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When a criminal charge threatens your immigration status.
A plea that looks like a win in criminal court can end a green card application. We defend the charge and protect the immigration consequence in the same office, at the same time.
✓ Free, confidential consultation · ✓ Consultations in English or Spanish · ✓ Serving South Florida since 1997
Most defense lawyers resolve the case. We resolve it without ending your status.
Immigration law does not read a plea the way a state court does. A withhold of adjudication is usually still treated as a conviction for immigration purposes. A petty theft can be a crime involving moral turpitude. A drug plea can be an aggravated felony. Which of those applies turns on the charge language, the plea and the sentence, not on how serious the case felt in criminal court. Because this firm practices removal defense down the hall, the plea we negotiate is measured against both consequences before it is accepted.
The plea that quietly ends a case
Non-citizen clients are routinely offered dispositions that dispose of the criminal case efficiently and trigger removability or a permanent bar to relief. The client signs, goes home, and finds out years later when a petition is denied. Analyzing charge language, the record of conviction and the sentence imposed before the plea is the only point at which this is fixable.
Trial experience, and former prosecutors
Our defense attorneys include former state prosecutors with substantial jury trial experience: people who have run the other side of these files and know which cases the State will not want to try. That matters at the negotiating table, and it matters more if the case has to be tried.
Charges we defend
DUI
Breath and blood challenges, administrative license review, and the immigration read on a DUI plea.
Drug offenses
Possession through trafficking. A controlled-substance disposition is one of the most dangerous for status.
Theft & fraud
Petty and grand theft, worthless checks, and fraud charges, which are frequently crimes involving moral turpitude.
Assault & battery
Simple and aggravated, and domestic battery, which carries its own immigration ground of removability.
Domestic violence
Criminal charge plus injunction proceedings, with family-law and immigration consequences attached.
Firearm & weapons
Carrying and possession offenses, including status-based possession prohibitions.
If you are not a U.S. citizen, tell us at the first call. It changes how we approach every stage of the case.
How we work a charge with status on the line
Immediate review
Charging documents, arrest report, and your immigration history together, not separately.
Dual-track analysis
What the State can prove, and what each possible disposition does to your status.
Negotiation
We pursue dismissal, diversion or a charge that is immigration-safe, in that order.
Trial if that fails
Our attorneys try cases. An unacceptable offer is not the end of the road.
Questions we get asked
I’m not a citizen. Should I just take the plea my public defender negotiated?
Not before someone has analyzed what that specific disposition does to your immigration status. A plea can be an excellent criminal outcome and a catastrophic immigration one. The charge language, the record of conviction and the sentence imposed all matter.
Does a withhold of adjudication keep me out of trouble with immigration?
Generally no. Federal immigration law defines conviction more broadly than Florida does, and a withhold combined with a plea and a penalty is usually treated as a conviction for immigration purposes. This is one of the most common and most costly misunderstandings we see.
Can a conviction be reopened if the immigration consequence was never explained?
Sometimes. Post-conviction relief may be available where a defendant was not properly advised of immigration consequences, but the deadlines are strict and the standard is demanding. It is far better to get it right the first time.
Will hiring a private attorney actually change the outcome?
It changes the amount of attention the file gets, and it changes who is analyzing the immigration exposure. Whether it changes the result depends on the evidence, and we will tell you candidly at the consultation what we think is achievable.
Do you handle both the criminal case and the immigration case?
Yes. Criminal defense and removal defense are both practiced in this office, so the two sides of your situation are handled by people who talk to each other.
Who handles criminal defense
Ricardo M. Corona
Zamir Cruz
Kevin M. Corona
Laura Hernandez
Tell us what happened. We’ll tell you where you stand.
A real person reads every message. Consultations are free and confidential, in English or Spanish.
Call
(305) 547-1234
Hours
Mon–Fri 9am–6pm · Sat 9am–1pm
Office
6700 SW 38th St, Miami, FL 33155
Languages
English · Español
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