Emerging Technologies offer many career opportunities especially for foreign workers who want to come to the United States, but those working in emerging technologies might find that even though they have a valid worker visa, they are facing a deportation hearing
It can be very frightening to receive letters from the government especially when it’s from the immigration department. The Department of Homeland Security by way of ICE is in charge of legally commencing removal hearings, which is how you are legally deported from the United States. You have to receive an official notification that you have a hearing, and you must attend that hearing.
There are situations where you might have a reason why you should be allowed to remain and not be deported, but if you don’t attend your first hearing, you get automatically deported matter what. Having a qualified attorney with you at your initial deportation hearing and all subsequent hearings can help you with your defense strategy.
Why use an immigration attorney?
If you receive a notification that you are facing deportation or a removal hearing, it is recommended that you consider hiring an immigration attorney as soon as you can. Immigration attorneys can give you some peace of mind by working with you to develop an applicable strategy and building a defense for your case.
There are plenty of situations where deportation hearings are initiated but there are legitimate reasons why you should be allowed to remain in the United States. Top immigration lawyers can review your situation, provide an actionable defense for you based on the circumstances, and be there to guide you through the process of your next hearings, like the merits hearing.
Possible Defenses
If you show up in court and you don’t have a defense for your removal you can participate in what is called voluntary departure or voluntary removal.
For example: You came into the United States illegally, with no proper Visa or passport for that matter. Now you have received a notification for your hearing. You don’t have a legal defense, you are not seeking Asylum or other immigration benefits, and you have lived in the United States as an illegal immigrant for over 10 years, using social services and not paying taxes. In this situation you very likely don’t have a legal defense and if you choose voluntary removal this means that you are voluntarily admitting that you have no legal right to stay in the United States and you will leave on your own accord. This saves the government from any additional trouble and it also means that your permanent record does not include a removal order.
Continuing with the example above, if you have a reason for remaining in the United States then even if you find yourself facing removal proceedings, you could argue that you qualify for a green card or that you qualify to keep your green card because of reasons such as:
- Being married now to a US citizen or being a close family relation of a US citizen
- Seeking Asylum
- Seeking a cancellation of your removal (this is an opportunity for people who have lived in the United States for 10 years or longer during which time they have shown good moral character and can demonstrate that leaving the United States would place extremely unusual hardship on a child, parents, or spouse who is a lawful and permanent resident or citizen)
- Showing that the Department of Homeland Security was in the wrong for trying to remove you (this can happen when you get convicted of a minor infraction so immigration authorities immediately move toward a removal proceeding but your crime was not as serious as they alleged and therefore you should be allowed to maintain your current status or green card)
There are plenty of other defenses to a removal proceedings. Talking with a qualified immigration attorney will provide you the opportunity to fully review your case. Working with a US Immigration lawyer gives you the chance to cultivate a defense and if your attorney accompanies you to the master calendar hearing they can provide the immigration judge with what defense to expect and schedule upcoming hearings such as merits hearing.
The Next Steps
The merits hearing or hearings depending on the complexity of your case is where your immigration attorney presents your case, reasons why you should be allowed to stay. This might be a chance for you to explain that you fear persecution should you be deported to your home country, substantiated by experts on political and social conditions in your country as well as proof to corroborate persecution and injuries you have received in the past. After presenting your case, the immigration judge will decide what happens next.
