When you are charged with deportation, you may not know where to turn first.
If you have been living in the United States for a significant period
of time and have relatives who already are U.S. citizens and/or lawful
permanent residents, you may have some options available to you that can
help you avoid deportation. Perhaps one of the ways that your family members
can help you most when you are charged with removal is to file a visa
application or petition on your behalf that is based on your family relationship.
A U.S. citizen can file a visa petition on behalf of certain relatives,
including a spouse, child, parent, and sibling. On the other hand, a lawful
permanent resident – an individual who already has his or her green
card – can only file a visa petition on behalf of a spouse or an
unmarried child. Certain relatives whom a U.S. citizen sponsors are classified
as immediate relatives. This means that these relatives are not subject
to the limits on immigrant visas that the federal government gives out
each year. These relatives can file for a green card much more quickly
than other relatives, and are likely to have their applications processed
in a timelier manner than other relatives. Immediate relatives include
immigrant spouses, unmarried immigrant children under the age of 21, and
immigrant parents who are over the age of 21. Family members also may
be helpful to you in applying for relief under the prosecutorial discretion
program, particularly if you are seeking work authorization. Affidavits
by family members who are legally present in the U.S. can attest to your
good character and their reliance on you for financial support, which
can help you obtain work authorization. Those relatives who do not fall
into the category of immediate relatives are classified according to the
immigration family-based preference system, along with the relatives of
permanent lawful residents. Each of the four categories has different
waiting periods to obtain family-based visas. Those relatives who are
in a higher preference category most likely will be able to file for a
visa before those relatives who fall into a lower preference category.
Finally, depending on the type of case you have, you might be able to
use medical, financial, emotional and other types of hardship that your
family is suffering from (or would likely suffer from if you were deported)
to support your case. In Cancellation of Removal cases, for example, it
is critical to show that certain family members would suffer “exceptional
and extremely unusual hardship” if you were deported. As you can
see, your family members may be able to assist you in some situations
by sponsoring you in a visa petition, despite the fact that you have been
charged with removal. At
Landerholm Immigration, A.P.C., we focus all of our efforts on representing the interests of countless
clients who have been charged with deportation by immigration authorities.
Our goal is to help you remain in your home in the United States with
your families. Fortunately, there are a variety of different remedies
that may be available to you in your deportation case that may enable
you to avoid deportation altogether. We will aggressively dig into the
circumstances involved in your case, evaluate your options, and help you
build the defense that is most likely to allow you and your family remain
in the community in which you have made your home. Get in touch with our
experienced California deportation defense attorneys today, and learn
what we can do to help you.
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