Child Support Orders may pose potential issues for certain non-citizen payors, including: Support orders may limit judicial discretion Evidence Significance of affidavit of support Employment Litigants in contempt proceedings Potential Immigration Consequences Involving Unpaid Child Support Federal Law: “Willful failure” to support dependents – whether in the U.S. or abroad – may: Prevent individuals from […]
Additional Resources Related to Delinquency
KIND: Chapter 10: Immigration Consequences of Delinquency and Crimes ILRC: FAQ: Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Juvenile Delinquency Adjudications and Records N.Y.U. Review of Law & Social Change: Starting Over: The Immigration Consequences of Juvenile Delinquency and Rehabilitation ILRC: What Are the Immigration Consequences of Delinquency?
Contact with the Family Courts
Contact with the Family Courts can lead to a range of POSITIVE immigration consequences. The Federal government has assigned state family courts a role in the application process for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) and U Nonimmigrant Status (U Visa). Family court judges have a role in determining some facts that determine eligibility for relief. […]
Discussing Immigration Issues in Court
Immigration issues are sensitive and every effort should be made to discuss these issues off-the-record and through counsel, if an attorney is available. Any on-the-record discussion of immigration status could be used against an individual in immigration court to facilitate removal/deportation. Immigration authorities can discover information about an individual’s Family Court history in a number […]
Challenges in Child Support Proceedings
Some of the following challenges may be present during child support proceedings, especially for unrepresented litigants: Language barriers Level of literacy Unfamiliarity with laws Cultural fear of asserting one’s position / facts in court of law Fear of attending court at all for fear of deportation Effects of trauma heightened