Many non-citizens find themselves in this exact position at some point in their lives. Sometimes, they do not even know they have an order of removal or deportation until they apply for a green card or other immigration benefit. When you have an order of removal or deportation the last thing you should do is nothing. The first thing you should do is call an experienced immigration attorney about your options. Depending on how and why you were ordered removed or deported, you many have many different options available to you.
One of the options if you have an order of removal or deportation is to file a motion to reopen your immigration case. If you were ordered removed or deported because you did not show up for Immigration Court, you may be able to reopen your case if you can show that you did not receive notice or were not told that you were suppose to be in court. Many times, non-citizens end up in removal or deportation proceedings without even knowing it. This may happen because they are tricked into filing immigration paperwork through a Notario. If you did not know you were in immigration court an attorney may be able to file a motion to reopen for you. In this case, filing a motion to reopen will automatically stop the government from removing or deporting you while that motion is pending.
If you were ordered removed or deported and your attorney did something wrong, or failed to do something right in your immigration case, you may be able to file a motion to reopen and argue that your attorney was ineffective. You will need to be able to show that had your attorney been better, you would not have been ordered removed.
If you were ordered removed or deported and afterwards, you find new evidence to support your case, you may be able to have any attorney file a motion to reopen for you. This new evidence may include the birth or death of a family member, your marriage to a U.S. citizen or Lawful Permanent Residence, changed conditions in your home country, or a change in the law related to your case.
If you were ordered removed or deported because of a criminal conviction, you can talk to an experienced criminal attorney who can look into filing a motion to vacate your criminal plea. If your criminal attorney did not tell you that would may or would be deported if you entered a plea in your criminal case, you may be able to vacate your plea and reopen your criminal case. If you are able to reopen your criminal case, you may also be able to reopen your immigration case and delay or avoid removal or deportation.
If you have no reason to file a motion to reopen, you can ask the government for a stay of removal by filing an I-246 Application for a Stay of Removal. If the government grants your stay of removal, they will not deport you for at least one year, you may be eligible for a work permit, and you may be able to renew the stay every year.
The experience criminal and immigration attorneys at Lasnetski Gihon Law can help you if you have an order of removal or deportation. We can help you file a motion to reopen, help you try to vacate your criminal conviction, or file a stay of removal with the Government. Call us today!