Miami Deportation Defense Attorney

If you have a conviction resulting from a plea or trial for an aggravated felony that occurred before April 24, 1996, and before April 1, 1997, for certain crimes, you may be eligible for a waiver under former section 212(c) of the Act. A grant of this waiver can prevent the loss of lawful permanent residency. Antonio G. Revilla III has published articles on waivers for criminal and non-criminal aliens in multiple Florida Bar annual immigration updates, and our firm handles the full range of waiver types described below.

Waiver & Relief Options in Deportation Defense

Several distinct forms of relief may be available depending on your conviction, immigration status, and personal circumstances. The right starting point is understanding which options apply to your situation.

Waivers for Criminal Convictions & Fraud

If you are a lawful permanent resident with a conviction that isn’t an aggravated felony, you may qualify for cancellation of removal for certain permanent residents. Eligibility requires meeting specific requirements under the Immigration and Nationality Act. If the government accuses you of fraud, including marriage fraud, a waiver under sections 212(i) or 237(a)(1)(h) may apply. For inadmissibility based on health-related grounds, a 212(g) waiver can support a path to lawful permanent residency. For convictions involving crimes of moral turpitude or 30 grams or less of marijuana, a 212(h) waiver may help establish or preserve your permanent residency, depending on the circumstances. A consultation with our deportation defense attorneys is the right place to assess which of these options applies to your situation.

Cancellation of Removal for Non-LPRs

If you have been physically present in the United States for more than 10 years and have a spouse, parent, or child who is a lawful permanent resident or U.S. citizen, you may be eligible for cancellation of removal. You must establish that your removal would cause exceptional or extremely unusual hardship to that qualifying relative. If an immigration judge grants the application, you can become a lawful permanent resident.

Asylum

Our firm handles asylum applications for clients from all parts of the world. To qualify, you must establish past or future persecution based on race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. Applications must generally be filed within one year of entering the United States, though extraordinary circumstances may excuse a late filing.

Appellate & Federal Court Options After an Immigration Judge’s Decision

A ruling against you in Immigration Court isn’t the end of the road. Decisions from the Immigration Court can be appealed to the Board of Immigration Appeals. Certain BIA decisions can then be appealed to the Federal Circuit Courts of Appeals, and select Circuit Court decisions can be reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Antonio G. Revilla III is admitted to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit and the 9th Circuit. He has presented oral arguments before the 11th Circuit, including a successful argument permitting arriving aliens to adjust status before the Immigration Court. Cases can also be brought before Federal District Courts through Writs of Mandamus, which can compel DHS to act on a stalled case, or Writs of Habeas Corpus to challenge unlawful immigration detention.

Deportation Defense at Miami’s Immigration Courts

Miami has two EOIR immigration courts. The Miami Immigration Court handles removal proceedings for individuals not in ICE custody. The Miami Krome Detained Immigration Court at the Krome North Service Processing Center handles cases for individuals who are detained. The proceedings, timelines, and tactical considerations differ between the two, and knowing how each court operates shapes how a case is prepared.

Miami-Dade County’s immigrant population is large and diverse, and local immigration judges adjudicate cases involving a wide range of nationalities, criminal histories, and family situations. Criminal convictions, including certain misdemeanors, can trigger removal proceedings for non-citizens regardless of how long they have lived here or how deep their family ties run. For many Miami families, deportation means U.S. citizen children or lawful permanent resident spouses face severe hardship, and that hardship can itself become a central factor in a cancellation of removal case.