Who has a right to ask for bond?

A non-citizen has a right to ask for bond if you do not have certaincriminal conviction(s) or a final order of removal. Even if you have been convicted of certain types of crimes, you can still ask for bond.

 

If you have a right to ask for bond, you must show that:

(1) you are not a danger to the community;

(2) you are not a threat to national security; and

(3) you are not a flight risk.

Having an experienced immigration attorney fight for you in your bail hearing can mean the difference between your freedom and having to pay thousands of dollars to a bondsman.

The immigration judge first of all has to check the criminal record of the arrested non-citizen alien. There is a list of crimes of violence and crimes of moral turpitude and some other serious crimes - and if your crime is on that list, the immigration judge has no power to decide on your immigration bail because the crime on the list is a mandatory detention crime.

But if your crime is not on the list, the immigration judge has to look at what will happen if you are released on bail, immigration judge has to be sure you have an immigration case to apply for and that you will go to every immigration court hearing you are supposed to attend and that you are not a danger to community or a flight risk.

 

How much bond money do I have to pay for the immigration bail?
Typically the amount of immigration bail approved by the judge is ranges from $1500 - $5000, but in some cases the immigration bail can be reduced. However, under certain circumstances, immigration bail can be $10,000 or more.

How does someone post a bond?

The person who pays the bond needs to have legal status. He or she is called the “obligor” and is the only person who can ask for the bond money back at the end of the case. Then the obligor must bring a cashier's check or money order made payable to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in the amount of the bond to:

 

Enforcement and Removal Operation

650 Capitol Mall

Sacramento, CA 95814

Open for bond Monday to Friday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

 

The obligor must bring his or her driver’s license, green card, passport or other

valid identification. The obligor will pay the bond money and sign some papers stating that he or she will get the money back at the end of the case if you go to all your court hearings and leave if the Judge orders deportation. The obligor must keep these original bond papers since he or she will need them to get the money back at the end of the case.

 

If you flee the area or miss any court hearings, the obligor will lose the bond money and you can be deported if the Judge issued a final order of deportation.