Because of the ICE raids and tight immigration
enforcement prevalent in Georgia in the recent months, it is imperative that
all persons on visas (or even without them) take care of their criminal
history. Were you ever convicted of a criminal offense? Talk to a criminal
attorney to see if he can reduce the charge to a lesser offense or even vacate
it (this basically means there would be no conviction in the end). Do you think
you may have something on your criminal record? Don't wait until ICE is
knocking on your door or your visa is revoked, talk to a criminal attorney
beforehand so that he can investigate what sort of offenses might be on your
record.
Some people see themselves in a detention center before
they had a chance to hire a criminal attorney to take care of that DUI or
battery offense they were charged with decades ago. Nothing on your criminal
record ever goes away--even if you pay all your fines or so probation; your
criminal history is there for life.
We have clients come through our door who were convicted
of a DUI over a decade ago and never thought of hiring a criminal attorney to
fix their criminal record. Big mistake. Fifteen years later, ICE knocked on
their door and detained them. If they had hired a criminal attorney years ago
to take care of these issues, they would not have been detained and now they are at risk of never being able to return to the U.S.
If you think you or someone else may have a criminal
record that may be a problem for immigration purposes, please contact an
immigration attorney or a criminal attorney to discuss their options.
Johanna Cochran
404-949-8170
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