Immigration laws regarding criminal convictions are extremely complicated. Different rules apply to different categories of immigrants. A non-citizen convicted of certain crimes may face deportation, loss of a green card or denial of United States citizenship. A successful criminal deal may lead to an immigration nightmare. Many times the immigration consequences of a crime far outweigh the criminal punishment. Please consider the following fact pattern to illustrate how our firm can assist you in dealing with your non-citizen clients:

Maria, a new client, walks into your office. She is accused of stealing $1000 from the local mall. You negotiate her plea deal down to a simple shoplifting conviction; she is sentenced to a year in jail but you get it suspended and she does not serve a day. You may be surprised to learn that Maria is now inadmissible to the United States, and could be placed in removal proceedings. Shoplifting is considered to be a crime of moral turpitude, and her shoplifting conviction, for immigration purposes, is an aggravated felony.

Many crimes become “aggravated felonies” for immigration purposes if the judge imposes a jail sentence of a year or more. Therefore, it would have been better for Maria to have served 90 days of actual jail time instead of her suspended 1 year sentence. In this fact pattern, if you can negotiate the jail time down to 364 days, you will no longer have a conviction for an aggravated felony.