by Neil F. Lewis, Esq.

neil@neilflewis.com

I have been an immigration attorney for more than ten years, and in that time I have always encouraged people to be smart with their lives, and with their money. Those facing removal (also known as “deportation”), and their families who are trying to help them, should certainly consider consulting a qualified immigration attorney to review their case, the Notice to Appear and the possibility of relief from deportation. A good immigration attorney will tell you whether or not the government charging document is correct, what relief may be available to you, and what your chances are for obtaining that relief.

Some of my best work as an immigration attorney is done when I tell people that there is nothing to be done in their case. In deportation proceedings, in some cases I know what the final answer of the Immigration Judge and the Board of Immigration Appeals will likely be before an alien ever goes to Immigration Court. When I see these cases and stop people from wasting money trying to stop a deportation that will not be stopped, I feel good. I tell these people who come see me, “Save your money for your relative, he will need it when he gets home.”

This is true often when an alien is convicted of an aggravated felony. There is a long list of aggravated felonies contained in the Immigration and Nationality Act, but the most common that I see are crimes of violence where an alien is sentenced to more than one year in jail, crimes of fraud where the loss to the victim is more than $10,000, and any drug trafficking crime (and nearly everything apart from simple possession of marijuana is, for immigration purposes, a drug trafficking crime).

But in other cases, there is a possibility of relief. Recent relief we obtained for clients in removal/deportation proceedings include Cancellation of Removal for nonpermanent residents under §240A(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, Cancellation of Removal for permanent residents under §240A(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, adjustment of status to that of lawful permanent resident, §212(c) relief (Advance Permission to Return to Unrelinquished Domicile – it basically restores your lawful permanent resident status), Withholding of Removal, and termination of removal proceedings because a Notice to Appear was insufficient on its face.

An intelligent alien knows that the service of a Notice to Appear is not the end of the matter, it is the beginning. By consulting with a qualified immigration attorney, the intelligent alien will be smart with his money, and his life, and will find out what, if anything, can be done to stop himself from being deported.