Florida Immigration Lawyer Blog
The Orlando Immigration Court handles immigration cases for almost every non-citizen who lives in 57 of Florida’s 67 counties. Every person in removal proceedings who lives north of Charlotte County on the west coast of Florida and Martin County on the east coast, will likely have their immigration hearing in the Orlando Court. The Orlando Immigration Court is located at 3535 Lawton Road, Suite 200, Orlando, Florida. The Court is just north and east of downtown Orlando, near the Fashion Square Mall.
The Orlando Immigration Court currently has six Immigration Judges who each handle non-detained removal cases. Judge Rafael Ortiz-Segura is the senior judge, and there are five other judges in Orlando. They are, Victoria Ghartey, Daniel Lippman, Kevin Chapman, James Grim and Stuart Karden. Only one Immigration Judge currently handles detained immigration cases, that is, senior judge, Ortiz-Segura.
The Orlando Immigration Court handles primarily non-detained immigration cases, however, the Court handles detained immigration cases for people detained at the Baker County Jail, in MacClenny, Florida. The Baker County Jail is located about 30 minutes west of Jacksonville, Florida. The Baker county jail holds only non-citizens who have been arrested for, or convicted of crimes. The Orlando Immigration Court holds televideo hearings with detainees from the Baker County Jail appearing on a television screen in the courtroom in Orlando. Detainees at the Baker County Jail can have attorneys appear at the jail with them for all but the final individual hearing on any application for relief from removal. If a detainee has an individual hearing on an application for relief, their attorney and witnesses will need to appear live at the Orlando Immigration Court.
Attorneys, family and friends can visit detainees at the Baker County Jail, but they will need to drive to MacClenny Florida to do so. You cannot visit or speak via televideo with detainees at the Baker County jail unless you go to the jail itself. Attorneys who represent detainees at the Baker County jail can usually appear telephonically for most hearing with the Orlando Immigration Court. However, attorneys will usually need to appear live at the Orlando Immigration Court for any individual hearing on an application for relief such as cancellation of removal, asylum, 212c or 212h waivers, withholding of removal or protection under Article III of the Convention Against Torture.
The experienced immigration attorneys at Lasnetski Gihon Law can represent clients with cases pending before the Orlando Immigration court. We are in a unique position to represent clients detained at the Baker County Jail. With offices in both Jacksonville and Orlando, our attorneys can serve clients locally in both locations. We can visit clients at the Baker County Jail more easily than attorneys with offices outside of the Jacksonville area. Also, with an office in the Orlando area, we can appear in the Orlando Immigration Court to represent aliens detained at the Baker county Jail more easily than attorneys without offices in Orlando.