No matter how you ended up in front of the Immigration Judge. The process is now the same. To be presented (forced appear) in front of an Immigration Judge you must be served with a document called a “Notice to Appear.” Because UDHS likes to give its forms a number you will see at the bottom right-side of the first page “I-862” This is a really important document that must include the following information by statute (what the U.S. Congress requires in the Notice): (A)The nature of the proceedings against you. In other words, why you are being told to leave the country. (B)The legal authority under which the proceedings are conducted. (C)Your acts or conduct alleged to be in violation of law and subjecting you to removal from the United States. (D)The charges against you and the statutory provisions alleged that you have been violated. (E) The Notice to Appear will also tell you that you may be represented by an attorney and give you time to find an attorney. It will also give you a list of legal providers who may represent you for free. Generally, these providers don’t have the funding to represent everyone. Although gaining free representation is unlikely, you should still try by making an appointment as soon as possible. (F) IMPORTANT, the Notice to Appear must also state the date, time, and place of the Immigration Court hearing. That’s huge, because if your Notice to Appear does not contain that information, you may be able to terminate your removal proceedings or at least get more time while DHS puts together a new Notice to Appear and serves you again. IMPORTANT, even if the Notice to Appear does not have a date and time, it is important to keep your address current with DHS and your ICE officer (if any). You will likely receive another document that tells you when to appear in Immigration Court. You must go to court if when you receive that second notice. BUT tell the Immigration Judge the following: “Your Honor. I am requesting that this Court terminate proceedings as my Notice to Appear does not contain the date and time or location [if no address was listed on the Notice to Appear] of my proceedings. For this reason, I ask the Court to terminate proceedings.” Depending on the Immigration Judge, this may or may not work. But at a minimum, it will give you the opportunity to raise the same argument on an appeal if your case is denied. If by some miracle your case is terminated, and you have a non-frivolous asylum claim, you should immediately file an application for Asylum with USCIS. Look up on Google, where to file an “affirmative asylum claim.”
