Deportation Orders and Voluntary Departure

In the United States, if a visiting foreigner overstays while on a visa, there is a possibility that he or she could be deported. However, before each deportation, an overstayer must go to an immigration court hearing. During this hearing, the visa violator or their lawyer can argue several different ways to delay deportation from the United States.

Legal Options During immigration Hearings

  • Deportation Orders

    If the visa overstayer does appear for the hearing in immigration court and receives a negative ruling, the defendant has up to 30 days to file an appeal. However, the immigration attorney can declare that their client does not wish to file an appeal and waive his or her right to do so. Despite this, there are several reasons why an overstayer may have a right to stay even when told to leave, such as a sickness or a new legal basis.

  • Voluntary Departure

    During immigration court proceedings, a visa violator or their lawyer could ask for a voluntary departure. A voluntary departure is when a guilty violator is allowed to leave the United States willingly, without receiving a final order of deportation. Although this person will still have to leave the United States, he or she is still able to legally return to the United States without a blemish to their U.S. travel records.

  • Removal Order

    If the court does not rule in the overstayer’s favor, then the judge will issue an order of removal, in which that person would be deported. If the overstayer was free and out on bail while attending the hearing, then they would not be taken, arrested, and placed in jail. But when visa violators do not attend their immigration hearing, an automatic order of removal will be filed against them and cannot return to the U.S. for ten years.

Immigration Laws Keep Countries Safer

The immigration court system is an important part of our country’s security infrastructure, and it is important that people are informed of its rules. These rules are a necessary part of our justice system and foreigners coming to the United States need to be informed about the specifics of immigration law before deciding to travel.