Did you know that if you request voluntary departure when you are in deportation proceedings, you will still have the 10-year punishment?

When a person is in deportation proceedings and has no option to fight their case, some lawyers recommend that the person ask the judge for voluntary departure. However, most people believe that voluntary departure does not have any negative consequences for them.

You are wrong.

Voluntary departure is not a pardon for having stayed illegally. The person who has stayed illegally for more than a year in the United States will have to face the 10-year punishment regardless of whether they leave voluntarily or if the immigration judge orders them to leave.

If the judge grants your voluntary departure, you will have to leave the country within the time required by the judge or else your voluntary departure automatically becomes a deportation order.

Are you in deportation proceedings and are considering voluntary departure but do not know if it is appropriate in your case?

Attorney Angelica Tovar can help you, call us at (470) 207-5333.

DISCLAIMER: The information contained in this article is intended to provide general information and in no event does it represent a guarantee of approval of your legal case nor does it create an attorney-client relationship between the reader and Attorney Angélica Tovar-Hastings