, particularly those involving controlled substances; and
- Establish that removal or deportation would cause exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to your US citizen or Permanent Resident spouse, parent or child.
To be eligible for relief under this provision of Cancellation of Removal, an applicant for VAWA cancellation must show:
- That he or she has been “battered or subjected to extreme cruelty” by a spouse or parent who is or was a US citizen or Permanent Resident, or the applicant is a parent of a child who is the child of a US citizen or Permanent Resident and the child has been “battered or subjected to extreme cruelty” by the US citizen or Permanent Resident;
- Have been physically present in the United States for at least three years before filing the application;
- Have maintained good moral character during those three years.
These lists are only the beginning of what the immigration courts consider when it comes to Cancellation of Removal. If you find yourself in a situation where you must face an immigration judge, call our office today so we can help you work through your case!
Voluntary Departure is a form of relief that allows a person to leave on his or her own rather than under a removal (deportation) order. A grant of voluntary departure may not result in a ten (10) year bar from reentering the United States as an order of deportation would. A grant of voluntary departure allows the alien the opportunity to reapply for admission to the United States at a sooner time whether it be via an immigrant or nonimmigrant visa.
Sometimes, unfortunately, there is no relief in removal proceedings that will allow a person to stay in the United States. Whether it’s because of lack of ties to the U.S., lack of hardship to U.S. citizen relatives, criminal history, or other factors, an alien may not be eligible under any provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act to remain in the United States. Our office will evaluate your case from every angle, but, if there is no way for the applicant to remain here, voluntary departure may be their last option, but it also has some very beneficial consequences.
As an undocumented foreign national in removal proceedings, you may be eligible to file for an adjustment of status to obtain a green card. Even though this adjustment application is before the Immigration Court, the process is similar to adjustment of status before USCIS in that you must meet specific requirements to be eligible and you must have a petition filed and pending or previously approved by USCIS.
It is important to note that an immigration judge may not evaluate an adjustment of status application in the same way that USCIS would evaluate the application. If the applicant is applying for Adjustment of Status while in removal proceedings, the foreign national may need to meet a higher standard of proof concerning the original immigrant petition. For example, if the applicant is seeking a green card based on marriage to a U.S. citizen, the applicant will need to provide clear and convincing evidence that the marriage is valid, particularly if the marriage happened after the foreign national was placed into removal proceedings.
Family Visa & Immigration Services
What if my relative is NOT in the United States?
If the intending immigrant is outside the United States, the process of obtaining an immigrant visa is commonly referred to as Consular Processing.
To obtain an immigrant visa at a U.S. consulate in a foreign country, the applicant must have an approved immigration petition for their relative (either from an approved I-130 Petition for an Alien Relative from a family member, or an approved I-140 Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers from an employer) and a visa number must be available.
After the immigrant application has been approved by USCIS, the approved petition is sent to the Department of State National Visa Center (NVC). NVC then communicates with the U.S. consulate in the immigrant’s home country to process the immigrant visa. Once the immigrant visa is issued, the immigrant may be able to enter the United States as a permanent resident.
The K-1 fiancé(e) visa is a nonimmigrant visa that is designed for the foreign-born fiancé(e)s of U.S. citizens. It gives those foreign fiancé(e)s the opportunity to come to the U.S. with the intention of marrying their U.S. citizen fiancé(e)s who are petitioning for them.
The K-1 visa permits the foreign-citizen fiancé(e) to travel to the United States and marry his or her U.S. citizen sponsor within 90 days of arrival. The foreign-citizen will then apply for adjustment of status to a permanent resident (LPR) with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Because a fiancé(e) visa permits the holder to immigrate to the U.S. and marry a U.S. citizen shortly after arrival in the United States, the fiancé(e) must meet some of the requirements of an immigrant visa. Eligible children of K-1 visa applicants receive K-2 visas.
If you would like more information about petitioning for a foreign-born family member or employee, please do not hesitate to contact our office today!
Lawyers for Immigration Waivers
Waivers are applications required by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for certain individuals who are considered inadmissible or deportable.
For certain grounds of inadmissibility and deportability, it may be possible to apply for a “waiver”, or, in certain circumstances, you may be exempt from the waiver requirement.
Waivers for Fraud or Misrepresentation
An applicant inadmissible for fraud or willful misrepresentation may be eligible for a waiver under current immigration law. To be eligible for this type of waiver, the applicant must show:
- that denial of admission to, or removal from, the United States would result in extreme hardship to his or her qualifying relative, or if the applicant is a VAWA self-petitioner, to himself or herself
- that a favorable exercise of discretion is warranted.
For cases other than VAWA self-petitioners, the applicant must have a qualifying relative who is either the applicant’s:
- S. citizen parent or spouse
- Lawful permanent resident (LPR) parent or spouse
- S. citizen fiancé(e) petitioner (for K-1 or K-2 visa applicants only).
It is important to note U.S. citizen or permanent resident children are not qualifying relatives for the immigration waiver process.
In deciding whether the waiver warrants a favorable decision, it is important to include evidence that shows the positive factors of the case outweigh the negative factors.
If you or a family member has been found inadmissible or deportable, contact our office to schedule a consultation with one of our attorneys to see what options you may have. Contact us today!
In 1996, Congress passed the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA), which imposes penalties on those who remain in the U.S. unlawfully, meaning without proper documentation. Depending up on how long you remain in the United States, in such status you could be barred from returning to the U.S. for either three or ten years.
In 1996, Congress passed the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA), which imposes penalties on those who remain in the U.S. unlawfully, meaning without proper documentation. Depending up on how long you remain in the United States, in such status you could be barred from returning to the U.S. for either three or ten years.
THREE-YEAR BAR
If you remain in the United States after your authorized stay has expired for more than 180 days, but less than one year, you will be barred from returning to the country for three years after your last departure.
TEN-YEAR BAR
If you remain in the country after your authorized stay has expired for more than 365 continuous days, you will be barred from returning to the U.S. for ten years after your last departure.
The new rule, which was published July 29, 2016, and took effect August 29, 2016, expands eligibility for a provisional waiver to anyone who would be eligible to apply for a waiver under the INA. In other words, anyone coming through the employment-based immigration system, the diversity visa lottery, the family-based immigration system, or any other immigrant classification may be eligible for a provisional waiver as long as they can demonstrate “extreme hardship” to a U.S. citizen or LPR spouse or parent. The 2016 rule also expands eligibility to certain individuals with final orders of removal, deportation, or exclusion, and clarifies that individuals who are “subject to” reinstatement of removal, but have not yet received notice, may apply for a provisional waiver.
A waiver of the “unlawful presence” is available if the visa applicant is the spouse or child of a U.S. citizen, or if the visa applicant is the spouse or child of a permanent resident. Most importantly, the visa applicant must be able to prove that the three or ten year bar would result in “extreme hardship” to the applicant’s citizen or permanent resident spouse or parent. Hardship to the immigrant is not a factor, and hardship to the immigrant’s children is not a factor (even if the children are U.S. citizens).
Thus, if it can be demonstrated that the United States citizen or permanent resident spouse or parent of the immigrant would suffer extreme hardship if their loved one were to be deported, a waiver could be granted allowing the immigrant to remain in the United States.
In order to apply for the provisional unlawful presence waiver, the applicant must meet the following criteria:
- Is present in the United States at the time of filing the I-601A and at the time of biometric processing
- Is a minimum of 17 years old at the time of filing;
- Upon departure to the foreign country, the applicant would only be inadmissible under the Immigration and Nationality Act Sect 212(a)(b)(i) at the time of the immigrant’s visa interview.
- Has received an approved I-130 or I-140 petition from USCIS which has been transferred to the Department of State or the applicant has an approved diversity visa petition;
- The applicant must be able to show their case meets the extreme hardship standard.
If you believe you or a loved one is eligible for a provisional unlawful presence waiver, schedule a consultation with one of our attorneys today to see what options you may have. Contact us today!