Tooby's California Post-Conviction Relief for Immigrants

To analyze the precise post‑conviction relief necessary to avoid adverse immigration consequences, it is necessary to have a complete understanding of the client’s current and potential immigration status.  This requires (a) discovering the client’s current immigration status, and (b) analyzing the exact effect on the immigration status caused by the particular criminal convictions, sentences, and actual terms of incarceration suffered by the client.

            The best solution is to consult with an immigration attorney who has experience in handling crime‑related immigration problems.  See § 4.42, infra.  That attorney can obtain necessary information from the immigration authorities and analyze the immigration case.  Together, criminal and immigration defense counsel can discuss what changes in the record of conviction and sentence are necessary successfully to resolve the immigration problem, and whether it is realistic to expect to achieve those results in the criminal courts.  In the alternative, counsel can file an FOIA request and obtain the client’s immigration file directly.  See § 4.32, infra.