Weston, FL Immigration Law Firms & Lawyers

Hello. Historically, you do go through an immigration check when you exit Puerto Rico. You should bring your passport and visa to confirm your qualifications for re-entry. 

My advice is to schedule an appointment with a knowledgeable immigration attorney. The expiration of the card doesn't mean that the resident status has terminated, it just means that the card expired. The renewal is relatively straight forward. But, the renewal will require fingerprints to be taken. And the fingerprints will likely result in someone at the Department of Homeland Security figuring out that further investigation is warranted. Rather than guess about what is going to happen, call an attorney who is licensed and experienced and can provide you with an opinion on what can happen and on what steps to take. Don't mess around, this may be a very fixable problem. Ignoring it leads to surprises and of there is a young child involved so the right thing by the kid and schedule a consultation with someone who can adequately advise your friend.

You should discuss this with your grandmother. You will be best served with both a competent immigration attorney and a criminal defense attorney, not just a public defender.  Public defenders 'may not know' what is going on, nor believe that they have the time to take the case to trial.  Some will pressure you to plead guilty and thereby make a mistake.  A public defender, or private criminal defense attorney, may wrongly believe that there are no other options or that it is not a conviction based upon Florida law.  That doesn't matter because the definition of a criminal conviction for Federal immigration law purposes requires much less! You rarely get a second chance once the criminal record is final. Again, if a mistake is made; that is, you admit guilt and are found guilty or otherwise somehow admit the elements of the offense to the prosecutor or the court in pre-trial agreements, among other hearings you can have trouble both entering the U.S. and seeking a renewal of your visitor visa, among other visa types. As a result, you really need to find a way to get financial support from your family at this time.  If not, be prepared to find suitable legal assistance, because this 'may be' the last lawful visit that you will be allowed to make to the U.S. on a tourist or any other visa. Of course, if you lie or fail to disclose the arrest and/or conviction, you will be indefinitely, even permanently barred from ever being admitted, even if you marry a U.S. citizen, perhaps! It is always best to tell the truth to consular officials if an immigration visa petition is pending for visa processing! Now, there may be other conceivable options to protect you, but you likely need help now and need to find a way to afford it! That can take time.  Some people, as you explain, cannot easily afford the terrible situations that they put themselves into. Good luck.