Typically, if the government is going to institute deportation proceedings on the basis of a criminal charge, there must be a conviction. In immigration court, the term “conviction” is interpreted very loosely. For example, in the State of Florida, if a person receives a “withhold of adjudication,” they are technically…
Recently, memos have surfaced that the Trump administration is working to expand the use of Expedited Removal in an effort to become tougher on immigration enforcement. This is bad news for anyone in the United States who doesn’t carry around their U.S. birth certificate, passport, or green card at all…
The government is deporting people at a record rate. The current administration has said that it is focused on “bad hombres,” but people who have been here for many years with no criminal convictions are being targeted as well as those with criminal charges. There are things that can be…
In a recent decision affecting Florida, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that a conviction under Florida Statute §893.13(1)(a) for Sale or Delivery of a Controlled Substance is not necessarily an Aggravated Felony for immigration purposes. In Lannie Gordon v. United States Attorney General, Case 15-13846, the Court held that…
A little used provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act may be making a lot of noise during the Trump administration. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has sent a memo to Assistant United States Attorneys nationwide asking them to start requesting Judicial Orders of Removal in federal criminal cases involving non-United…
Many potential clients who call our office ask this question: Why do I need to pay for a consultation with your immigration attorney? There are two easy answers to that question. First you get what you pay for. And second, an attorney’s time and knowledge are what they have to…
TPS for Haiti has been extended for 6 months. On May 22, 2017, DHS Secretary John Kelly announced that TPS for Haiti will be extended for another six months, until January 22, 2018. That is good news for Haitian nationals with TPS and their families, but not great news. DHS…
Many non-U.S. citizens believe that they will be able to enter the United States without issue because they have a valid visa or are entering under the Visa Waiver Program. Unfortunately, for some of those people, they will find out that they can not only be denied entry, they can…
I can’t tell you how many clients we’ve had that come in and can’t believe that a first time, minor drug conviction could lead to the deportation of themselves, their sons, their daughters, or their husbands and wives. Countless clients who came to the United States as children and know…
USCIS, the government agency in charge of handling Temporary Protected Status (TPS) recently recommended to President Trump that he end TPS for Haiti. On April 10, 2017, USCIS sent a formal memo to John Kelly, the Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, concluding that the country conditions in…