Recent Posts in Immigration Category

The Los Angeles Immigration Court is located in Downtown Los Angeles, California. The Los Angeles Immigration Court is located at 606 S. Olive St., Los Angeles, CA 90014.  

The Los Angeles Immigration Court handles all cases that are set for removal. Removal is more commonly known as deporation. This means that if or someone you know is ordered to appear at the Los Angeles Immigration Court this person is in “deporation” proceedings. In other words the Federal Government of the United States, or the Department of Homeland Security, is trying to deport you or the person you know.

Los Angeles Immigration Court hours vary depending on the Immigration Judge. It is highly advisable to be present at the court room listed at least 30 minutes before the time stated on the notice of next hearing.

The Los Angeles Immigration Court clerk’s office is located on the 15^th floor. At the Los Angeles Immigration Court clerk’s office you can find out information regarding your next court hearing and other relevant information. The clerk’s office will not provide legal advice.

Common Questions

Do I have to Show up for my Court hearing? YES! If you fail to appear for your court hearing the Immigration Judge will order you “removed in absentia,” which means that the Immigration Judge will order that you be deported.

Do I need an Immigration Lawyer? The short answer is that NO. There is no law that requires you to have an immigration lawyer. However, it is not a good idea to represent yourself! Immigration law is very complicated and takes an experienced immigration attorney to be successful.

What if I Do Not Have an Immigration Attorney at My First Hearing? This is generally not a problem. The Immigration Judge will ask you whether you would like some time to find a lawyer. If you say that you do, the Immigration Judge will generally allow you some time to find a lawyer.

If I don’t Speak English Will Someone Help Me? The Los Angeles Immigration Court provides free translators in the language of the individual.

Why do I have to go to Los Angeles Immigration Court? If you are ordered to appear before the Los Angeles Immigration Court it is probably because you are an individual who is in the United States illegally and has been denied legalization or you are a Lawful Permanent Resident who has committed certain criminal offenses. (Click here to see what crimes are deportable offenses). To learn more about the reasons for why you have been ordered to appear in the Los Angeles Immigration Court click here.

Where is the Los Angeles Immigration Court Located? The Los Angeles Immigration Court is located right in the heart of Downtown Los Angeles. It is a very congested area with a lot of traffic. It is very important that you make sure you have plenty of time to get to the Los Angeles Immigration Court on time. For directions click here.

The Los Angeles, CA office of Budris & Barrios receives several calls on a daily basis regarding Immigration Attorney and Deportation services for the Lancaster Immigration Detention Center.

The Lancaster Immigration Center is properly named Mira Loma Detention Center. It is commonly referred to simply as the Lancaster Immigration Jail. It is run by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, but under direct control of the Department of Homeland Security.

At this center individuals are held while they wait for their immigration court dates. All the individuals being held are all in the process of deportation/removal. This means that the Department of Homeland Security is trying to remove the person from the United States and send them back to their country of birth, a process commonly referred to as “deportation.”  (Click here to find out more about deporations).

A person detained at Mira Loma Immigration Detention center can be released on an immigration bail bond. (Click here to read more about immigration bail bonds). However, this is up to the Immigration Judge and a person held at Mira Loma may have to wait between 3 days to 2 weeks to speak with an immigration judge about his release.

If a person has an immigration deportation/removal case, and he is detained at the Immigration Court, located at the Lancaster Immigration Detention Center. His court hearings and dates will all take place at the Lancaster Immigration Detention Center. The court is located in the same general area as where visitation takes place. Immigration Court takes place everyday from 8:00 am through 4:00 pm.

A case at Lancaster Immigration Detention Center will last anywhere from 2 months to over 8 months all depending on the type of case. The majority of cases will only last about 2-4 months.

Family members may deposit money for the individual detained at Lancaster Immigration Detention Center by taking cash or money orders to the cashier’s office at Lancaster Immigration Detention Center.  

Lancaster Immigration Detention Center is located at: 45100 60th West, Lancaster, CA 93536. Click here to find directions.

If you would like to have one of our attorneys visit a family member who may be located at this facility please contact us by clicking here

In the past several months there have been several questions regarding the “Petty Offense Exception.” In response to such inquires, our Los Angeles Immigration Attorneys have asked that this information be posted so that our current clients, and our future clients have access to the information. 

The Petty Offense Exception is a special “forgiveness” under today’s modern immigration laws. It applies most often to individuals who are deemed to be inadmissible under modern immigration laws. To be inadmissible is to be classified as an individual who cannot be allowed to enter the United States for specific reasons. To be inadmissible a person must have committed a crime that involves moral turpitude (CIMT). Please see our definitions page.

However, a person who is deemed inadmissible does not need to apply for a waiver of inadmissibility if he or she only has one CIMT, and that offense falls within the Petty Offense Exception. INA § 212(a)(2)(A)(ii)(II).

Because the Petty Offense Exception is an exception to inadmissibility, the CIMT conviction will not trigger inadmissibility. See N. TOOBY, J. ROLLIN & J. FOSTER, CRIMES OF MORAL TURPITUDE § 4.5 (2d ed. 2005).

In order for this individual to qualify for the Petty Offense Exception the following three requirements must be met:

(1) the individual has committed only one crime involving moral turpitude, at any time;

(2) the crime that the individual was convicted of carries a maximum possible sentence of one year or less; and

(3) the individual was not sentenced to a term of imprisonment of more than six months.

In other words the individual can only have one Crime Involving Moral Turpitude, this crime must be a misdemeanor, and the sentence that the individual received could not have been for more than 180 days.

If this is the case, the individual will be “forgiven” and the individual cannot be deemed inadmissible for this crime!

Immigration Reform is at the forefront of all discussion among immigration attorneys. A major point of contention is what exactly will occur when President Barack Obama and his administration push forward on an immigration reform bill. Congress with have to vote for it no matter what!

This said the issue is attempting to predict what Congress will do.

First and foremost, the big-picture should be considered. The real goal for all parties involved is re-election, and new election in 2012. The Democrats want to continue their current run on Capitol Hill and the Republicans want to end that run and start one of their own.

So the underline issue is what will help either party achieve their independent goals? In order for any party to even dream of gaining presidential power both parties are going to have to deal with the powerful Latino voting block. Conventional media outlets simply do not understand the Latino vote. Current polls show that Latinos place immigration reform third on their list of important issues, behind education and health care. However, this is not to say that the Latino voter does not care about immigration reform. Polls show that the Latino voter is heavily concerned about immigration reform because supposedly the Latino voter has family, and friends that are in the United States illegally.

Now, on the surface this may not seem like such a big deal. However, the next presidential election is a little less than three years away, and by then the Latino vote is predicted to increase by a dramatic percentage. During the 2008 Presidential Campaign Obama received 66% of the Latino vote. Analysts predict that if Latino’s are favored, and satisfied by comprehensive immigration reform the Democratic party can garnish up to 75% of the Latino vote. This would mean disaster for the Republican Party.

Now does this mean that Republicans will thus vote against immigration reform to prevent the Democrats from making the Latino voter happy….NOT AT ALL! The reason is that by voting against a comprehensive immigration reform bill, the Republicans would end up upsetting the Latino voter, which will more than likely push even more Latino voters to the Democratic Party. This is a double-edged sword to say the least.

So what does this mean? This means that the odds are that an immigration reform will pass unless the Republican Party wishes to blaze new trials and proceed on a very risky platform.

However, the degree of coverage of this reform is a whole other issue.