Deportation Defense

If someone has just been detained

Call an attorney the same day. While you're waiting to reach one, gather these — they are what any attorney will ask for first:

• The person's full legal name exactly as it appears on their documents
• Date of birth and country of birth
• Their A-number (alien registration number), if you know it
• Where they were detained and where they're being held now
• Any prior immigration history — previous applications, prior removals, prior court dates
• Any criminal history, including arrests that didn't lead to a conviction

Two things to avoid: do not sign anything you haven't read and understood, and do not agree to voluntary departure before speaking with an attorney. People sign away real defenses in the first forty-eight hours, usually because someone told them it would be faster.

What we do in removal proceedings

• Bond hearings. Arguing for release while the case proceeds. Community ties, steady work, and family responsibilities carry weight here, and the evidence has to be assembled properly.
• Cancellation of removal. For some long-term residents and some non-residents with qualifying relatives, where removal would cause exceptional hardship.
• Asylum, withholding, and CAT protection raised as a defense in immigration court.
• Adjustment of status in court, where a family petition or other path to residency exists alongside the proceedings.
• Waivers for certain grounds of inadmissibility or removability.
• Motions to reopen or reconsider, including for people who already have a removal order.
• Appeals to the Board of Immigration Appeals, which carry short and unforgiving deadlines.
• Prosecutorial discretion requests where the facts support them.

If there's already a removal order

People assume this is the end. Often it isn't. Depending on how the order was entered — particularly if it was entered in absentia because notice never reached you — a motion to reopen may be available. Appeal deadlines are short and strictly enforced, which is exactly why the record should be reviewed quickly rather than eventually.

We will tell you honestly if there's nothing left to do. That's a real answer some people receive, and it's better delivered by an attorney who has read the file than guessed at for another year.

What it costs

Flat fees, quoted in writing after we've reviewed the case, and structured in stages so you're not paying for an appeal before we know whether there'll be one.

• Bond hearing — $1,500–$2,500
• Removal defense through a merits hearing — $4,500–$9,000
• Motion to reopen or reconsider — $2,500–$4,500
• BIA appeal — $4,000–$7,500

Payment plans are available for most matters. Ask on the first call — it's a normal question and nobody here will think less of you for it.