Immigration Issues - Legal Information

The Immigration and Nationality Act was created in 1952. The Act has been amended many times throught the years however it is still considered the basic found of immigration law. The Act contains several portions which are grounds for deportations of aliens, whether the alien is of lawful or unlawful status. Some of these grounds are :

• entering the country illegally
• overstaying your initial time stated on your visa
• commiting an aggravated felony.
• failure to register a change of address unless the failure results from an excusable circumstance or a mistake.
• entry into the country with the use of a falsified document.
• engaging in marriage fraud to gain United States admission.

A person who has entered a plea of guily or no contest to a criminal charge can possibly have legal grounds to withdraw their plea if they had not been advised to do so by the Judge, or their attorney, prior to entering the plea, that their plea could subject them to deportation.

Prior to October 26, 2006 the immigration law allowed a person two years from the date they threatened with deportation from the immigration officials to file a motion to withdraw their plea. On October 26, 2006, the Florida Supreme Court in State v. Green severely reduced that time to two years from the date of their conviction. However, the Supreme Court did authorized people who were convicted prior to October 26, 2006 to be allowed two years from that date to file motion to withdraw their pleas in such cases.

If you or your family are not United States Citizens and have previously entered a plea to a criminal charge, you may be subject to deportation. However, you may still be able to withdraw your plea if you were not properly advised or misadvised of the consequences. The deadline to file such a motion is extremely limited. If you are not a United States Citizen and have a criminal record, it is important that you discuss with a criminal defense attorney what consequences that record will have on your ability to remain in the United States.

Last, a person in deportation proceedings, may be eligible for some type of relief which would prevent a deportation order.

If you or someone you know is subject to deportation please contact federal criminal attorney Rick Jancha immediately. Your privacy is valued and all information is always confidential.