Just like in criminal court, you typically have a chance to respond to the charge against.  Whereas in criminal court you have a chance to say “guilty” or “not guilty,” in immigration court you can admit or deny the allegations and charge of removability.

Significantly, this is the first chance to fight your case.  One should never assume that he or she is subject to deportation just because the immigration charging document says so.  That’s like assuming that everyone charged with a crime is guilty. Likewise, there are often ways to demonstrate that ICE, or the immigration authorities, have gotten it wrong, and that you’re not supposed to be in deportation proceedings to begin with.

Here are some examples of ways that we’ve fought the charges of removability an ultimately won, without having to go a step further and apply for relief from deportation:

• Person was alleged to a be a non-citizen.  We denied the allegation, arguing that he became a U.S. citizen derivatively through his father.

• Person was alleged to be deportable for crime of money laundering.  We denied the charge, proving that it wasn’t an aggravated felony because the loss was under $10,000.

• Person was alleged to be inadmissible based on a crime involving moral turpitude. We denied the charge, explaining that under recent law the offense was not a crime involving moral turpitude.

• Person was alleged to have been convicted of multiple crimes involving moral turpitude.  We denied the charge, arguing that he had only been convicted of a single crime involving moral turpitude.

• Person was alleged to have been inadmissible for having entered without inspection.  We denied the charge, arguing that the person has automatically become a green card holder from amnesty under the Special Agricultural Worker program.

In our law practice, we never take for granted that a person is removable as charged.  Conceding one’s deportability means missing out a first opportunity to win your case.

If the immigration judge agrees that you are not removable as charged, he or she is obligated to terminate your case.  When a case is terminated, it’s sometimes possible for ICE to place you back in removal proceedings or to appeal the judge’s decision.

If the immigration judge ultimately finds that you are removable from the United States, that still does not mean that you will be deported.

If you are eligible, you can still apply for relief from deportation.  There are many types of relief, and you’ll need an experienced immigration attorney to decide if you qualify.  The types of relief include:

• Asylum

• Withholding of removal

• Withholding and deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture

• Cancellation of removal for non-permanent residents

• Cancellation of removal for lawful permanent residents

• U visas

• T visas

• VAWA Adjustment

• Adjustment of Status

• Re-Adjustment of Status

• Section 212(h) criminal waiver

• Section 212(c) criminal waiver

• Prosecutorial discretion

To learn how to qualify for these types of relief, visit our page here.

The burden of proof is on the respondent.  In other words, it’s up to the person in proceedings to present evidence on his or her behalf in support of these applications.  

The last hearing in a removal case is often referred to as a merits, or individual, hearing.  Consider this a mini-trial. It’s where you and the government get to present evidence for and against your application for relief from deportation.  Before the hearing, your lawyer will present written evidence in support of your application. At the hearing, you and your attorney will present live testimony from witnesses.

After hearing the evidence, the immigration judge will decide on your application for relief.

If the judge does not grant your application for relief, not all is lost.  You have the right to, within 30 days, file a notice of appeal with the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA).  The BIA is simply an appellate court that sits in Falls Church, Virginia.

Appeals can take several months to be resolved.  And they aren’t necessarily a chance to present all your evidence once again to someone new.  Often the issues that are argued on appeal are more limited in scope than the ones resolved by the immigration judge.

Having a team of attorneys skilled in written advocacy is critical at this juncture.  You won’t have a hearing before the BIA. Virtually always, arguments are made in written form.

Despite our law firm’s strong track record for appeals to the Board, it sometimes becomes necessary to file an additional appeal to a circuit court of appeal.  The circuit courts are federal appellate courts that sit one step below the Supreme Court of the United States. These circuit courts are allowed to entertain petitions for review on some legal issues that arise before immigration courts and the Board of Immigration Appeals.

These appeals are very challenging, but winnable in our experience. Our law firm has won cases before the Fifth, Ninth, and Tenth Circuit Courts of Appeals.

If every appeal is lost, don’t lose hope.  There are ways in which to reopen immigration cases, sometimes to apply for new relief or based on a fundamental change in law.  Even after someone is physically deported, it is sometimes possible to bring him or her back to the United States. We have consulted with hundreds of individuals on the possibility of bringing a loved one back to the country.