People who are in the United States without lawful immigration status, or who are in lawful status but have committed certain violations of immigration or criminal law, may be subject to legal proceedings through which the U.S. government seeks their removal from the United States. This process is called “removal proceedings,” although many people still refer to it by its former name of “deportation proceedings.” The removal process is generally initiated by a government agency, including U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE), or Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
This removal process begins when an agency issues a “Notice to Appear” (NTA), which details the reasons that the government believes that person is subject to removal. The person who is the subject of the NTA is required to appear in court and may be subject to detention during the course of those proceedings. Consequently, it is extremely important for anyone who has received an NTA or believes that he or she may be subject to deportation to retain legal counsel as soon as possible.
Common Reasons For Deportation
People may be removed from the U.S. for a number of reasons, found in Sections 212 and 237 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Some of the more common reasons for removal are listed below:
Fortunately for people facing removal or deportation, there are often many ways that an attorney can help. In fact, one of the primary rights of a person facing removal proceedings is the right to an attorney. Some of the more common defenses to removal include the following:
A person who has been here for a certain period of time and meets other requirements may be eligible for “cancellation of removal.”
Some individuals may be able to assert U.S. citizenship by birth, even if that citizenship has not yet been recognized.
Individuals afraid of returning to their home country may be eligible for asylum, withholding of removal, or protection under the Convention Against Torture.
The vacating of past criminal convictions.
Other relief, such as application for permanent residency or for a U visa, for which the person may have previously been eligible, if only he or she had sought legal advice previously.
Of course, whether these or other defenses apply in your case is dependent on a number of factors. As a result, it is important for anyone facing removal proceedings to retain an experienced immigration lawyer as soon as possible.
Contact a Chicago Removal and Deportation Defense Lawyer Today to Retain Legal Counsel.
Removal from the United States is a serious penalty that can have a significant impact on a person’s life. In many cases, it results in an individual being separated from his or her family or other loved ones and home of many years. The experienced Chicago immigration attorneys of Kriezelman Burton & Associates, LLC are skilled lawyers who understand what is at stake in removal proceedings and work hard to ensure that every client they represent has the best legal defense available. For over 40 years, our law firm has been providing high-quality legal representation and counsel to clients in the Chicago area and around the world. To schedule an appointment with an attorney, call our office today at 312-332-2550 or send us an email through our online contact form available here.
I highly recommend attorney Brittni and Legal assistant Violetta. Their expertise and professionalism were instrumental in successfully handling our case. They guided us, answered all our questions, and ensured everything was submitted accurately and on time. Thanks to their efforts, we achieved a positive outcome. I’m immensely grateful for their outstanding service and highly recommend them to anyone seeking immigration assistance.
Phoebe
I highly recommend this firm to the folks who really need any type of legal advice, assistance in any of theirs issues. Whole team is very knowledgeable, dedicated and truly committed. Laura McClure is really one of their GEMS . She always without missing even one emails in the whole process, very promptly she gets back. If you really want to get your process done, this is the firm I recommend.
Gurpreet
One of my relatives just received her Green Card and the credit goes to Kevin Raica and his Paralegal, Aga Bogdanowicz. The final “Adjust Status Petition” including the supporting documentation was 128 pages long! There is no way we could have compiled this level of detail much less have it be error free on our own. The whole process took around 8 months which is to be expected; however, the Petition package was so complete that no interview was required. If you ever have need of immigration legal service you just can’t go wrong with Kevin Raica and the immigration…
Thomas
My international partner and I needed assistance with completing the process to receive a green card and residency in the United States. I am astounded with how quickly we received residency status thanks to the experience and quality of Kriezelman Burton & Associates. Attorney Kevin Raica was a pleasure to work with and demonstrated professionalism and depth of knowledge with the process. Paralegal Donald Rogers was attentive to all the details, followed-up with us, and ensured all of our documents were submitted on time and tracked. I can't praise this firm enough for how easy they made what could be…