Criminal Charges & Immigration

Criminal charges can cause chaos for you if you’re not a United States Citizen. If you are an immigrant, even if you are a lawful permanent resident (LPR), a criminal conviction could have consequences beyond going to prison or paying a fine. If you are facing a serious criminal charge now, or if the charge against you is relatively minor but you have a previous conviction, you could find yourself unable to renew your green card. You could face detention and deportation. You might be denied reentry into the United States.

Before you say anything to the police, talk to a lawyer who handles both criminal defense and immigration defense. Call Gireud | Hobbs, PLLC, (210) 787-3916 or contact us online to schedule a free initial consultation. Our attorneys have significant experience handing high-risk immigration matters.

Current Guilty Pleas and Past Criminal Convictions

Criminal offenses that involve drugs, theft, assault, fraud or burglary, are what the statute calls “crimes of moral turpitude.” If you committed and are convicted of a crime of moral turpitude, you could be deported or denied entry into the United States. If you have been arrested and charged with a crime – any crime — it is important to find out as soon as possible how these charges could affect your immigration status.

Any conviction that could carry a sentence of a year or more in jail could trigger removal proceedings. Old convictions (from less than five years since you were first legally admitted to the United States) and pleas can be used against you and put you into removal proceedings.

What was behind you may now need to be re-opened in order to fight the prior charge and overturn the conviction (or guilty plea).

Preventing Deportation by Fighting Past Convictions

Our lawyers will try to reopen the original case to get the conviction or plea overturned. We have been particularly successful in basing our efforts on inadequate representation and bad immigration advice at the time of the prior offense. We also look for errors in the trial record. If we find any, we can hopefully get your case reopened to undo the conviction that might be causing you immigration consequences. If you pleaded guilty to a crime you did not commit, we may be able to reopen your case. We take action to help prevent deportation.

Call Our Immigration and Criminal Defense Lawyers

We know that facing removal proceedings are frightening. We are here to help. If you are already in removal proceedings we can sometimes get them stopped. Because each case is different, it is important to call us as soon as you are aware of a problem so that we have time to investigate. To talk with the immigration attorneys at Gireud | Hobbs, PLLC. Call (210) 787-3916 to schedule your free initial consultation.