All individuals who are present in the United States without a legal immigration
status are subject to removal from the country by Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE), which is a division of the U.S. Department of Homeland
Security (DHS). When an ICE agent finds that an individual is removable
and detains him or her in an immigration detention center, the individual
may or may not be able to post bond pending removal proceedings. If no
bond is set, then the individual will remain detained until removal proceedings
are complete. Fortunately, U.S. immigration law provides for a number
of different defenses to removal that may help your case, depending on
the circumstances. For example, if you left your home country and do not
wish to return due to a serious fear of persecution based on your race,
religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political
opinion, then you may be eligible for asylum, withholding of removal,
or relief under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). If you are entitled
to any of these types of relief, then you may be able to avoid deportation.
Furthermore, if you are married to a U.S. citizen or permanent legal resident
or if you have a qualifying relative who has filed a petition on your
behalf, you may be able to adjust your status to that of a legal permanent
resident. In other words, you may be able to directly apply for a green
card. Depending on how you entered the U.S., you may have to return to
your home country to process the request for a green card, or you may
simply be able to adjust your immigration status while still in the U.S.
In some circumstances, you can avoid removal by being eligible for a visa.
For instance, a U-visa may be available for people who have been victim
of serious crimes and suffered serious and ongoing harm as a result of
those crimes. In order to qualify for this type of visa, the crime victim
also must have cooperated with law enforcement officials in order to bring
the perpetrator to justice. These are only a few of the potential defenses
to removal that may apply in your case. If ICE has detained a loved one,
contacting an experienced California immigration attorney as quickly as
possible can be essential to securing his or her release and fighting
deportation. Taking steps to fix an immigration problem from the outset
is often much simpler than waiting until the last minute and attempting
to remedy the situation. Call Landerholm Immigration, A.P.C., at (510) 756-4468
today, and learn what we can do to help you through this situation.
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