An immigration trial is also known as an individual hearing or a merits hearing. At the individual hearing, you will be allowed to explain how you qualify for relief from removal as well as explain why you deserve an opportunity to live in the United States. Keep in mind that simply qualifying for a form of relief from removal is not enough, you must also convince the judge that you deserve the granting of relief or in other words the opportunity to live in the United States.
Furthermore, these proceedings require you to address any past criminal convictions including explaining the circumstances that led you to committing the offense as well as expressing any remorse for committing the offense and an opportunity to convince the judge that you will not reoffend. In all cases requesting relief from deportation, the focus on your case will also depend in part on the documentary evidence you have provided in support of your claim where the judge will want to focus more on issues or facts that are not as strongly supported by the evidence submitted.
In all cases, it is strongly recommended that you hire an experienced immigration attorney as soon as possible to help you in the preparation of your case including the preparation of your application, submission of documentary evidence as well as preparing you to effectively testify in your case. Furthermore, although the immigration judge conducts the hearing, your immigration attorney will also have a significant influence on how the hearing is conducted primarily based on how the attorney prepared the presentation of the case.
The attorney will prepare a strategy based on the facts and supporting evidence available to address the weaker portions of your case to minimize its effects as well as attempting to highlight and emphasize the strengths of your case. An immigration attorney accomplishes this at trial by implementing a combination of legal argument and questions known as direct examination questions made to you and any witnesses. Furthermore, the attorney will prepare you to address potential questions made by the judge or the government designed to diminish your claim by helping you better understand potential questions asked at the trial and to answer such questions in a manner that will serve to more support your claim rather than damage your claim. Finally, an attorney works in attempting to keep the hearing as focused as possible on the strengths of your case and to keep it from derailing into damaging issues or issues that may confuse the judge and potentially lead to denial of your case.
What can I expect at the individual hearing on my claim for Asylum and related relief?
In an asylum related case, the primary issues that will be addressed at the hearing are any acts of past persecution; likelihood of future persecution; individuals who had persecuted you or will persecute you; whether you can relocate to another part of the country; and in some cases why you filed your asylum application years after entering the United States. Furthermore, the government and judge will be probing for any inconsistencies on the record including statements made at the hearing inconsistent to what you may have said to an immigration officer in the past or to facts and statements made in your application.
As stated, the sooner you can hire an attorney in a deportation proceeding the better because the attorney will be able to prepare your application likely reconciling inconsistencies in your case before submitting the application to the court. In the event you made a statement to an immigration officer or in your application that is not consistent with the facts in your case, your attorney will be able to help you explain the reason for the inconsistent statement including explanations that may be based on a language issue which led to a misunderstanding by an immigration officer of facts you were attempting to explain, or may have led to your misunderstanding of a question that resulted in the inconsistent statement.
Although having an attorney does not guarantee your case will be successful, always keep in mind that the judge and government attorney are not out to serve your best interests. Many cases have been lost where the government attorney asks questions derailing your case by asking questions to discredit your explanation of your case or to confuse the judge to the point where the judge finds an easier path to deny rather than to grant a case. Moreover, some judges will not seek clarification of potentially favorable critical factors to your case instead depending on the government attorney who ends up serving as the guide for the judge steering focus away from the favorable factors in your case making the help of an attorney even more critical. The concept of the attorney is to help you keep the case focused at the hearing and helping you make the best presentation possible while also mitigating the effect of weaker issues or facts in your case including the effects of past inconsistent statements that may exist on the record while also focusing on the favorable factors in your case.
What can I expect at the individual hearing on my claim for cancellation of removal?
Primary issues to be addressed at an individual hearing based on request for relief based on cancellation of removal will be whether you have resided in the United States for 10 years before the service of the Notice to Appear; any departures from the United States within the past 10 years; any criminal convictions that may disqualify you from the requested relief or may reflect negatively on your character to influence a judge to deny your application and any and all hardship your US citizen or legal permanent resident parent, spouse or children will suffer if you are deported.
As previously discussed, the focus of the hearing will depend on how strong your documentary evidence is in addressing the primary issues in the case. Moreover, the immigration judge and government attorney will be probing just as in asylum claims for any inconsistencies in testimony with the documentary evidence and facts stated in your application. With respect to past criminal history, the judge will want to review reports of any crimes and will want an explanation by you as to why you committed a crime, the circumstances surrounding the commission of the crime and whether you feel any remorse for the crime committed. The judge will also need to be convinced that you have rehabilitated or can show that you will not commit the crime again in the future. Finally, as stated, an immigration judge will want to know of any positive aspects of your life such as work history, ties to the community, family ties and any other positive facts in your life that weigh in favor of granting your case.
Again, an immigration attorney will help you in preparing your testimony as well as preparing your application and presentation of documentary evidence to increase your chances of success in your case. Finally, assuming all other issues are properly addressed at the hearing, the most important and most often the most difficult factor of the case is proving any hardship to be suffered by your qualifying family member if you are deported. Understand that the level of hardship to be proven is a very high level of hardship known and exceptional and extremely unusual hardship. An experienced immigration attorney will also be able to analyze your circumstances and the circumstances of your qualifying family member’s life to help you focus on circumstances that may help in proving hardship. An attorney will be probing for all financial, physical health, mental health, learning related issues and any issues that may harm you or a family member as a result of your deportation. Many times, hardships that are not easily identifiable by a person without immigration experience can easily be identified by an experienced attorney and effectively presented at the hearing increasing the chances of a grant of the application for relief from deportation.
Again, it is not a guarantee that an attorney will win the case, but just as stated in our discussion of a trial in an asylum claim, the attorney serves to effectively present your case while also keeping the case focused and not allowing the government attorney to control the case and focus on negative or weaker aspects of your case.
I was placed in proceedings because my US citizen wife was attempting to petition for me for a green card, but my case was denied because of three past driving while intoxicated convictions. I’ve heard that the immigration judge will review my green card application to consider granting the application. Can you tell me what will be considered at the hearing?
Like the cancellation case, the immigration judge will weigh whether the positive equities in your life outweigh your past criminal convictions to warrant granting your green card case. Remember that questions will also be asked regarding the circumstances that led to your past arrests including what alcoholic substance and how much you consumed; whether there were any victims harmed by your actions; whether you had completed any treatment; whether you have a history of reoffending and whether you are likely to reoffend.
Again, the importance of an experienced immigration attorney is strongly emphasized. Many times, an attorney can help you in preparing your explanation of the circumstances leading to the offenses in such a manner where an immigration judge may view you as an individual who may have made questionable life decisions in the past, but has recognized the errors made and is now striving to course correct your life in order to avoid making more questionable decisions. An attorney can be successful by helping you explain to the judge how you have changed based on a significant period of good behavior since your last offense or by highlighting how the circumstances that led to the offenses no longer exist and that you are focused on avoiding such circumstances.
If you are facing an immigration trial or deportation proceedings, it’s critical to have an experienced attorney by your side. At Scott Legal, P.C., we have the knowledge and dedication to guide you through every step of the process and fight for the best possible outcome. Schedule a consultation and let us help you build the strongest case possible.
