Florida Immigration Lawyer Blog

I am a Lawful Permanent Resident and when I came back from a trip outside of the United States, immigration officers took my green card, what do I do now?

Published on: May 10, 2016 | by Lasnetski Gihon Law

This is a scary and surprising fact pattern that all to many green card holders find themselves in after a short or long trip outside of the country. No matter how long you have had your green card and how many times you have traveled outside the country in the past, on any given return trip, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officers can stop you at the air or sea port, take your green card and try to deport you. The ugly truth is that until you become a U.S. citizen, immigration officers can come knocking at your door on any given day and try to detain and deport you for a variety reasons.

As usual, I am not trying to scare anyone with this blog, but I have seen it hundreds of times both as an immigration attorney here in Orlando and in my former role as a Senior Attorney with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (check out my webpage for more info: https://www.slgattorneysflorida.com/john-gihon.html). If you have a green card and you think it can never happen to you, they will never take my green card and detain me and try to deport me, you could be sadly mistaken.

Whenever anyone (including green card holders) enters the United States and they are not a citizen, they run the risk of being forced to “seek admission” to the country just like every tourist, student, and other non-resident who comes to our border. Usually, if you have a green card, when you come back to the U.S., you get to show your foreign passport and green card, they ask you a question or two and you are then free to enter and return to your home here in the great United States. However, if you fall into one of many categories found in section 101(a)(13)(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, even if you have a green card, you will be deemed to be “seeking admission” and will be judged by the same standards as someone who has never been to the country before.

I am a Lawful Permanent Resident with a Criminal Record, what are my Immigration Options?

Published on: April 28, 2016 | by Lasnetski Gihon Law

If you have a green card and have been arrested in the past, you may have many questions about your immigration options. If I renew my green card will they find out about my record and deport me? If I file an N-400 and try to obtain my citizenship, am I eligible and if I am denied, will they try to deport me? What happens if I travel out of the country, even for a short trip? If I do nothing is that a good idea?

These are all common and valid questions and ones we deal with on a regular basis when doing immigration consultations in our office-for more information about how to schedule a comprehensive immigration consultation with our office, check out our webpage at http://www.slgattorneys.com

The only way to truly give a lawful permanent resident (LPR) accurate advice on what to do and what not to do when they have a criminal record is to find out everything there is to know about their criminal, immigration and family history. You should probably only rely on an experienced immigration attorney (like me: https://www.slgattorneysflorida.com/john-gihon.html ) to tell you your options.

If They Decriminalizes Possession of Marijuana, Can I Still Get Deported if I get Caught?

Published on: April 14, 2016 | by Lasnetski Gihon Law

Recently, multiple states have not only legalized the use of marijuana (aka cannabis, weed, pot, etc.) for medical use, but they have decriminalized possession of marijuana for recreational use. Following that trend in states that have not yet taken this action (Florida being one of them) local governments have made efforts to decriminalize simple possession of small amounts of this still federally controlled substance. The city of Orlando is currently contemplating just that action:

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/politics/os-orlando-decriminalize-marijuana-20160412-story.html

Volusia County (Daytona Beach) also recently voted to pass such a measure:

Fourth Edition of the AILA GA-AL & Central Florida Litigation Newsletter (District Court Decisions)

Published on: April 11, 2016 | by Lasnetski Gihon Law

The fourth edition of the newsletter summarizing important immigration- related cases decided by 11th Circuit Court of Appeals and District Court decisions from Georgia, Florida, and Alabama. The summarized cases are for February and March 2016. There are not as many summaries in this issue because there were fewer decisions. Our next edition is scheduled for June 2016 and will feature another new addition, published and unpublished Board of Immigration Appeals decisions, and a new AILA Chapter contributing – South Florida.

This is a group effort of four attorneys – John Gihon, Marshall Cohen, Roberta Cooper & Bruce Buchanan.

District Court Decisions

Fourth Edition of the AILA GA-AL & Central Florida Litigation Newsletter (Circuit Court Decisions)

Published on: April 8, 2016 | by Lasnetski Gihon Law

The fourth edition of the newsletter summarizing important immigration- related cases decided by 11th Circuit Court of Appeals and District Court decisions from Georgia, Florida, and Alabama. The summarized cases are for February and March 2016. There are not as many summaries in this issue because there were fewer decisions. This issue also adds a few feature – summaries of decisions by OCAHO during this same time period. Our next edition is scheduled for June 2016 and will feature another new addition, published and unpublished Board of Immigration Appeals decisions, and a new AILA Chapter contributing – South Florida.

This is a group effort of four attorneys – John Gihon, Marshall Cohen, Roberta Cooper & Bruce Buchanan.

11th Circuit Decisions

Proposed Immigration Laws That Thankfully Died in the Florida Legislature

Published on: March 30, 2016 | by Lasnetski Gihon Law

Even though I am an Orlando immigration attorney, I practice immigration law all over the United States. I like to think of myself as an attorney on the forefront of both immigration and criminal law, and especially where to two cross over. Because of that, I try to stay on top of changes in both federal immigration law and state criminal law that may effect my immigration clients.

This legislative session in Florida has seen a large number of immigration-related bills designed to punish and deter immigrants from entering, living in, or committing crimes in Florida. I blogged about a couple of them a while back.

One bill created a very serious criminal offense for people who were present in Florida after receiving an order of deportation. Check out my blog about this bill here: https://www.floridaimmigrationlawyerblog.com/2015/09/a_law_pending_in_the_florida_l.html

I Have an Order of Removal or Deportation, What Do I Do Now?

Published on: March 24, 2016 | by Lasnetski Gihon Law

This is a question that many immigrants find themselves asking at some point in their journey to U.S. citizenship. I applied for a green card and they told me I have an order of removal, or I was arrested and immigration detained me and said I have an order of deportation. These are scenarios that happen on a regular basis. The way our immigration system works, many non-citizens who are living their lives in the U.S. have orders of removal and either don’t even know it, or are able to live their lives, but have the fear that their next appointment with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will be the time they are detained and deported.

When someone has a final order of removal there can be many reasons for it. You may have gone through removal proceedings, fought your case and lost, appealed to the Board of Immigration Appeals and lost and now you have a final order. You may have not even known that you were in removal proceedings and were ordered removed when you did not show up for a court date that you didn’t even know you had. Or you may have gone to court many times and for one reason or another, you had car trouble, you were in jail or you were scared, you did not show up for your final hearing and you were ordered deported. All of these are ways that people end up with orders of removal or deportation.

How you received your order of removal is a key factor in determining if an attorney can help you reopen your case and overturn that order of removal. If you fought your case all the way through and lost at every step, your chances of reopening your case and getting your green card back or having a chance at getting a green card a slim. However, that does not mean it is impossible.

Why a Motion to Vacate a Plea and Conviction in a Criminal Case may be an Immigrant’s only Defense to Deportation.

Published on: March 15, 2016 | by Lasnetski Gihon Law

Just like American citizens, sometimes immigrants find themselves on the wrong side of law. Whether its a DUI or possession of a small amount of marijuana, even the most minor criminal offense can have devastatingly negative immigration consequences for non-citizens.

Can a lawful permanent resident be deported for a DUI? The answer is no, however, that DUI combined with other criminal arrests and convictions can make USCIS deny a green card holder’s application for citizenship. Can a DUI make someone with no status deportable? Again, the answer is no, but a DUI will stop someone from getting DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) and other forms of Prosecutorial Discretion.

The crime that is much worse for both lawful permanent residents and for immigrants with no status is possession of any controlled substance, even a small amount of cannabis for personal use. For an immigrant with no status, a conviction for any federally controlled substance in any amount will likely lead to detention, removal proceedings and bar almost all forms of relief from removal. Yes, this includes a misdemeanor amount of cannabis for personal use.

Why Donald Trump may be the only presidential candidate who can bring us comprehensive immigration reform.

Published on: March 9, 2016 | by Lasnetski Gihon Law

That’s right, you read that correctly, Republican presidential candidate, Donald J Trump may be the only presidential candidate with a strategy, a plan and a chance to pass comprehensive immigration reform. You all probably think I am crazy, or that when I say immigration reform, I mean giant electrified fences across the Rio Grande and mass detention and deportation centers in the Sonoran dessert. But you are wrong, I am talking about the comprehensive immigration reform that provides the across the board, legalize most of the 11 million who are here, deport some, background checks for all and secures the border. Yes, I think he is the only candidate who is already executing a strategy to make it happen.

Before you stop reading and think this is a endorsement for Trump, let me assure you, I have not yet voted in next week’s Florida primary, and I honestly have not made up my mind on who I will vote for. This is the first election I remember where I have no idea who I will vote for for president this far into the cycle. I still don’t have my candidate, but I follow politics very closely and I think I am finally starting to get Donald Trump.

I tell my son all the time, most of what every politician says you shouldn’t believe because most of what they say they don’t believe. They are just saying things or taking positions for some reason or another. I believe this old adage to be true: politics is the opposite of principle.

Why the Crime of Battery in Florida is Likely no Longer a Crime of Violence under Immigration Law.

Published on: March 2, 2016 | by Lasnetski Gihon Law

The Board of Immigration appeals recently issued a published decision that may answer once and for all with a resounding NO, the question: “is Battery in Florida a Crime of Violence?” That’s right, the Florida crime of Battery, Florida Statute § 784.03, which requires that someone actually and intentionally touch or strike another person or intentionally cause bodily harm to that person, is probably not a crime of violence in immigration law. That means that it is probably never an aggravated felony crime of violence under INA § 101(a)(43)(F), and may never be a crime of domestic violence under INA § 237(a)(2)(E)(i).

This decision also means that other more serious Florida battery crimes, including Felony Battery based upon a prior Battery Conviction, Fla. Stat. § 784.03(2), Aggravated Battery on a Pregnant Victim, Fla. Stat. § 784.045(1)(b), Battery on a Law Enforcement Officer, Fla. Stat. § 784.07, and Battery on a Elderly or Disabled Person, Fla. Stat. § 784.08, are all likely not crimes that can get you deported. That is because each of these crimes is based upon the same language from the simple battery statute.

A bit of background on the statute first so that you can understand the history of the changes in the law effecting the battery statute. In 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court in a case called Johnson v. United States, 130 S.Ct. 1265 (2010), determined that the first part of Florida’s battery statute, the part about touching another person against their will, is not a crime of violence. That is because you can be convicted of battery in Florida without actually using any violent physical force to commit the crime. Rather, you can simply touch someone against their will.