Asylum and Deportation in Prince William County

If a person has an application for asylum that has been submitted to USCIS or with the immigration court and they are waiting for their final hearing, they are safe from deportation during that time period. However, if that person commits a crime, that renders the individual ineligible for asylum.

Asylum and deportation in Prince William County can be a difficult and lengthy process. A compassionate asylum lawyer can assist you in preparing an application for asylum in Prince William County. A lawyer can clarify the laws regarding deportation and how they apply to your specific case.

Risk of Deportation

In cases regarding asylum and deportation in Prince William County, the government can request to pre-terminate a person’s case, meaning there has been a request that the judge makes a decision on the case before the individual hearing because they are not prima facie eligible. In some cases the individual if they commit a crime while waiting for an asylum interview, they can be detained and have the expedited deportation hearing process and the individual will have to initially address whether or not they are eligible for asylum before the court will allow them to receive a date for an individual hearing.

If it is an aggravated felony, it will completely automatically disqualify that individual. There is no argument that an aggravated felony is not a particularly serious crime. There are some crimes that are not aggravated felonies that could still be considered particularly serious crimes. In some cases, there is an argument either way that a conviction is a particularly serious crime and thus there is an argument on both sides then that is something that will have to be litigated.

Definition of Prima Facie

If a person is prima facie eligible for asylum in Prince William County, it means everything is taken as true in their declaration that it would qualify for asylum. If the individual has been convicted of a crime that renders them ineligible for asylum, they cannot move forward to an individual asylum hearing. If one of these situations exists in an asylum and deportation in Prince William County case, the individual is then prima facie ineligible and the judge will not allow the individual to move forward with an individual hearing.

Common Deportation Scenarios

The most common way someone would be deported while they were seeking asylum would be if the individual travels to their home country while their asylum application was pending. Traveling to their home country could cause that person’s case to be pre-terminated. More commonly, if they commit a crime while waiting for their asylum hearing that makes them ineligible for asylum and they can be detained. The individual will then have a new master calendar hearing set to adjudicate whether or not they should be disqualified for an application for asylum.

If the individual does not have other options for asylum and deportation in Prince William County, such as protection under withholding or the convention against torture, then they can be deported before a hearing. It is important to speak with an asylum attorney about your immigration or asylum options.

Criminal Disqualification

To be criminally disqualified from asylum eligibility, the individual needs to have committed a crime that is considered particularly serious. That is the legal definition, a particularly serious crime, so there is an enumerated list of crimes that are considered particularly serious and include all aggravated felonies.

Aggravated felonies encompass a lot of different conduct but definitely any controlled substance conviction will generally be considered an aggravated felony, as well as violent crimes, any sexual offense, and domestic violence offense, will generally be considered a particularly serious crime but the umbrella for particularly serious crimes is a bit larger than that of the aggravated felony list of crimes.

In some asylum and deportation cases in Prince William County, it is actually a discretionary decision that needs to be made regarding that conviction itself. If it is a question as to whether or not the individual’s crime should be considered particularly serious and therefore disqualify them from asylum, an individual hearing may be scheduled to adjudicate the particular crime issue before a final hearing to adjudicate the merits of the asylum claim.

Asylum Denial

In Prince William County asylum and deportation cases, an individual can be deported if their application for asylum is denied and they do not have another basis to gain lawful status. As far as having their asylum application denied, there are other bars to granting asylum such as if the individual is a national security risk, if they are going to present a risk to the community in the United States, they can be disqualified from applying for asylum and that is definitely a discretionary decision that a person wants to litigate. Asylum and deportation in Prince William County cases meet when submitting the application more than a year after arriving in the United States or after having been previously denied asylum by an immigration, the individual’s application could be denied.

Speaking with a Lawyer

If a person is in an immigration court proceeding for asylum, it is extraordinarily important that they have an asylum and deportation attorney as representation during that process. The process surrounding asylum and deportation in Prince William County requires a lot of documentation, and it is definitely a trial setting. If a person would not go into a big criminal trial without an attorney, they should not go into an asylum trial either because it is definitely a complex area of law. The judge is there to serve justice. It is important to have asylum and deportation lawyer who can be on the individual’s side throughout these circumstances.