People who come to the United States without legal travel documents can be deported in haste under an expedited removal order that does not involve an immigration court hearing. Alternatively, one might have to go through a longer deportation process that involves appearing before an Immigration Judge. In case of the latter, you might receive an immigration notice to Appear.
The Notice To Appear
An immigration officer might serve you a Notice to Appear (NTA) in person, or you might receive it through regular mail. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) might also send the NTA to your last known address, or to your attorney, if you have one.
Receiving an NTA implies that you need to appear in an immigration court. Either at a specified date or at a date that will be determined later. A copy of the NTA also makes its way to the immigration lawyer in Miami that is responsible for hearing your case.
What You Need To Do If You Receive An Immigration Notice
The law requires that there should be at least a 10-day gap between the dates you receive the NTA to that of the first court hearing. However, you have the right to waive off this requirement. Upon receiving an NTA, go through it in detail to understand that allegations levied against you and to look for any possible discrepancies. At this stage, you should seriously consider seeking advice from an immigration specialist or Call: 215-587-9787.
The Possibilities
With the right legal guidance, undocumented immigrants who receive NTAs can fight deportation in different ways. These include:
- Getting a favorable ruling from an immigration court
- Convincing ICE not to move forward with the case though prosecutorial discretion
- Challenging one or more discrepancies in the NTA
- Getting post-conviction relief through a favorable ruling in a criminal case
- Obtaining asylum through a U visa
- Leaving the country voluntarily
If you have received an immigration notice from ICE in the mail. You should know that relief might be close at hand, and that it’s not necessary for you to be deported. What you need do to identify all available legal options is contact an immigration specialist at the earliest.
