Blog

CLEVELAND, OHIO - Jonathan Bartell helps immigrant clients who face being removed from the U.S. for various reasons and returned to their native countries.
The government can remove someone from this country for having certain criminal convictions and overstaying a visa, falsifying immigration documents and entering the country illegally.  Immigrants often fear being sent back to their countries as a result of being on the wrong side of the law.
"We defend them in hopes of their deportation not occurring," said Ohio deportation defense attorney Jonathan Bartell, a who is a family immigration attorney.

As an experienced immigration attorney, my staff and I explain immigrants' rights, the removal process and circumstances that can cancel or delay deportation proceedings.  "We do a lot of litigation in court as a result," said the Thai-speaking lawyer who experienced the immigration process first-hand with his wife.

The Law Firm of Jonathan A. Bartell can be reached toll-free at any of our satellite locations throughout the country.  Attorneys have 24-hour availability, and offer free in-home or jail consultations for anyone who has been detained, questioned or charged with a crime.
"People might commit a mundane criminal offense, and because of their length of time in the U.S. or because of the type of offense, it sets them up for serious immigration penalties," Bartell said.

"The most unfortunate cases are those of people who are brought here as children and spent their lives here,” said Bartell. “Say they get pulled over for driving without a license.  Then the government wants them out of here." 

Even though the person may have been in this country since they were 6 months old, the government will try to send them back to a country that they don’t even know, since their parents left that country when they were babies, he said.

Immigrants charged with crimes should be aware that convictions and a guilty plea can lead to their removal if they are charged with an aggravated felony, or for two misdemeanor convictions.  Under current immigration law, qualifying misdemeanors can include aggravated felonies such as drunk driving, domestic violence and theft.

"If someone lives here many years and gets into a fight with his spouse- that’s domestic violence, and could mean deportation," Bartell said.  "It doesn’t matter that he’s been here for many years."

Another example is when people come to the U.S. on one type of visa and never leave.  The government finds them for whatever reason and tries to get them out of the country. Removal proceedings are heard before an immigration law judge who can order deportation, said Bartell, who recommends that you seek immediate legal counsel from his office to negotiate terms to avoid a removal hearing.

"There is no punishment with deportation itself, other than being transported out of the country and barred from re-entry for a specific period of time," said Bartell.
During the removal process, you can still avoid an order of removal issued by an immigration judge.  Your legal rights are:

• A voluntary departure to leave the country within a certain time frame at your own expense.  By voluntarily leaving, you avoid the "removal" stigma and increase your chances of future re-entry.
• Asylum as a refugee if you prove that returning to your home country would endanger you.

"We also try to prevent people being sent home to their native countries when they fear persecution by that country's government," Bartell said.

• Adjustment of status to earn legal permanent resident status helps you avoid removal in some cases or reduce the exclusion period for re-entry.
• A motion to reopen or reconsider if new information is available since your removal hearing. "If you are summoned to a deportation hearing, it is critical to appear with one of us at your side throughout the process to protect your rights," Bartell said of what can be a lengthy process.

© 2011 Master Google and the Law Offices of Jonathan Bartell. Authorization to post is granted, with the stipulation that The Law Offices of Jonathan Bartell and Master Google (a company that offers SEO copywriter services) are credited as sole source. Linking to other sites from this document is strictly prohibited, with the exception of herein imbedded links.