By Jack Rosenberry
In the currently uncertain environment about immigration status and deportation concerns, some immigrants believe that voluntary deportation could be a viable option.
"What seems straightforward can get very complicated very fast."
In some cases it might be. But as immigration attorney Brandon Roché says, "What seems straightforward can get very complicated very fast." Depending on an individual’s current status, leaving voluntarily could mean they will be barred from re-entering the United States for up to 10 years, or even longer – up to a lifetime ban.
Someone who has lost their legal status by, for example, overstaying a student visa and then leaves the country could face a three year return ban if they had been “out of status” for between six months and a year. But that rises to a 10-year ban for someone who has been in the US without legal status for more than a year.
Also, anyone who wants to voluntarily leave will need a passport from their home country before any airline will allow them to board a departing flight, and not all immigrants have one.
Things are even more complicated if deportation proceedings have been started. In that case, especially, Roché recommends consulting with a qualified immigration attorney before taking any steps toward voluntary departure. The attorney can help explain options and implications of different voluntary departure circumstances.
In fact, anyone considering a voluntary return probably should have such a legal consultation, Roche said. It could cost around $200, but would be worth it for the peace of mind, he added.
Some people may think that self-deportation is as simple as going to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office and volunteering to be sent home. But that’s not the case. Surrendering like that will trigger a process that could lead to a deportation order on the individual’s record. That in turn could mean a prohibition on return that could last several years, or possibly forever. “If you’re going to turn yourself in, it gets complicated quick,” Roché said.
Surrendering with a request for a flight home also could involve appearances in immigration court and even detention waiting for the process to play out. Departure handled by ICE might mean a no-cost flight home, but as a prisoner of the agency with a deportation record. It’s possible in some cases to work through ICE to get voluntary removal without a deportation record and with some time to wrap up personal affairs. But even this would involve appearing before a judge, showing proof of the ability to afford a flight home, and possibly posting a bond to ensure you follow the plan. Getting the money back from the bond in that case requires paperwork at the U.S. embassy in the immigrant’s home country.
It’s also possible that even when an immigrant asks for voluntary departure without a removal (deportation) order, ICE will issue one anyway, triggering some of the consequences of having such an order on one’s record.
Immigrants from countries that don’t have consular relations with the United States could even find themselves deported to a third country, or the detention center at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. Historically, such third-country deportation had never been practiced, but it is happening now, Roché said.
Families who want to voluntarily return together face further complications “It’s not a safe assumption” that the family will be kept together, Roché said. If children and parents are separated, it’s possible for parents to figure out what is happening with the children but not necessarily guaranteed or easy.
Families with children who are U.S. citizens that take the children out of the country under this circumstance could create a situation in which the children, even though they are U.S. citizens, might find it difficult to get back into the country for a long time. It’s even possible that ICE will not allow the children to leave, but will deport the parents and place the children in custody of a child protective services agency.
“It’s hard to say what this (new presidential) administration is willing to do and the depths of depravity to which they will go,” Roché said.
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