LEGAL LANGUAGE SERVICES

US Immigration Guide

About Deportation Notices

If you are an alien, the government can expel you from the United States for various violations of the immigration laws. The government can start the removal process, (formerly called "deportation"), for a number of reasons, including the fact that your temporary visa has expired, or you’ve come into the country illegally, or you have committed a crime.

Although you can seek a waiver of removal in certain circumstances, there are some grounds for removal that cannot be waived. 

When the government wants to remove you, they must serve you with proper notice, thereby giving you a certain amount of time to appear before an immigration judge. At that time, you admit or deny that you are removable and you get you hearing before the judge. Even if you admit that there are grounds to remove you, you can ask for certain types of relief – like asylum.

You qualify for asylum, if you have been in the United States for less than one year and can show that you have been persecuted in the past or have a well-founded fear of persecution in your home country because of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group. If the judge grants asylum, you are no longer removable and can apply for a green card one year later.

You can also claim exceptional hardship for your immediate family. You can qualify if you are of good moral character, have lived in the United States for at least 10 years and have a spouse or children who are US citizens or lawful permanent residents. If you get relief from removal you can get your coveted green card if the visa is still available (only a certain number of people can get these visas every year).

In limited circumstances, if you are a lawful, permanent resident who is removable because of the commission of a crime, you can seek a waiver. You must show that the positive factors of staying in the country outweigh the crime.

When all is said and done you may want to voluntarily leave the country -- and not just because of taxes. 

You may want to voluntarily leave the country because it makes it easier to obtain a visa to reenter the country in the future. Otherwise, if you are removed by the government, at their expense, rather than your own, you are barred from re-entering the country for five years (or 20 years if convicted of an aggravated felony).

If you fail to appear at a removal hearing, what can happen? A removal order can be entered in your absence. Once this occurs, you are barred from seeking many types of relief from removal for ten years. The lesson is -- procrastinators beware -- get to your hearing on time.