A criminal charge has devastating consequences for an immigrant. In worst-case scenarios, they will be arrested and charged with a crime, affecting their freedom, job opportunities, and immigration status.
All these factors make it essential for any immigrant faced with criminal charges to hire the best immigration criminal defense lawyer specializing in criminal immigration law.
They possess the experience, resources, and expertise to ensure you get the best outcome and receive justice at the hands of the law. They will fight your case to reduce the criminal charges and ensure your immigration status is not affected even in the slightest way.
But what are the effects of criminal cases on immigrants, what are deportable offenses, and related things you should know about this topic? Find out.
Who is a Criminal Immigration Lawyer?
These are attorneys who specialize in cases in which immigrants face imprisonment, deportation, or hefty fines due to being accused of a crime. They will use their expertise to reduce the criminal consequences of immigration.
Lawyers dealing with immigration criminal cases are experts at employing defense strategies because of their thorough understanding of federal law and how it considers a state conviction for immigrants.
Criminal immigration lawyers specialize in drunk driving, arrest and bench warrants, white-collar crimes, theft, federal crimes, and sex crimes. Each of these has different consequences on the immigration status of an individual, besides the prison sentences or hefty fines involved with them.
Effects of Criminal Cases on Immigration Status
Deportation
Some of the most common consequences of a criminal conviction are deportation and removal from the country. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) considers someone convicted of certain crimes to be inadmissible unless they have had their status adjusted or removed from the country through some other means, such as an asylum application or an immediate relative visa.
Suppose you are convicted of any crime involving moral turpitude. In that case, the authorities may revoke your permanent resident card, regardless of whether it has expired for some time already—this could mean being unable to re-enter the country again without getting another one first!
Removal proceedings and a ban on re-entry
After serving out all terms associated with their sentence(s), individuals who have received final orders issued by courts must wait until those orders expire before being able to apply again for legal residency.
What are Deportable Offenses?
Several criminal offenses can qualify as grounds for deportation. However, not all criminal offenses are grounds for removal. Some crimes that make citizens eligible for deportation are:
- Crimes of moral turpitude
- Controlled substances offenses
- Violent crimes like theft and forgery
- Murder or kidnapping
- Theft or tax evasion
Examples of Crime on Immigration Status
Aggravated felony
If the law finds an immigrant or non-citizen guilty of an aggravated felony, they will be deported, a heavy penalty that can have consequences for their future. The USCIS will not allow anyone convicted of an aggravated felony to re-enter the country or apply for visas or green cards until five years after they have completed their sentence. In most cases—and even then- it may not be easy to obtain permission from the USCIS office if they find out nothing has changed since then.
Crime of violence
If you are accused of a crime of violence, the immigration consequences can be devastating. You will face deportation orders from the immigration court and may lose your job as well.
The crime of violence is defined under federal law as any act that involves the use or attempted use of force against another person for any reason, including robbery, assault with intent to commit great bodily harm, or murder.
It also includes threatening someone with such action; intentionally causing bodily injury through negligence; recklessly causing serious bodily injury through gross negligence; and attempting to cause death by means likely to result in death.
Takeaway
You should hire the best immigration criminal defense lawyer if you have been accused of drunk driving, drug crimes, white collar crimes, trafficking, drug possession, assault, battery, and domestic violence. They will represent you in the best way possible by trying to reduce the charges and protect your immigration status.
