Criminal Immigration Law refers to the intersection between criminal and immigration laws. A criminal conviction can have a devastating (and often irreversible) impact on a non-citizen immigration status.

This web site offers a wealth of information concerning:

• Immigration consequences of criminal convictions;
• Post-conviction relief;
• Criminal defense of non-citizens.

We provide the following services:

• Preliminary case reviews;
• Personal or telephone appointments with clients;
• Investigation and file reviews; and
• Eliminating criminal convictions.

A preliminary case review for immigration or criminal lawyers. This involves a quick review of the documents from the criminal case, brief research, and an opinion (which may be written or oral), on the immigration consequences of the criminal situation, the possibilities of solving them in immigration court or through post-conviction relief in criminal court, and whether it may be worthwhile to do a more thorough evaluation.

Personal appointments with the client to learn about the criminal situation, the difficulties it is causing for immigration status, and to offer an evaluation of the possibilities for removing the adverse immigration consequences through post-conviction work in criminal court.

An investigation and file review is a more thorough investigation of the validity of a criminal conviction. The investigation covers obtaining all documents from the criminal case file from the court, obtaining original counsel’s file, reviewing everything carefully, conducting legal research, and drafting a detailed file review memorandum covering the following questions:

• Immigration situation;
• Criminal history;
• What changes in the criminal conviction(s) and sentence(s) are necessary to avoid immigration damage;
• What procedural errors occurred during the original criminal case that might provide grounds for reopening the conviction;
• The chances that mandatory sentencing rules, or the unfavorable exercise of discretion, might motivate a court to sentence the client to greater custody time if the conviction were reopened and the client were re-convicted;
• What procedural vehicle(s) might offer the best chance of vacating the conviction;
• The chances of negotiating or litigating an immigration-acceptable disposition after the case was reopened;
• The chances of success at each stage.

The report often consists of 15-30 single-spaced pages of text and includes most of the legal research necessary to attack the conviction in court. If it makes sense for the client to use other counsel for part or all of the litigation process, we would include advice on who would be likely to do a good job of negotiating or litigating the matter in the particular court in which the conviction was rendered. The investigation and report is a feasibility study, and does not include drafting papers for court or any representation in court.

An attack on a criminal conviction in one of the following ways:

• Draft Court Papers and Documentation;
• Formal Representation in Negotiations and Litigation in Court;
• Criminal Defense After Conviction Has Been Reopened;
• Criminal Defense Before Conviction.