Deportation, Removal, and Detention

Read about where to file your lawsuit or case. Information on jurisdiction and venue.

If you cannot afford the filing fee or other court costs, you may qualify to have these fees and costs waived by the court.

415-200-1548
to report raids or get
deportation legal assistance. For information about immigration legal help in San Francisco, go
to immigrants.sfgov.org

If you are legal permanent resident (LPR) of the United States (also called a "green card" holder) and you"ve been convicted of certain crimes or broken other immigration laws, ICE may put you into deportation proceedings. However, you may be able to apply for a one-time-only pardon that allows you to cancel your deportation.

If you are in immigration proceedings and your case is considered low priority, this guide will inform how you may get granted prosecutorial discretion; that will temporarily defer your removal from the US.

If you, or someone you know, is in removal proceedings, this guide will help you understand the requirements and steps to build your case based on the "1-year cancellation of removal" legal remedy. If granted, it will stop your removal from the U.S. and will help you obtain a legal permanent resident card (green card).

This tool will help you locate a detainee who is currently in ICE custody, or who was released from ICE custody within the last 6 days.

This section will give you general guidelines for how to best prepare yourself for court.

This booklet is for certain individuals in the custody of DHS who do not qualify under the law to ask an Immigration Judge to lower their bonds but who may qualify to ask the Immigration and Naturalization Service to set bonds in their cases or to let them leave the detention center without paying bonds.

Whatever the reason, you have the right to represent yourself, to be your own lawyer in all cases in California.

Form fees, eligibility requirements, fee waiver eligibility, required documents, and mailing addresses vary depending on the form you are filing and why you are filing.

This interactive map and search engine that will help you find legal assistance near you.

This booklet is for people who are in the custody of DHS and who have been placed in removal proceedings. "Removal" is what used to be called "deportation."

Request that ICE stop trying to deport you because your case is "low priority."

This guide is designed to help individuals with a final "order of removal, deportation, or exclusion" who are still in detention after 9 days. The law states that Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) has 9 days from the date you received your final order to remove you from the US.

You should read through this guide if you think something ICE is alleging against you is wrong or if you want to fight your case even if it meansyou will have to wait a long time in detention. Denying charges against you in court will not necessarily help you win your case but it pushes the government lawyer to gather the evidence needed to prove that you are deportable. If she or he does not have the evidence then you may be able to apply for relief to stay in the United States.

A 21 case, Padilla v. Kentucky, allows defendants to overturn a court decision if they received incomplete or wrong legal advice from their attorney.

This packet will give you the keys you need to be released on bond. It includes information about who is eligible for a bond, how to apply for bond, and what evidence you need to convince the Judge to give you a low bond.

If you have recently come to the United States without permission and are afraid to return to your home country, you may be in the "credible fear" process.

This guide will give you the basics about these laws and explain how your might be able to use these laws to stop your deportation. We"ll also talk about how to apply and what kind of evidence you need for a strong case.

In practice, it is a legal petition filed to challenge the government"s unlawful detention of a person. There are many different types of habeas corpus but in this guide we will only be discussing habeas corpus petitions that are filed in U.S. District Court to challenge your detention by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under 28 U.S.C. § 2241. We will be simply calling these "habeas petitions" in this guide.

If you are arrested and detained, it is important that you keep calm, and remember the following things.

Recognizing that some applicants cannot pay the filing fees, USCIS established a fee waiver process for certain forms and benefit types.

A Motion to Reopen (MTR) is a legal filing that asks the court to undo a deportation order and open your case back up so that you can submit new evidence, apply for a new form of relief, or have another chance because your first proceeding was unfair for some reason.

This guide should be reviewed if you have requested a bond hearing based on the Ninth Circuit decisions in Casas-Castrillon v. DHS, 535 F.3d 942 (9th Cir. 28), Rodriguez v. Robbins, 715 F.3d 1127 (9th. Cir. 213), or Diouf v. Napolitano, 634 F.3d 181 (9th Cir. 211).

You may file an appeal on some unfavorable decisions to the USCIS Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) or the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA).

You can use this dictionary to quickly look up a definition or explanation for a topic.

The Attorney General's guide on avoiding scams targeting immigrants and their families in English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Tagalog, and Vietnamese.

It also includes information for noncitizens and minors.

Field Offices handle scheduled interviews on non-asylum related applications.

Everyone inside the U.S. has certain legal rights, regardless of your immigration status.