An aggravated felony can bring immigration consequences as hard as the name implies – they’re grave. An aggravated felony can prevent you from getting a Green Card in the United States, and many other immigration benefits. It can also make a Green Card holder deportable.
The choices available to a non-citizen facing deportation for an aggravated felony are severely limited. An immigrant will be ineligible for cancellation of removal, voluntary departure, or certain waivers of inadmissibility after being convicted of an aggravated felony. Even if a person is convicted of a misdemeanor offense, in some circumstances, that conviction is considered an aggravated felony. For example, if a person is convicted of a misdemeanor aggravated assault and sentenced to 365 days confinement, in most circumstances that is considered an aggravated felony.
The following is a non-exhaustive list of crimes that are aggravated felonies:
- any violent offence with a minimum penalty of one year
- stealing with a minimum of one year in prison
- a year in prison for perjury
- kidnapping
- alien smuggling
- battery or assault
- drug trafficking
- trafficking of firearms
- money laundering
- tax evasion
- spying or treason
- obstruction of justice
At the J. Molina Law Firm, we work to protect the life you built in the United States. If you are facing deportation or criminal charges that may led to deportation, we can help. If you or a loved one, is facing or might be facing deportation soon, call us at (469) 708-5800. You can also schedule your consultation here.
