Your Immigration Lawyer and Criminal Charges - Tips and Warnings

If the average U.S. citizen is busted for a minor crime, it's no big deal. It might result in a few days in the clink or a fine. Sure, it's not something anyone wants on their record, but it isn't going to be life-changing to any real degree. For a foreign person, even a small infraction can jeopardize their status as a legal resident. An immigration lawyer may be needed to sort everything out. A crime in your home country might also have a deleterious effect on your attempts to stay in America. Here are some tips and warnings about crime and citizenship.

Legal Help

Even if you thought you didn't need an immigration lawyer for your citizenship wrangling, you'll certainly need one if you are faced with criminal charges. The easiest thing in the world for the government to do is simply order a deportation for an illegal immigrant who has been arrested for a crime. Often, they will do just that. If you are in the middle of legal entanglements, you need to bring an attorney in on the proceedings. You may also need an actual criminal attorney to handle the court case. Anything you can do to avoid conviction (within legal means, of course) will be needed to ensure that your chances of citizenship are not irrevocably harmed.

Terrorism

Life in the U.S. may not have changed as much after 9/11 as the media would have had you believe, but there's no question that certain things will never be the same. The government is understandably eager to avoid such an incident in the future, which means raising security and cracking down on the porous borders. It also means further difficulties for people who want to immigrate to the country. As you've probably already noticed, the climate isn't as friendly to foreign nationals as perhaps it once was. While this is no reason not to seek citizenship or permanent residency, it does mean that any criminal issues will be harder to overcome than ever.

Nature of the Crime

Getting busted for stealing a candy bar at the local convenience store or jaywalking in a major city isn't going to carry the same sort of weight as grand theft auto. The Department of Homeland Security will take the nature of the crime into consideration when deciding what to do. Nonetheless, even if your crime is of a minor nature, you need to get an immigration lawyer involved. A conviction of any kind on your record is going to harm your chances of moving successfully through the system.