If the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services decides to initiate proceedings to remove you from the United States, the first step in that process will involve you receiving a Notice to Appear (NTA) in the mail. Once you have received this notice, you have several options for contesting your removal, and you may have to act quickly to take advantage of them.
Before trying to fight your case by yourself, you should strongly consider meeting with a Bolingbrook Notice to Appear lawyer to discuss the details of your NTA and determine what your best course of action might be. Guidance from a seasoned immigration attorney could be crucial to contesting the information the NTA was based on in the first place.
Once it is delivered by mail to a lawful permanent resident or immigration applicant, the Notice to Appear form, also known as Form I-862, presents as a notification from USCIS that removal proceedings are now officially underway. The form will contain various forms of personal identifying information, including the recipient’s name, birth date, current address, and the alien registration number he or she received upon first entering the United States.
Below the personal information, the form will indicate the recipient’s current immigration status and name the allegations the Department of Homeland Services is making against them to justify their removal. Finally, the form will declare a date and time when the recipient may attend a hearing in immigration court to argue against their removal.
The information on NTA forms is not always accurate. It indicates what USCIS believes to be correct information about the recipient. If the information on an NTA form is inaccurate, a notice to appear attorney in Bolingbrook could help its recipient get that information corrected and factor these errors into an argument against removal.
At a minimum, a Notice to Appear recipient must be granted 10 days between the date they received their NTA and the date their hearing is scheduled for. Given the backlog of cases in Illinois immigration courts, however, it is common for NTA recipients to wait much longer before their day in court. It is often crucial that they use that time to prepare effectively for their case.
After double-checking that all the information in their NTA is correct and that the hearing date on the copy of the form is consistent with the date in USCIS records, recipients should collect as much evidence as possible regarding the allegations made against them, including not only documentary evidence but witness testimony as well. Even before the actual hearing occurs, a NTA lawyer in Bolingbrook could provide significant help with constructing a strong defense against removal and planning how to present that case effectively in court.
While receiving a notice to appear is a very serious matter, you should also try to remain calm and act decisively after getting one. There are ways to fight allegations made by the Department of Homeland Security and USCIS and ensure your rights are acknowledged and enforced.
Once retained, a Bolingbrook notice to appear lawyer could provide dedicated and compassionate assistance throughout every stage of your immigration hearing. Call today to learn more or to set up a meeting about your case.
