Deportable Offenses

When considering potential deportable offenses, felonies and serious criminal charges often come to mind. But what many don’t realize is that certain smaller immigration violations can amount to a deportable offense. To protect yourself and your family, read more to make sure you are doing everything in your power to remain in compliance with the law.

Have you been keeping up with your AR-11 Form? If not, you may be at risk of deportation!

The failure to notify the Attorney General of a change of address is considered a deportable offense. This often overlooked immigration violation can endanger otherwise law abiding immigrants. Most non-U.S. citizens, with the exception of diplomats, official government representatives, and certain nonimmigrants who do not possess a visa and are in the U.S. for less than 30 days, are required to notify the Attorney General in writing of each change of address and new address within ten days from the date of such change and furnish with such notice such additional information as the Attorney General may require by regulation. In the case of an alien for whom a parent or legal guardian is required to apply for registration, the notice required by this section shall be given to such parent or legal guardian.”

In order to comply with this condition, you must file Form AR-11. This can be done online, if you have your case receipt number on hand, or by mail. For more information on this form, visit https://www.uscis.gov/addresschange for detailed instructions on how to file your AR-11.

Another serious immigration violation to be aware of is falsely claiming to be a U.S. citizen. This can include registering to vote, accepting jury duty, checking off a U.S. citizen box on I-9 forms, student loan forms, home mortgage forms, and even saying you are a citizen to a police officer or the like. These are all deportable offenses. Even if, when renewing a driver’s license, you are asked to register to vote, you may not actually vote in any U.S. election. Questions about past false claims to citizenship appear on the naturalization form (N400) and can hurt your chances at actually becoming a citizen. To stay safe, never mark or say anywhere that you are a U.S. citizen if you are not.

Similarly misrepresenting yourself in anyway on any U.S. government registration forms, visas, documents, etc. is also considered a deportable offense. Make sure all information you submit is truthful and correct.

Additionally, if you are a public charge owing to causes that did not arise after your arrival, you may be subject to deportation. For example, if you came to the U.S. knowing you would be require state general relief or general assistance payments, you may be liable to make a payment. If you refuse said payment, you are considered deportable. If you are a public charge due to circumstances that occurred after your arrival, e.g. losing your job, death or abandonment of a spouse, physical disability, etc., you are not at risk.

The above mentioned scenarios are just a few of the long list of deportable offenses. For a full list, visit https://www.uscis.gov/ilink/docView/SLB/HTML/SLB/0-0-0-1/0-0-0-29/0-0-0-5684.html for more information. If you have any questions, please feel free to call our office at 972-361-0606.