The Firm
US extradition is a step-by-step process across two countries. We explain how it works, the pros and cons of waiving, and what happens next - then we fight for you abroad and in federal court. Regardless of how complicated your case is, we can help you get the outcome you need.
DO NOT SIGN WAIVER PAPERWORK WITHOUT COUNSEL
Most extradition mistakes happen before a lawyer is involved - talking to agents, signing a waiver, or agreeing to voluntary return because someone said it was routine. This page walks you through the full process, whether waiving makes sense, and what happens next on each path. You can ask us anything in a risk-free consultation before you make a decision you cannot undo.
INTERACTIVE TOOL · PRIVATE BY DEFAULT
Map the process, immediate safeguards, records to preserve, and questions for counsel. This planner does not predict arrest, removal, or extradition.
START HERE
Choose the closest path. The questions that follow distinguish a notice, an extradition request, custody, and travel risk.
YOUR PERSONALIZED PROCESS MAP
CONTINUE WITH THE RELEVANT BRIEFING
Rules reviewed August 17, 2026. General educational information only; no prediction or legal advice. Review the current DOJ Justice Manual, INTERPOL Red Notice guidance, and CCF guidance.
COUNTRY-SPECIFIC REVIEW MATTERS
Treaties and national law differ. A Red Notice is not itself an international arrest warrant, and each country decides what legal effect to give it.
OPTIONAL FINAL STEP
Your planner answers are not transferred. Only information you enter into this existing intake form is submitted.
Each page is hyper-personalized: how the process works in that country, pros and cons of waiving, what happens next, the treaty, and the reviewing court. Pick your jurisdiction.
Extradition is not one event. It is a chain of decisions across two legal systems. Regardless of how complicated your case is, understanding the sequence helps you avoid irreversible mistakes before counsel arrives.
The process usually starts in the United States - a federal grand jury indictment, criminal complaint, or target letter. The government builds its theory before it asks another country to surrender you. This is when US counsel should already be reviewing exposure, possible defenses, and whether extradition is even on the table.
The US may circulate a red notice through Interpol, contact foreign authorities directly, or work through diplomatic channels. A red notice is not an extradition order - but it can trigger detention, travel blocks, or bank freezes while the formal request is prepared.
Many treaties allow temporary custody while the US assembles documents. You may be arrested at a border, hotel, or workplace. Local police will read you rights under their law - not US Miranda. This is the moment most people talk, waive, or sign something they cannot undo.
The United States submits charging documents, evidence summaries, and treaty certifications through diplomatic channels. Foreign prosecutors or courts check whether the packet is complete - dual criminality, specialty, identity, and probable cause under local standards.
This is the main fight abroad. Local counsel challenges whether the US request meets treaty and constitutional requirements. Hearings can take months. Bail may be available in some countries and denied in others. US trial strategy should run in parallel - not after surrender.
Even after a court orders committal, many countries require a final political or executive approval before surrender. Human rights, specialty, and diplomatic pressure can still matter at this stage. Denial is possible - but the US can refile or pursue you elsewhere.
If surrender is approved - or if you waive extradition and agree to voluntary return - US Marshals or equivalent authorities arrange transport. You land in federal custody, often in the district where the case was filed: SDNY, EDNY, SD Florida, and others.
Arraignment, detention hearing, discovery, motions, plea negotiations, or trial. Our only objective is to get the case against you dismissed or significantly diminished. If US counsel did their job before transport, you are not starting from zero on day one.
Timelines vary by country and treaty. Some cases move in weeks; others take a year or more. Strategy starts the same day you call - not after phase five.
Prosecutors and agents will sometimes push you to waive extradition, sign a voluntary return, or stop fighting surrender. Sometimes that makes strategic sense. Often it does not. Unlike other law firms more focused on their relationship with prosecutors, we owe loyalty to only YOU - and we will tell you when fighting is better than waiving.
Waivers are presented as routine paperwork. They are not. What you sign in a foreign jail or consular interview can lock in surrender, waive defenses abroad, and produce statements the US uses at trial. You can ask us anything about your situation in a risk-free consultation - before you agree to anything.
212 300 5196 - speak to counsel before you waive →Your next step depends on whether you are in custody abroad, considering a waiver, or still free. Regardless of which path you are on, the US case does not pause. Here is what typically follows.
Todd Spodek is managing partner at Spodek Law Group P.C. The firm handles international extradition defense the same way it handles high-stakes federal trial work - local counsel abroad, US strategy at home, and loyalty only to you. Client identities in active extradition matters stay confidential.
Call 212 300 5196 or submit the form. A person answers - not a service. Day or night. We map where you are in the process: free abroad, detained, facing waiver paperwork, or already ordered surrendered.
Foreign counsel for surrender hearings. US team on the indictment. We tell you plainly whether to fight, waive, or negotiate - and what happens next under each path.
Challenge the request abroad while building US motions and discovery. If waiver makes sense, we sequence return only after the American defense is ready.
Denied extradition, stayed surrender, negotiated return, or trial-ready arrival. Our only objective is dismissed or significantly diminished.
Some clients call us after a red notice. Others are already in foreign custody with waiver paperwork on the table. A few have been told surrender is weeks away. The advice changes at each stage - and signing the wrong document at the wrong time can end the fight before it starts.
Waiver is not always wrong. If extradition is likely, US counsel is fully prepared, and delay is destroying your family or health, a controlled voluntary return can be strategic. But that decision requires a process audit - not pressure from an agent in an interview room.
Challenge when the US request is defective, overbroad, politically motivated, or human rights concerns exist. Dual criminality and specialty arguments can delay or defeat surrender. You lose those tools the moment you waive without counsel reviewing the packet.
Arraignment, detention, discovery, motions, plea talks, or trial. Clients who hired US lawyers early arrive with a plan. Clients who waived first often arrive with statements on the record and no defense mapped. We prepare the American case before transport - not after.
Please fill out the form to receive a risk-free consultation - we will respond to your inquiry within 24 hours, guaranteed. International extradition cases are time-sensitive. Everything you share is protected by attorney-client privilege from the first word.
212 300 5196 - attorney on call →“Todd personally handled my case and was available 24/7. Impressive strategic approach.”
“They took care of me as if I was their own family. Always got back quickly.”
“By the time our free consultation was over, we left at ease. Todd changed our lives.”
Tell us what happened. Answered within 24 hours, guaranteed - or call now and speak to a person, not a service.
The US builds a case, then asks another country to surrender you through treaty channels. Abroad you may face provisional arrest, a formal request, extradition hearings, executive review, and transport. In parallel, a federal case waits in the United States. Understanding the sequence helps you avoid signing away defenses too early.
Not without counsel on both sides of the border. Waiver can speed return when US defense is ready and surrender is likely anyway. It can also destroy foreign challenges and produce statements used at trial. We walk through pros and cons for your facts - not what an agent says is routine.
You are transported to federal custody, arraigned, and face a detention hearing. Discovery, motions, plea negotiations, or trial follow. If US lawyers were retained early, you arrive with strategy in place. If you waived first, you may arrive with no plan and damaging statements already on the record.
No. Do not give statements, sign waivers, or agree to voluntary return without counsel. What you say in that first conversation can become the centerpiece of their case. Strategy starts the same day you call - 212 300 5196, attorney on call, 24/7.
You may still face a refiled request, immigration consequences, or arrest if you travel. US counsel should keep building the American case and monitor diplomatic pressure. Denial abroad is not the end of the story.
Yes. We work with trusted local counsel on surrender hearings while our US team attacks the American case. One strategy, two fronts - fight, waive, or negotiate from an informed position.
Yes. When you reach out to our law firm, you start with an initial risk-free consultation. You can ask us anything you want, regardless of how long it takes. Answered within 24 hours, guaranteed.
Over 50 years combined experience, 1,100+ five-star reviews, featured on Netflix, FOX News, and the New York Post. We owe loyalty to only you - and we will tell you when waiving is wrong.
