Deportation/removal in no way relieves you of your credit/loan obligations. Yes, a family member can continue to lower the debt until it is paid off, preserving your creditworthiness with each lender and with credit reporting agencies.
What are the consequences of getting deported?
Once deported, you will be barred from returning to the United States for a period of five, 10, or twenty years, or perhaps forever. In general, most deportees face a ten-year prohibition. The duration of your deportation is determined by the facts and circumstances surrounding your deportation.
- If you were deported or summarily removed from the United States because he or she was found to be inadmissible,
- If you were deported or removed from the United States as a result of removal proceedings when you originally arrived,
- If you failed or refused to attend or remain in an immigration court procedure without justifiable cause, or walked out before it was completed.
Even if you were not present during the removal hearing before an Immigration Judge, your deportation was ordered.
If you were previously deported and then attempted to illegally re-enter the nation before your ten-year period of inadmissibility expired.
What happens to your debt if you leave the country?
When you leave the nation, your debt is technically unaffected. It’s still your debt, and your creditors and collectors will keep hounding you to repay it. Phone calls and letters may be part of those efforts, just as they were before. Missed payments will eventually appear on your credit report, lowering your credit ratings. From the standpoint of the debt, not much has changed.
Your creditors may eventually bring a lawsuit against you in order to collect unpaid debts. The matter will almost definitely be determined in your absence if you do not appear in court or have a lawyer there to represent you (and usually not in your favor).
A judgment will be entered against you at that point, directing you to repay the obligation. If you still have assets in the United States, such as bank accounts or investments, your creditors may be able to seize such assets in order to settle your debt. If you continue to work for a US-based company, your wages may be garnished.
The creditor may opt to sue you in your new country of residence, depending on the quantum of the debt. However, this would be a highly costly endeavor that would be heavily dependent on the legislation of the country in question. Given all of this, the creditor may decide it isn’t worth it.
Keep in mind that if you’re just going to be out of the country for a short time, the judgment may still be in effect when you return, giving your creditors the power to seize your salary or certain assets.
What happens if you have a deportation order?
Let’s pretend you go to the hearing and the judge issues a removal order (deportation). If you were out on bond when the judge ordered your deportation, you are unlikely to be transferred to an immigration detention center. While the government provides travel paperwork and transportation back to your home country, you’ll have some time in the United States.
When the government is ready, it will usually send you a letter (also known as a “bag and luggage” letter) at the address you provided to the court. The letter will tell you when and where you must report for your journey out of the nation, as well as how much luggage you are allowed to bring.
There are occasions when you are unable to leave when the government requires you to do so. For example, you could be too ill to travel, or you could have discovered a new legal basis for staying in the nation.
If this occurs, you can seek for your deportation to be postponed by filing a “stay” application. There is a charge for this application, but if it is approved, you will have additional time in the United States and maybe the ability to work before leaving.
The US government sometimes doesn’t even write you a letter and just takes you away without warning. If you have a deportation order, it’s better to be ready to leave at any time.
What Happens If You Ignore the Removal Order
If you move or ignore an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) “Bag and Baggage” letter, your case will be referred to the fugitive unit. The ICE police unit is in charge of tracking down and arresting people.
At any time, ICE officials could arrest you at your home, workplace, or school. In fact, they frequently arrive late at night, expecting the fugitive to be sound sleeping in his or her bed. If you are arrested, you will be held in custody (detained) until you can make travel arrangements.
When and whether ICE officials arrive to arrest you is determined by a number of circumstances, including the local unit’s enforcement priorities and manpower. However, if you are listed as a fugitive, your information may be shared with local law enforcement—that is, regular cops. If you are stopped for any reason (even speeding), you may be detained and imprisoned until ICE arrives.
Ignoring the “Bag and Baggage” letter in an attempt to avoid removal may gain time as a fugitive in the United States; however, there are also serious implications. You can end up spending additional time in jail or prison as you wait to be released. You could face criminal charges. Friends or family members could be charged with sheltering a fugitive. In public, in front of your family, or in your robe, the arrest could be humiliating, frightening, or hazardous.
Ignoring a removal order could make it more difficult for you to return to the United States in the future. If you have been deported and are unsure what to do next, you should speak with an attorney as soon as possible to discuss your options.
Can you return after being deported?
You cannot simply return to the United States if you have been ordered removed (or deported). You will be required to leave the nation for a specified period of time, usually five, ten, or twenty years, according to the terms of your removal. It’s possible that you won’t be able to return to the United States at all. It all relies on the grounds for your deportation, which is explained below.
What crimes make you deportable?
The terms “deportable crimes” and “deportable offenses” refer to crimes that might result in unfavorable immigration repercussions for non-US nationals if they are convicted. This could involve deportation and removal, as well as the denial of the right to re-enter the United States and the chance to naturalize as a US citizen.
If you are not a US citizen and are convicted of one of these so-called “deportable crimes,” the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) may deport you, regardless of how long you have lived in the US or how well-established your life is here.
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Unfortunately, far too many immigrants facing criminal charges are represented by criminal defense attorneys who are unaware of the immigration implications of a deportable offense conviction.
As a result, these attorneys may not fight the charge as vigorously as they should, and may even counsel the prisoner to plead guilty or “no contest” to the charge.
Javier, for example, was born in Brazil but moved to the United States with his parents when he was a baby. Since then, he has resided in Oakland.
Javier is caught with 100 grams of cocaine in his possession when he is 19 years old. The prosecutor accuses him of possessing a controlled substance for the purpose of sale, which carries a maximum term of four years in prison. 4
Instead, Javier’s criminal defense counsel, who is unfamiliar with immigration law, advises him to plead guilty to personal use of a restricted narcotic. This is due to the fact that the maximum penalty for such offense is merely one year in prison. 5
However, after pleading guilty, Javier learns that his drug possession conviction is a deportable offense (as are practically all California drug felonies).
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If Javier’s lawyer had been knowledgeable in criminal immigration law, he would have advised him to fight the more serious case instead.
What about President Trump’s proposals to expedite the deportation of criminal immigrants?
DHS was directed to focus its resources on deportable immigrants with more serious deportable crimes on their records under the Obama administration’s “Priority Enforcement Program,” which included convicted gang members, immigrants with felonies or aggravated felonies, and immigrants with either “significant misdemeanor” convictions or three or more misdemeanor convictions.
President Donald Trump, on the other hand, issued multiple executive orders on immigration in early 2017, asking for more rigorous enforcement of immigration rules. As a result, the Department of Homeland Security will now concentrate resources to deporting every immigrant convicted of a deportable felony, even minor ones.
This is why all non-citizens facing criminal accusations should be represented by a criminal defense and immigration attorney who is knowledgeable in both immigration and criminal law.
Our California criminal and immigration attorneys will go through the following topics to assist you better understand which crimes can lead to deportation:
- 7.2. Can I apply for post-conviction remedies in order to avoid deportation because of a criminal conviction?
- 7.4 What impact do President Trump’s immigration orders have on deportable immigrants?
Can you come back to us after voluntary departure?
Depending on whether you were arrested by the DHS when you arrived in the United States or after you arrived in the United States, you would face various consequences.
If you are detained by DHS at a land border checkpoint while attempting to enter the United States, or at an international airport or seaport, and you are removed from the country, you will be unable to return to the country for the following time periods unless DHS gives you advance permission:
You are not allowed to return if you have been convicted of a serious felony.
If DHS arrests you inside the United States after you enter the country and you are deported, there are various time periods during which you cannot lawfully return to the United States unless DHS gives you advance permission:
Consequences of Voluntary Departure After Living in the United States Illegally for More Than 180 Days But Less Than One Year
You won’t be able to return to the US legally for three years unless DHS gives you permission in advance:
You’ve been in the United States illegally for more than 180 days but less than a year;
Your voluntary departure occurs before you receive a “Notice to Appear,” which contains your charges, and before your court appearances with the Immigration Judge. Note that if you have been in the United States illegally for more than 180 days but less than a year and the judge grants you voluntary departure, the three-year prohibition to returning to the United States does not apply.
Consequences of Departing the United States Voluntarily After Living in the United States Illegally for One Year or More
- You either leave on a voluntary departure order from DHS or the Judge, or you leave on your own; and
- Your departure takes place either before or after you are placed in immigration procedures; and
- You have been unlawfully present in the United States for a period of one year or longer.
How long can you legally be chased for a debt?
The statute of limitations is a law that establishes a time restriction for debt collectors to prosecute consumers for unpaid debt. The statute of limitations for debt varies by state and type of obligation, and can last anywhere from three to twenty years. To get you started, here’s a list of each state’s debt statute of limitations – but keep in mind that credit card companies frequently argue in court that the law in their home state (not yours) should apply.
Can you be stopped at airport for debt?
No, you cannot be detained at an airport for debt, nor can you be arrested for debt. A debt collector cannot even threaten to arrest you legally.
You cannot be detained at an airport just because you owe money in some way. Consider consumer debts or something like. You shouldn’t be concerned because being stopped at an airport might be construed as a form of harassment “I’m going to be imprisoned.” And, as the Bill of Rights declares, “The 1987 Charter states, “No one shall be imprisoned for debt…” (Article III, Sec. 20).
You cannot be stopped at the airport for a debt since nothing happens to your debt when you leave the country. It’s still your obligation. As a result, the best solution is to keep your monthly payments current at all times.
Can debt follow you to another country?
If you decide to return to your home country, your previous credit history may come back to haunt you.
In short, while pursuing your debts internationally is costly for lenders, it is still feasible that they will do so.
Your credit score isn’t immune to overseas debt, so the best course of action is to pay off all you owe, even if it’s on the other side of the world.
How can I cancel my deportation?
You can choose between two options: 1) Request that the court vacate or cancel the deportation order in the court that issued it; or 2) Request that the court vacate or cancel the deportation order in the court that issued it. Apply to the Immigration Service to have your previous deportation order waived or canceled.
Cancellation of Removal
Another sort of cancellation of removal allows persons to stay legally in the United States even if they have never received a green card or other legal status. You must meet the following criteria:
- If you are deported, you must demonstrate “extraordinary and exceedingly uncommon” hardship to your U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse, parent, or child. It does not count if you put yourself through hardship.
1229b of the United States Code (b). Because you cannot demonstrate excellent moral character, most criminal convictions prevent you from receiving this sort of cancellation of removal. 8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq (f). Any conviction that results in a sentence of 180 days or more in prison, any drug conviction, any serious felony, and others fall under this category.
Cancellation for Battered Immigrant Women and Children
If a person has been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty by a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse or parent, there are unique rules. A abusive spouse, for example, can apply for cancellation of removal after only three years in the United States. 1229b(b) of the United States Code (2). In addition, victims of domestic violence by a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident husband or parent can file a self-petition for legal status without relying on her abuser.
Does marriage stop deportation?
Marriage does not prevent deportation. You must first establish your marriage to USCIS, then work with an immigration judge to modify your status. If your application for adjustment of status is approved, you will become a permanent resident, and your deportation procedures will end when the Judge approves your case. Previously, immigration judges would end proceedings after an immigrant petition was approved, but this is no longer the case.
