Criminal Defense of Immigrants in California
California criminal defense lawyers helping non-citizens accused of crimes to avoid deportation and other immigration consequences
A non-citizen who gets convicted of certain crimes in California may face deportation, exclusion, loss of a visa or green card status, and denial of United States citizenship. The intersection of criminal and immigration law is extremely intricate. Different rules apply to different categories of immigrants. Very few attorneys understand the complexities of how the two systems of laws interact.
If you're a non-citizen facing a California criminal charge, you need a lawyer who knows both criminal and immigration law...an attorney who can help (1) keep you out of jail, and (2) keep you from being deported from the United States and losing your opportunity to gain citizenship.
Our California criminal defense lawyers enjoy decades of experience successfully defending non-citizen immigrants accused of crimes. We understand the special needs of non-citizens in criminal court. And we can help to resolve your case in a way that avoids harsh immigration consequences. We also help clients clear and remove past convictions and provide deportation defense.
Whether you just got arrested or already have a conviction, contact us for help. We represent immigrants with criminal and immigration issues throughout California, including the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura and Orange County.
Tour our site for further discussion of the key issues in criminal immigration law:
- Deportable Crimes in California (for Legal Aliens)
- Inadmissible Crimes in California (for Undocumented/Illegal Aliens)
- Crimes Involving Moral Turpitude in California
- Ways to Modify or Vacate Past Criminal Convictions in California
By you having a criminal record, the Department of Homeland Security may try to argue that you no longer deserve immigrant privileges. Therefore, depending on your case and your resident status, an immigration judge may take away your Green Card, make you ineligible for American citizenship, and even deport you from the U.S. And the judge does not care if you have lived here for years or if it breaks apart your family.
If you are a non-citizen who is facing criminal charges in California, it is very important that you hire a criminal defense attorney who will handle your case in a way that will keep you out of immigration court as much as possible. As California immigration criminal defense attorney Neil Shouse explains, "Non-citizens always require an extra careful criminal defense strategy because the stakes are so high. A good lawyer won't let you plead guilty to a crime that could later get you deported from the United States."
If you are an immigrant or non-citizen who has been arrested, charged or convicted of a crime in California, contact our California immigration criminal defense lawyers for a free consultation. We will not only help you get the best deal in criminal court, we will also do everything to safeguard your resident status and your right to live in the U.S.1
1 To learn more about immigration in the United States, visit the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services website. To learn more about criminal defense of immigrants, visit the Immigrant Legal Resource Center Quick Reference Chart.
