Safe Havens

Clients may have a number of different goals, which may or may not be directly related to their immigration situations. 

On the immigration side, the client may be seeking a disposition that will allow him or her to move to terminate proceedings, or to become eligible to apply for some form of immigration relief.  Even if an identified safe haven ultimately will not help the client avoid deportation entirely, it may offer some additional chance of keeping the client here long enough to try to obtain post-conviction relief in criminal court, or (if the client is at liberty) to arrange for a smooth departure.  Thus, an argument that a given conviction does not trigger deportation may offer several varieties of safe haven, even if the chances of success at avoiding deportability entirely are less than 100%.

The ultimate immigration status the client wants to achieve is also an issue.  Some clients want to become lawful permanent residents after years of living in the United States unlawfully; others merely want to retain their LPR status, and other wish eventually to naturalize.  The client may recognize the inevitability of leaving the country, but still hope to receive voluntary departure, or otherwise pave the way for a later return. 

Outside of the immigration context, the same convictions could be causing other problems, such as rendering the client ineligible for a business license, or harming reputation in business or culturally, or with the client’s own immediate family.  The client will likely hope to obtain a resolution that solves the non-immigration related problems as well as any current immigration crisis.  All clients would like to minimize time in custody and to minimize the expenses that may be incurred in lengthy litigation.