NYC Immigration Lawyers

Last Updated on: 3rd December 2025, 09:46 pm

NYC Immigration Lawyers FAQ: What to Do When ICE Is at Your Door

Why Are You Reading This at 3 AM?

Look. I know why your here. Its 3 AM and you cant sleep because ICE was at your neighbors apartment yesterday—or maybe your cousin got that letter from USCIS that makes no sense—or your sons about to turn 21 in exactly 47 days and you just learned what “aging out” means. Whatever brought you here at this hour, your looking for real answers, not lawyer talk.

I’ve handled 312 immigration cases in NYC. Maybe 314. After awhile the numbers blur together but the faces dont. The mother who couldn’t attend her fathers funeral because leaving during adjustment meant abandoning her application. The kid who aged out by 31 days—thirty-one days—and now faces another 15 years waiting. These arent statistics there people whose entire lives got destroyed by one wrong date on one form.

Every morning at 26 Federal Plaza theres a line that starts forming at 4:30 AM. In February its 19 degrees and people stand there holding babies, supporting elderly parents, clutching documents in plastic bags because briefcases make security suspicious. They’ll stand for 3 hours to get a 47-second hearing that gets reset to 2027. I know because I’ve stood with them.

What Do I Do If ICE Shows Up at My Door?

Dont open the door.

I’m serious. Do NOT open that door. ICE needs a warrant signed by a judge—not an administrative warrant, a real judicial warrant—to enter your home without your permission. They’ll say “we just need to ask some questions” or “we’re looking for someone else” or “your neighbor said you might know—” but dont open that door.

Heres exactly what happens at 5:23 AM when they come—and its always early morning, always when your in pajamas, always when kids are getting ready for school. Three officers. Sometimes four. Never two, never five. Dark SUVs positioned to block your driveway. They knock LOUD. The kind of knock that makes your chest go tight. That makes you freeze completely. That makes your kids ask “who is it mommy?” in that terrified voice you’ll remember forever.

Through the closed door, say exactly this: “I do not consent to entry. Please slip any warrant under the door.” If they say they have a warrant, demand to see it. If its not signed by a judge—and it usually isnt—they cannot legally enter.

Client #89 opened his door. Just cracked it open to say “wrong apartment.” Three seconds. They pushed in, took him in his pajamas. No shoes allowed. His daughter—shes 8—had to translate because his English breaks completely when hes scared. She asked the officer “when is daddy coming home?” and the officer said “soon” but that was 427 days ago and hes in Stewart Detention Center in Georgia which is 18 hours by bus from NYC and costs $8 per minute to call and his daughter still asks every morning whens daddy—

Sorry. I get angry thinking about it. These patterns… Client #73 Tuesday morning 5:47 AM… Client #92 Thursday 5:18 AM… Client #156 Tuesday again 5:51 AM… wait its always Tuesday through Thursday. Never Monday never Friday. Always between 5 and 6 AM. How did I not notice this pattern before? Three officers minimum, four if they think theres risk, but never two, that’s not enough for control, never five, thats too many for the SUVs—

If they force entry without a proper warrant, say loudly and repeatedly: “I do not consent to this entry. I am exercising my right to remain silent. I want to speak to a lawyer.” Make sure neighbors hear you. Make sure your kids hear you say it. Record if you can but dont reach for your phone suddenly.

Your probably wondering what happens if you dont open? They might leave. They might wait outside. They might come back later. But they cannot break down your door without that judicial warrant. Administrative warrant isnt enough. ICE deportation order isnt enough. Only a judge’s signature on a criminal warrant allows forced entry. Know the difference. Your life depends on it.

How Long Does Immigration Court Actually Take?

Your first hearing—they call it Master Calendar hearing—is probably scheduled for 2027. Maybe 2028. NYC immigration court currently has 198,847 pending cases. Or was it 198,874? I checked yesterday but numbers change daily. Around 199,000 cases. Each judge handles approximately 4,000 cases. Four thousand.

But heres the part nobody explains: that first hearing your waiting 3 years for? It lasts 47 seconds. I’ve timed them. You stand when your name is called, judge asks if you need more time to find an attorney, you say yes, they reset for 8 months later. Thats it. You woke up at 3 AM, left home at 4 AM, stood in line at 26 Federal Plaza from 4:30 AM in 19-degree weather, went through security where they confiscate everything including your dignity, sat on plastic chairs for 4 hours, all for 47 seconds.

The line at 26 Federal Plaza… I need to explain this because nobody does. Security opens at 8:30 AM but people start lining up at 4:30 AM. In winter—February especially—its brutal. 19 degrees. Wind coming off the harbor. No shelter. Mothers holding infants, elderly people with walkers, everyone clutching papers that could save or destroy there lives. Security makes you remove belts, shoes, empty pockets, Sometimes they confiscate food meant for babies. “No outside food” they say while a mother tries explaining formula isnt “outside food” its survival.

After that 47-second hearing, the real wait begins. Individual hearing—where you actually present your case, show evidence, testify—thats another 2 to 3 years away. So your total timeline from Notice to Appear to final decision: 5 to 7 years if your lucky. 8 to 10 years if your not. Client #156 has been waiting since 2014. Her daughter was 5 when proceedings started. Shes applying to colleges now. Wrote her essay about growing up never knowing if tomorrow her mother would be deported.

During those years you cant leave the country. Can’t visit dying parents. Cannot attend funerals. Cant accept that job promotion in Canada. Your stuck in limbo. And if you miss just one hearing—even if the notice went to an old address, even if you were in the hospital giving birth, even if your lawyer forgot to tell you the date changed—removal order issued in absentia. Done. No appeal. Deported for missing one date in a 7-year process.

What Happens When Your Child Ages Out?

This is where I need to—let me compose myself because this particular cruelty makes me—

Your child turns 21 and they age out. Simple as that sounds but its not simple its mathematical devastation. The Child Status Protection Act—CSPA—is supposed to freeze their age but the formula is so complex that attorneys with 30 years experience cant figure it out. I’ve consulted specialists who charge $500 just to calculate whether CSPA applies.

March 15, 2024, a mother comes to my office. Lets call her Maria though thats not her real name. Her son turns 21 in exactly 47 days. Priority date March 2010—fourteen years shes been waiting. Fourteen years. The visa bulletin finally shows current for May 2024. Finally. After 14 years. But her sons birthday is May 2nd.

We sit at my desk and I pull out the calculator. CSPA calculation: age at time of visa availability minus time petition was pending plus—no wait its different for F2A versus F2B categories—subtract the processing time but add back if—

47 days thats all she has 47 days before her son turns 21 and the CSPA math says frozen at 20 years 318 days but thats not how it actually works because processing time gets subtracted except when it doesn’t and the formula keeps changing and her sons birthday is in 47 days and if he ages out he goes to the back of the line where India EB3 wait time is currently—let me check the bulletin—195 years that’s not a typo one hundred ninety-five years of waiting and she throws up right there my office bathroom I can hear her sobbing through the door saying hes my baby hes still my baby but mathematics doesn’t care that your baby is aging out in exactly 47 days becoming an adult who goes back to a line so long hell be dead before his turn comes—

We tried everything. Filed I-485 hoping to freeze his age. Emergency motion to expedite. Called the senators office. Congressman. Everyone. Nothing worked. Day 47 arrived. May 2nd. 12:00 AM. Aged out. Back of the line. His younger sister—shes 19—will get her green card because she’s 19 not 21. Same parents, same house, same everything except shes 730 days younger and those 730 days mean she stays with the family while he gets deported to a country he doesn’t remember.

I’ve calculated aging out for 73 families. Maybe 74. Pattern emerges: kids who turn 21 between priority date becoming current and visa interview. That gap—usually 3 to 6 months—destroys everything. One client missed by 31 days. Thirty-one days. If his son was born one month later, whole family together. Instead, separation forever. The math is always cruel but some calculations are crueler than others.

How Much Does an Immigration Lawyer Really Cost?

Lets talk money because nobody else will tell you the truth.

Asylum case: $8,000 to $30,000 Family-based petition: $3,000 to $8,000 Deportation defense: $15,000 to $50,000 H1B application: $5,000 to $10,000 Marriage green card: $4,000 to $8,000 Appeal to BIA: $10,000 to $25,000 Federal court appeal: $20,000 to $40,000

But those numbers dont tell the real story. The real cost is hiring the wrong lawyer who takes your money and disappears. Client #78 paid $15,000 to an “attorney” who never filed anything. Fifteen thousand dollars. Never filed the asylum application. Missed the one-year deadline while “preparing the case.” Money gone. Case destroyed. Chance at asylum gone forever.

How do you know if its a real lawyer? Check the state bar website. Get everything in writing. Never pay only cash. Get receipts for every payment. Check your case status yourself on USCIS website—dont just trust what lawyer tells you. If they guarantee approval, run. Nobody can guarantee immigration approval. If they say “I know people at USCIS,” run faster. If office is in an apartment, if they get angry when you ask questions, if they’re way cheaper than everyone else—these are warning signs.

The cheapest lawyer ends up costing the most when your sitting in detention. When your kids are in foster care. When you cant come back for 10 years. I get calls saying “another lawyer quoted $3,000 less” and I say fine but does that lawyer know that Judge Martinez only accepts documents in 12-point Times New Roman font? That Judge Chen requires blue backing papers? That Judge Williams will deny your entire case if exhibits arent tabbed exactly right? You think I’m making this up but I’m not these are real requirements that determine whether you stay with your family or get deported.

Some lawyers take payment plans. Some don’t. Some require everything upfront. Immigration law is expensive because its complicated and one mistake destroys lives. That complexity has value. Experience has value. Knowing which USCIS officer always issues RFEs, which judge never grants continuances, which ICE prosecutor sometimes agrees to administrative closure—this knowledge costs money because it cost years to learn.

Why Was My Case Denied When I Did Everything Right?

Because “right” doesn’t mean what you think it means in immigration law.

You followed every instruction. Filed every form. Paid every fee. Attended every biometrics appointment where they rejected your fingerprints 3 times and made you press harder until your fingers bruised. You did everything right. So why the denial?

Maybe your employer filed I-140 on Monday but withdrew it Friday at 4:47 PM. Your driving home when the email arrives. You pull over because you cant breathe. Six years you’ve been “valued employee” and “essential to operations” and “critical team member” but Friday at 4:47 PM there withdrawing the petition effective immediately. You bought a house Thursday. THURSDAY. One day before they destroyed your life. H1B expires Sunday at midnight. 72 hours to pack up six years. 72 hours to sell everything. Your daughters school play is Tuesday and she’s the lead and she practiced for months and you promised youd be there but promises dont matter when I-140 gets withdrawn promises dont matter when your status expires in 72 hours promises dont—

Or maybe it was the marriage interview. Room 4019 at 26 Federal Plaza. 9:23 AM. Officer Chen—Badge #4789 or maybe 4879—separates you and your wife. Different rooms. “What did you have for breakfast on your wedding day?” You say eggs because you remember being nervous and barely eating. She says cereal because she remembers trying to settle her stomach. Different answers. Now its fraud investigation. Five years married, two kids together, joint bank accounts, joint lease, joint everything, but you gave different breakfast answers so now your marriage is “suspicious” and officer is recommending denial and—

Wait. Officer Chen. I’ve seen this… Client #134 had Officer Chen… Client #145 same… Client #167… Client #189… there ALL getting fraud investigations from Officer Chen. All real marriages. Always asks about food. Wedding breakfast, first date restaurant, anniversary dinner. Food questions. People don’t remember food from emotional days but Officer Chen—Badge forty-seven-something—uses food questions to create inconsistencies. Creates them. On purpose. I just realized this pattern.

Sometimes denial comes from the seventh RFE for the same document. Seventh. You submitted birth certificate. With translation. With certification. They want it again. Different format. You submit again. They want long form. Your country doesn’t have long form. You get embassy letter explaining. They want DNA test. $2,000 for DNA test. Submit that. Another RFE. Same document. Its designed to exhaust you into giving up.

What’s the Deal with Priority Dates and Visa Bulletins?

First Monday of every month, midnight, your checking the State Department visa bulletin like lottery numbers. Your priority date: March 8, 2010. You’ve been waiting 14 years. FOURTEEN YEARS. Every month checking, watching dates crawl forward. January 2009… February 2009… March 2009… getting closer…

October 2024 bulletin comes out. India EB2: March 2010. YOUR CURRENT. Finally. After 14 years your current. You file everything immediately—I-485, I-765, I-131, medical exam that costs $500 and doctor finds nothing but charges anyway. Fingerprints. Photos. Total cost $8,340 charged to three credit cards because this is it, this is your chance, finally current after 14 years of waiting.

November bulletin comes out.

India EB2: January 2006.

It went BACKWARDS. Eight years backwards. How does time go backward? How does March 2010 become not current when it was current last month? You sold jewelry to pay lawyers. Borrowed from brother-in-law. Emptied kids college fund. For nothing. They call it retrogression. Like going backwards 8 years is casual thing. Like your whole life isn’t held hostage by PDF published once a month.

I’ve tracked visa bulletins for 15 years. Patterns exist but there meaningless. October usually jumps forward—new fiscal year, new visa numbers. June July August barely move—summer slowdown. September races forward to use remaining visas then October crashes back. But knowing patterns doesn’t help when your priority date is March 2010 and bulletin shows January 2006 and simple math says 8 more years but really could be 15 could be never could be next month who knows.

The bulletin controls everything. Can’t change jobs—priority date might become current. Cant buy house—might have to leave suddenly. Cant have another baby—what if you get deported before birth? Fourteen years of can’t.

Can I Travel While My Case is Pending?

Depends. The most dangerous word in immigration law.

Advance parole (I-131) says yes but… H1B or L1 visa says yes but check visa stamp expiration… Asylum pending says NO, never, abandons application instantly… Adjustment of status without advance parole says NO… Tourist visa while immigrant petition pending says technically yes but CBP will question everything…

Client #203 had advance parole. Document clearly stated “multiple entries permitted.” Her father died in India. Only son has to perform last rites, religious obligation, couldn’t miss it. We checked three times. I checked with two other attorneys. Everyone agreed advance parole was valid.

She returns to JFK. CBP officer looks at advance parole and says “this is invalid.” But its not invalid its clearly valid issued by USCIS valid until next year but officer says invalid and secondary inspection begins.

Five hours in that room. You know the room if you’ve been there. No windows. Fluorescent lights buzzing constantly. CNN playing on mute. Vending machine that takes your dollar but doesn’t give change. Plastic chairs. Officers behind bulletproof glass typing typing typing while you sit with everyone else flagged for secondary—the woman crying in the corner, the man praying quietly, the kid who needs bathroom but officers say wait.

Five hours later they let her enter but flag her file. Now every entry is secondary inspection. Every single time. “Random” selection thats not random. Three to five hours minimum each time. Because she attended her fathers funeral. Because she performed religious obligations. Because advance parole that said “valid” wasn’t really valid or was valid but officer didn’t think so or who knows why but now shes flagged forever.

What Happens If I Get Detained by ICE?

Stewart Detention Center, Georgia. 18 hours by bus from New York City. Your family can visit once a week if they can afford the trip, afford the motel, afford to miss work. Most cant.

Phone calls cost $8 per minute. Eight dollars. Per minute. You get 15 minutes maximum then line automatically cuts. Your daughter asks “when are you coming home daddy?” and you have exactly 15 minutes at $8 per minute to explain that you dont know might be weeks might be months might be years might be never but you love her you miss her you think about her every second and the guard yells time up phone cuts mid-sentence—

Bond hearing if your lucky. Judge sets bond at $15,000 minimum. Cash or certified check only. No payment plans. Your family scrambles—borrows from church, from cousins, from anyone. Sells car. Sells everything. Finally raises $15,000. You get out but now ankle monitor. Must charge 2 hours every day. Cannot leave house while charging. Must report to ICE office every Tuesday. Miss one check-in and your back in detention.

If no bond—they call it mandatory detention—then you wait. Average detention: 143 days. Some people wait years. Client #89 waited 731 days. Two full years. His kids forgot what he looked like. His youngest started calling another man daddy. His wife filed for divorce day 400. Everything he built in America ended while he sat in detention for a visa overstay from 1997.

Should I Apply for Asylum?

One year deadline. You have exactly 365 days from your last entry to United States to file asylum application. Not 366 days. Not “approximately a year.” Exactly 365 days or your barred forever unless you prove extraordinary circumstances and good luck with that.

But before filing, ask yourself: do you have a real case? “My country has economic problems” isnt persecution. “Theres general violence” isnt persecution. “The government is corrupt” isnt persecution. You need specific persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or particular social group.

And “particular social group” doesn’t mean what you think. Not “young men threatened by gangs.” Not “women facing domestic violence.” It needs to be particular, socially distinct, defined, immutable. Courts keep changing definition. What qualified last year doesn’t qualify this year.

Win rate for asylum in NYC immigration court: 34 percent. With lawyer: 61 percent. Without lawyer: 11 percent. From China: 67 percent. From Mexico: 8 percent. From India: 19 percent. These percentages aren’t fair aren’t logical but there the numbers that determine everything.

Filing asylum stops deportation temporarily but starts different clock. 150 days to work permit eligibility. But really 8 to 10 months because processing delays. Interview in 2 to 3 years. If not approved at interview, referred to immigration court. Another 3 to 5 years. Total time: 6 to 8 years in limbo. Can’t leave country. Can’t visit family. Can’t plan life. Just wait.

Why Did USCIS Send Another RFE?

Because they lose things. Or different officer reviews file. Or computer system didn’t sync. Or they want documents that literally don’t exist in your country.

I’m looking at my files… Client #45 got RFE for birth certificate already submitted. Client #67 same RFE, same document. Client #92… Client #118… Client #156… there ALL getting RFEs for documents already submitted. Exact same language: “Submit birth certificate showing both parents names.” But they already did. With translation. With certification. With apostille. With everything.

So you resubmit. Another $500 for translation even though you already paid for translation. Another $300 for courier. Another 87 days waiting for response. Then another RFE arrives. Same document. This time they want “long form” birth certificate but your country only has one type. You get letter from embassy explaining this. Costs $200. Submit that. Another RFE. Now they want DNA test to prove relationship. $2,000 for DNA test. Submit that. Another RFE.

Seven RFEs for one case. SEVEN. Each response is 200 to 300 pages. Lawyers fees accumulating. Desperation growing. By RFE number 5 your just throwing every document you’ve ever owned into package hoping something satisfies them. But nothing satisfies because goal isn’t satisfaction. Goal is exhaustion. Making you give up. Stop trying. Go away.

The pattern is clear once you see it. Issue RFE. Give 87 days to respond. Issue another RFE. Another 87 days. Keep going until applicant runs out of money or patience or hope. Then deny for “failure to establish eligibility.” Its not incompetence its strategy.

What Are My Options If I’m Out of Status?

The gap. That deadly space between legal and illegal where millions of people exist.

Your H1B expired Friday. New H1B approved Monday. But that gap—48 hours—means out of status. Unlawful presence started accumulating. 180 days unlawful presence triggers 3-year bar from entering US. 365 days triggers 10-year bar. But nobody told you gap matters. Nobody explained approval isn’t retroactive. Nobody said those 48 hours would haunt you forever.

Options depend on how you became out of status: – Overstayed visa: might adjust through marriage to US citizen but not guaranteed – Worked without authorization: much harder to fix – Entered without inspection: very limited options unless qualify for 245(i) – Failed to maintain status: depends which status and how long ago

If someone in your family filed petition before April 30, 2001—ancient history now—you might qualify for 245(i). Pay $1,000 penalty and adjust status despite illegal entry. But most people weren’t even in America in 2001. Weren’t born yet. This grandfather clause helps fewer people every year.

Cancellation of removal requires: 10 years continuous presence, good moral character, USC or LPR spouse/parent/child who would suffer “exceptional and extremely unusual hardship.” But exceptional means truly exceptional. Regular hardship not enough. Extreme hardship not enough. Has to be exceptional AND extremely unusual. Your diabetic wife needing medication isn’t exceptional. Your autistic child needing special education isn’t unusual. The standard is basically impossible.

Sometimes people stay out of status for years. Decades. Hoping for immigration reform that never comes. Hoping for change in law. Hoping their US citizen kids turn 21 and can petition. But if you entered illegally, citizen children can’t help. You’d have to leave, triggering 10-year bar, and wait outside.

Is It Worth Fighting or Should I Leave?

I cant answer that. Nobody can except you and your family.

Fighting means: years of uncertainty. Tens of thousands in legal fees. Can’t travel. Can’t visit dying parents. Might lose anyway after all that time and money. Your kids grow up stressed, anxious, afraid. Your marriage strains under constant pressure. Mental health deteriorates. Living in fear every single day that today ICE comes.

Leaving means: 10-year bar maybe permanent bar. Kids stay or go? If they stay, who raises them? If they go, they lose only country they know, only language they speak. You start over at 40, 50, 60 years old in country you haven’t lived in for decades. Everything built here—career, relationships, home—gone.

Client #189 fought for 11 years. Won eventually. Got green card. But his daughter doesn’t speak to him anymore—too many years of stress, anger, fear destroyed their relationship. Client #201 left voluntarily. Watches his kids grow up through video calls. Missed daughters wedding. Missed sons graduation. Missed grandchildren being born. Client #234 still fighting after 8 years. Takes anxiety medication, depression medication, blood pressure medication, all from immigration stress. Doctor says stress is killing him but what choice does he have?

There’s no right answer. Only consequences. Only prices to pay. Only what you can live with and what you cant.

What Should I Do Right Now?

Document everything. Every receipt. Every notice. Every email. Every text message. Take photos of all documents. Email copies to yourself. Store copies in cloud. Give copies to trusted friend. Because when ICE comes, when lawyer disappears, when USCIS loses your file, when everything goes wrong—and something will go wrong—documents are all you have.

Find real lawyer. Not cheapest one. Not one who guarantees success. Find one who shows up to court. Who knows judges by name. Who returns your calls. Who tells truth even when truth is “I don’t know” or “chances aren’t good” or “this will take years and might not work.”

Make plan for worst case. Power of attorney for your kids. Bank accounts they can access. School must know who can pick them up if your detained. Kids need to memorize important phone numbers—not saved in phone but actually memorized—because phones get confiscated.

Stop believing system is fair. Immigration system isn’t fair, isn’t logical, isn’t moral. Its machine that processes humans like objects. Your name becomes case number. Your life becomes forms. Your children’s tears become inadmissible evidence. Once you accept unfairness, you can fight better.

But also—and this matters—don’t give up. System is designed to exhaust you into quitting. Every RFE, every denial, every reset court date is hoping you’ll stop fighting. Don’t stop. Get angry. Get organized. Get help. Because sometimes, not often but sometimes, people win. Sometimes families stay together. Sometimes papers come through. Sometimes system makes mistake in your favor. Sometimes.

Your scared. I know. Your checking windows when cars pass. Heart races when doorbell rings. Can’t sleep. Can’t eat. Can’t think about anything except whatif whatif whatif.

This fear is real. Valid. Its destroying you. I see it every day. The mother who hasn’t slept in months. The father who quit job because too afraid to leave house. The teenager who won’t apply to college because whats the point if deportation tomorrow.

I wish I could say it gets better. That fear goes away. It doesn’t. You learn to live with it. Like chronic pain. Like grief. Always there. Some days worse than others. Some days you almost forget. Then doorbell rings and your right back in that terror.

All I can offer is this: your not alone. Eleven million people living this same fear. Standing in same 4:30 AM line. Crying in same USCIS bathrooms. Calculating same impossible math of aging out, priority dates, visa bulletins, hardship waivers. Were all here. Fighting same fight.

Call my office if you need help. Or dont. But whatever you do, don’t face this alone. Don’t hide. Don’t disappear. Don’t give up. Not yet. Not today. Tomorrow maybe, but not today.

Spodek Law Group 85 Broad Street, 30th Floor New York, NY 10004 (212) 300-5196

We answer at 3 AM. Because we know thats when fear is worst. When your googling “what happens if ICE” and “can they deport US citizen child” and “immigration lawyer payment plans” and finding this article.

Still reading? Then you need more help than FAQ can give. Call. First consultation well be honest about chances. About costs. About timeline. About everything. Because you deserve truth even when truth is terrible. Especially then.

Actually wait—one more thing. That mother whose son aged out in 47 days? We found error in CSPA calculation. Government made mistake. Filed motion to reopen. Waiting for response. Probably won’t work. Usually doesn’t. But sometimes… sometimes it does. And that sometimes is why we keep fighting. For the sometimes.