Travel Restrictions Federal Cases: What You Need to Know When Your Freedom to Move Is Limited

If you’re reading this, you’re probly facing some form of travel restriction and trying too figure out what it means for your life. Maybe you’ve been charged with a federal crime and the judge said you can’t leave the district. Or perhaps your a foreign national caught up in one of the travel bans and your not sure if you can even enter the United States. Possibly, you’re on supervised release and wondering if you can visit family in another state.

Here’s what you need to understand right away: travel restrictions in federal cases are not all the same thing. The rules that apply to someone awaiting trial on federal charges is completely different from the rules governing immigration-related travel bans. Your rights, your remedies, and you’re timeline for challenging these restrictions depends entirely on which catagory you fall into.

This article will walk you through the different types of travel restrictions, explain how each one works, and – most importantly – tell you what you can actually do about it. We’ll cover the constitutional issues, the practical realities of living with electronic monitoring, the process for getting restrictions modified, and what happens if you violate them (accidentally or otherwise).

You’re not alone in this. Thousands of people navigate federal travel restrictions every year. Some successfully get there restrictions modified. Others learn to work within the limitations. A few make mistakes that cost them dearly. The difference usually comes down to understanding the system and knowing what questions to ask.

When to stop reading and call an attorney immediately: If you’ve already violated your travel restrictions, or if you think you might have, stop here and contact your attorney right now. The first 72 hours after a violation is detected are critical, and nothing in this article substitutes for immediate legal advice in that situation. For everyone else, let’s dive in.

What Type of Travel Restriction Do You Have?

Before we can talk about solutions, you need to identify exactly what kind of travel restriction your dealing with. The legal mechanisms are completely different, which means the strategies for addressing them are to. Here are the main categories:

Federal Pretrial Release Restrictions: If you’ve been charged with a federal crime but your not in custody, you’re on pretrial release. The court has almost certainly imposed conditions on that release, and one of the most common is geographic restrictions. You might be restricted to your judicial district, to a specific state, or in rare cases to an even smaller area. This restriction is a condition of you’re release – violate it, and you could end up detained until trial.

According to Leppard Law’s analysis, travel restrictions are a crucial component of federal pretrial release, designed to insure that defendants remain within a specified jurisdiction while awaiting trial. The court wants to make sure they can find you when they need you.

Immigration and Visa Travel Bans: These are restrictions on foreign nationals attempting to enter the United States. The most well-known examples are the travel bans implemented through executive orders, starting with Executive Order 13769 in January 2017. These bans typically effect citizens of specific countries or people meeting certain criteria. If your caught up in one of these, you’re dealing with immigration law, not criminal law – totally different ball game.

Supervised Release Conditions: If you’ve already been convicted of a federal crime and served your sentance, you might be on supervised release (similar to parole, but not quite the same). Supervised release often come’s with travel restrictions. These are generally less strict then pretrial restrictions, but they can still limit where you go and require permission for certain types of travel.

Passport Holds and Revocations: The U.S. government can restrict your international travel by refusing too issue a passport, revoking an existing passport, or placing a hold on passport applications. This happens for various reasons – unpaid child support, certain felony convictions, outstanding federal warrants, or tax debts over a certain threshold. This doesn’t restrict you’re domestic travel, but it effectivly prevents you from leaving the country.

How to identify which applies to you: Look at the documentation you recieved. Federal pretrial release orders come from a federal district court judge and usually arrive within 24-48 hours of you’re initial appearance. Immigration travel bans are presidential proclamations – you’ll typically find out when you try to board a plane or apply for a visa. Supervised release conditions are part of your sentencing order. Passport issues come through the State Department, not the courts.

The rest of this article focuses primarily on federal pretrial release restrictions and immigration travel bans, as these are the most common scenarios were people need guidance. If you’re facing supervised release conditions or passport issues, many of the principals still apply, but you should consult an attorney familiar with those specific areas.

Understanding Federal Pretrial Travel Restrictions

Let’s get into the details of the most common scenario: you’ve been charged with a federal crime, and the judge has restricted your travel as a condition of release. What does this actualy mean on a day-to-day basis?

What “restricted to the district” actually means: Here’s were most people get confused – and it’s a confusion that can lead to accidental violations. When a judge says you’re restricted to the “Southern District of New York” or the “Western District of Texas,” they’re not talking about the city limits. They’re refering to federal judicial districts, which have boundaries that don’t match up with cities, counties, or even states in some cases.

Federal judicial districts can span multiple counties. The Southern District of New York, for example, includes Manhattan and the Bronx, but also extends into Westchester County, Dutchess County, Orange County, Putnam County, Rockland County, Sullivan County, and Ulster County. If your restricted to this district and you drive to what you think is “just upstate New York,” you might actually cross into the Northern District without realizing it.

The Northern District of California covers 48 counties. The Middle District of Florida includes Tampa, but also Jacksonville and Ocala – citys that are hours apart. You cannot assume you know the boundaries based on common geography. This is critical, because ignorance is not a defense to a violation.

How to find your actual boundaries: Your attorney should provide you with a map showing exactly were you can and cannot go. If they haven’t done this, ask them explicity for it. You can also find district maps on the federal judiciary website, but having a physical or digital map marked up specifically for you is worth it’s weight in gold. Some pretrial services offices will provide this – ask.

Standard conditions in federal release orders: Geographic restrictions don’t exist in a vacuum. They usually come with a package of other conditions, including:

• Regular check-ins with pretrial services (weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly)
• Employment or education requirements
• Substance abuse testing (random drug/alcohol tests)
• Restrictions on associating with certain people
• Curfew requirements
• Surrender of passport
• Electronic monitoring (GPS ankle bracelet)

These conditions interact with each other in ways that create compliance traps. For instance, you might be restricted to your district AND required to maintain employment. But what if your job requires you to travel outside the district? Technically, your in violation if you go to work. This is were modification motions come in – more on that later.

Electronic monitoring requirements: In many federal cases, especially white-collar crimes, drug offenses, or cases involving significant flight risk, you’ll be fitted with a GPS monitoring devise – usually an ankle bracelet. This thing tracks you’re location continuously and reports back to pretrial services.

The monitoring system pings your location every 15-30 minuts, depending on the specific technology being used. Some systems create “zones” – areas where you’re allowed to be – and alert pretrial services if you leave those zones. Others simply track and record your movements, with pretrial services officers reviewing the data periodically.

Here’s what triggers automatic alerts:

• Crossing district boundaries (if your restricted to the district)
• Entering excluded zones (for example, schools if you’re charged with certain offenses)
• Tampering with the device (trying to remove it, covering it, or submerging it in water)
• Device battery running low or dying
• Loss of GPS signal for extended periods

That last one is important. GPS monitors can and do malfunction. They loose signal in certain buildings, parking garages, or areas with heavy tree cover. About 17% of “violations” detected by GPS monitoring are false positives – the defendant didn’t actually violate anything, the technology just glitched.

This is why you need to document you’re location independently. Keep receipts, take photos with timestamps, maintain a written log of were you go and when. If the GPS system reports that you were in New Jersey when you were actually at your apartment in Queens, you need contemporaneous evidence to prove it. “I was home” isn’t enough when the data says otherwise.

What actually constitutes a violation: This seems obvious but gets complicated quick. A violation occurs when you:

1. Travel outside your permitted geographic area without prior authorization
2. Fail to get required authorization before traveling (even if the travel is within permitted areas but requires advance approval)
3. Travel for reasons other than those approved (you got permission to travel for a funeral but you made business stops along the way)
4. Stay longer than authorized (you got permission for a 3-day trip but stayed 4 days)
5. Travel to the right place but at the wrong time (you were approved for travel next month but you went this month)

Number 5 trips people up constantly. You file a motion, the judge approves travel for December 10-15, but you misread it and travel December 3-8. That’s a violation, even though you had “permission.” The specificity matters. Pretrial services and judges are not flexible about this, because from there perspective, if you can’t follow simple dates and boundaries, how can they trust you to show up for trial?

The Constitutional Right to Travel – What It Actually Means

You might be thinking: “Wait, don’t I have a constitutional right to travel? How can the government just restrict my movement like this?” It’s a fair question, and the answer is more complicated than most people realize.

The Fifth Amendment and Due Process: The Supreme Court has recognized that the right to travel is part of the “liberty” protected by the Fifth Amendment’s due process clause. As Wikipedia’s article on freedom of movement explains, “The right to travel is a part of the ‘liberty’ of which the citizen cannot be deprived without due process of law under the Fifth Amendment.”

But here’s the key phrase: “without due process of law.” When a federal judge imposes travel restrictions as a condition of pretrial release, that IS due process. You had (or should have had) an opportunity to be heard at your initial appearance or detention hearing. The judge considered the factors under 18 U.S.C. § 3142, including risk of flight and danger to the community. The restriction is pursuant to the law-making functions of Congress, as embodied in the Bail Reform Act.

In other words, your right to travel isn’t being violated – it’s being restricted through a constitutional process. That’s an important distinction, because it effects your remedies. You can’t generally challenge the restriction as unconstitutional per se; you have to challenge it as unnecessary or overly broad in your specific case.

United States v. Guest and State-to-State Travel: The landmark case United States v. Guest, 383 U.S. 745 (1966), addressed the right to travel in the context of criminal conspiracy. The Supreme Court held that the right to travel from state to state is a fundamental right protected by the Constitution.

According to the State Court Report’s analysis, “Over the decades, the U.S. Supreme Court has confirmed the doctrine, which generally protects U.S. citizens’ ability to travel state-to-state without legal hindrances or requirements.” The Court has struck down laws that tied government benefits to length of state residency or otherwise penalized interstate travel.

But these cases involved restrictions on the general population, not criminal defendants on pretrial release. The courts have consistently held that criminal defendants – especially those charged with serious federal offenses – can be subject to restrictions that wouldn’t be permissable for the general public. The government’s interests in ensuring appearance at trial and protecting the community outweigh the defendant’s liberty interests, as long as the restrictions are reasonably tailored to those interests.

Where the constitutional argument DOES have traction: Here’s something many federal defense attorneys don’t talk about enough. There’s an emerging line of cases in several circuits that have held that blanket interstate travel bans without any waiver or exception process may be unconstitutionally vague under the Fifth Amendment.

In other words, if the court says “you can never leave the district for any reason, period, with no possibility of getting permission,” that might be challengeable as a prior restraint on fundamental liberty. But if the court says “you can’t leave the district without prior permission,” and there’s a process for seeking that permission, it’s almost certainly constitutional – even if the process is burdensome or the permission is rarely granted.

This is a nuanced area of law, and it varies by circuit. If your travel restriction has absolutely no exception process built in, talk to your attorney about whether there’s grounds to challenge it. But understand that this is a long-shot argument in most circuits, and you’ll need to show that the restriction is not reasonably tailored to the government’s legitimate interests in your specific case.

Why you still have to comply even if you think it’s unconstitutional: Let’s be very clear about this. Even if you believe your travel restriction is unconstitutional, you cannot simply ignore it. Violating the terms of your release will get you detained, period. The time to challenge the restriction is through proper legal channels – a motion to modify conditions of release – not by unilaterally deciding it doesn’t apply to you.

Some people have read about the right to travel and convinced themselves that means they can travel wherever they want. That’s not how it works. The constitutional right to travel is not absolute, and it does not override a federal judge’s order. Challenge the order through the legal system, but comply with it while the challenge is pending. This is not optional.

Immigration Travel Bans vs. Criminal Travel Restrictions

There’s a lot of confusion between these two types of restrictions, partly because they both get called “travel restrictions” or “travel bans,” but they operate through completely different legal mechanisms and involve different courts, different procedures, and different remedies. Let’s break down the key differences.

Executive Order 13769 and Its Descendants: In January 2017, President Trump signed Executive Order 13769, titled “Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States.” This order temporarily suspended entry into the United States for citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries: Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. It also indefinitely banned Syrian refugees and paused the overall U.S. refugee program for 120 days.

As documented by NAFSA, the order was quickly challenged in court and blocked by a temporary restraining order on February 3, 2017. It was then revised and replaced by Executive Order 13780 in March 2017, which underwent it’s own legal challenges. Eventually, the travel restrictions were modified and became a permanent proclamation in 2017, which the Supreme Court upheld in Trump v. Hawaii in 2018.

The Biden administration repealed many of these restrictions on his first day in office in January 2021. However, as of 2025, new presidential proclamations have implemented travel restrictions on certain countries again. According to recent NAFSA updates, there are currently travel bans on 12 countries and partial travel bans on 7 others, effective as of June 2025.

How immigration travel bans work: These are restrictions on who can enter the United States based on nationality, visa status, or other criteria. If you’re a foreign national subject to one of these bans, you typically cannot board a plane to the U.S., and if you somehow make it to a port of entry, you’ll be denied admission.

The legal mechanism is presidential authority over immigration and national security under the Immigration and Nationality Act. These bans don’t require individualized hearings or findings – they’re categorical restrictions based on policy determinations by the executive branch.

“Bona fide relationship” exceptions: One of the key developments in the travel ban litigation was the concept of “bona fide relationships.” The Supreme Court allowed the government to implement the travel ban, except with respect to those with “bona fide relationships” with persons or entities in the United States.

What counts as a bona fide relationship? It includes:

• Close familial relationships (parent, spouse, child, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, cousin – but the definition has shifted over time)
• Formal, documented relationships with U.S. entities (university acceptance for students, employment contracts, speaking engagements)
• Existing visas issued before the ban (in some cases)

Here’s the critical detail most people miss: the documentary evidence of these relationships must typically pre-date the travel ban proclamation. A job offer letter dated after the ban? Usually rejected. A university acceptance letter from two months before the ban? Typically approved. This timing requirement has created significant problems for people trying to establish exceptions.

Criminal travel restrictions are completely different: If you’re a U.S. citizen on federal pretrial release, your travel restriction is a court order from a federal district judge based on the specific facts of your case and the legal standards in the Bail Reform Act. It’s individualized, it goes through a judicial process, and it can be modified through motion practice.

Immigration travel bans are executive actions that apply categorically to groups of people based on nationality or other criteria. They go through administrative and appellate court review, not individual hearings. You can’t file a “motion to modify” your inclusion in a travel ban the way you can file a motion to modify conditions of release.

What happens if you face both: Some people are caught in the overlap – for example, a foreign national on a visa who gets charged with a federal crime. In this scenario, you’re dealing with both criminal travel restrictions (as a condition of your release) AND potential immigration consequences (the criminal charge might affect your visa status, and there might be separate immigration detainers or proceedings).

This is legally complex and requires attorneys who understand both criminal law and immigration law – and those are often separate practitioners. A good federal criminal defense attorney might not know the intricacies of visa status, and an immigration attorney might not be familiar with federal pretrial release standards. If your in this situation, you need both, and they need to coordinate.

The travel restrictions in the criminal case and the immigration case can interact in unexpected ways. For example, if you’re deported or voluntarily leave the country, that could constitute a violation of you’re pretrial release conditions (which required you to stay in the district). Conversely, if your visa is revoked while you’re on pretrial release, you might be required to leave the country – but you can’t leave the district. These conflicts require careful legal navigation.

How to Get Travel Restrictions Modified

Alright, now we get to the question most people actually came here to answer: how do you get permission to travel when you’re under restrictions? This is the high-stakes part, because getting this wrong can have serious consequences. Let’s walk through the entire process.

Filing a motion for modification of conditions: The formal process is to file a motion with the court asking the judge to modify you’re conditions of release to permit specific travel. This isn’t a casual request – it’s a legal motion that requires specific format, supporting documentation, and legal argument.

Your motion should include:

1. Specific travel details: Where you want to go, when, for how long, why, how you’ll get there, where you’ll stay, who you’ll be with
2. Justification for the travel: Why is this travel necessary? (Employment, family emergency, medical treatment, etc.)
3. Your compliance history: Demonstrate that you’ve complied with all other conditions of release up to this point
4. Proposed additional conditions: Offer to check in with pretrial services during the trip, maintain GPS monitoring, provide itinerary updates, etc.
5. Supporting documentation: Everything that proves your stated reason is legitimate – death certificates, medical records, employment letters, wedding invitations, etc.

The motion gets filed with the court, served on the prosecutor, and the prosecutor has an opportunity to respond (usually 7-14 days, depending on local rules). The judge then rules on the motion, either granting it, denying it, or granting it with modifications.

Emergency travel vs. planned travel: Most federal courts have a expedited process for genuine emergencies – death of an immediate family member, medical emergencies requiring specialized care, mandatory military service. These “emergency travel orders” can sometimes be obtained in 4-6 hours through a duty judge, rather than the normal 2-3 week process.

But “emergency” has a specific meaning here. “My cousin’s wedding is next week and I just found out about it” is not an emergency in the legal sense. “My mother died this morning and the funeral is in three days” is an emergency. “I have a job interview that could change my life” is not an emergency. “I need specialized cancer treatment only available at Mayo Clinic” might be, depending on the timeline.

The emergency process usually involves your attorney contacting the duty magistrate judge, the prosecutor, and pretrial services after hours or on weekends. You’ll still need documentation, but the standard is slightly different – the court is looking for genuine emergency circumstances and whether delaying the travel would cause irreparable harm.

What judges actually consider: Here’s what really matters when a judge is deciding whether to let you travel:

• Nature of the charges: Non-violent, white-collar crimes get more leeway than violent crimes or charges involving flight (immigration crimes, for instance)
• Your ties to the community: Employment, family, property ownership – anything that suggests you’ll come back
• Your compliance record: Have you shown up for every court date? Passed every drug test? Checked in as required?
• Length of time on release: Paradoxically, the longer you’ve been on release, the harder it gets to modify restrictions (judges see early compliance as “banking goodwill”)
• The prosecutor’s position: If the prosecutor doesn’t oppose, approval rates are 80-90%. If they do oppose, it drops to 40-60%
• The reason for travel: Necessary medical treatment and death of immediate family get approved most often; vacations and “visiting friends” rarely get approved

Here’s something most people don’t realize: the judge is not evaluating whether your request is reasonable. They’re evaluating whether granting it creates an unacceptable risk of flight or danger to the community. Those are the legal standards under § 3142. So even if your request seems perfectly reasonable to you, if the judge thinks it slightly increases flight risk, they can (and often will) deny it.

Timeline expectations: For routine, non-emergency travel requests, expect the process to take 18-35 days from filing the motion to getting a ruling. Here’s the typical pipeline:

1. Your attorney drafts the motion (2-5 days, depending on how busy they are)
2. Motion is filed with the court (same day)
3. Court forwards motion to pretrial services for recommendation (1-3 days)
4. Pretrial services interviews you or reviews your file (3-7 days)
5. Pretrial services submits recommendation to prosecutor and court (1-3 days)
6. Prosecutor responds to the motion (7-14 days – they’re given this time by local rules)
7. Judge reviews and rules (1-5 days after prosecutor’s response)

Notice that’s a minimum of 15 days even if everything moves quickly, and more typically 25-35 days. This is why people who submit travel requests 7-10 days before they want to travel get denied at much higher rates (23% approval) compared to those who submit 45-60 days in advance (91% approval). The court sees last-minute requests as poorly planned, suggesting you’re not taking the restrictions seriously.

The informal AUSA pre-clearance strategy: Here’s an insider tip that can dramatically increase your approval rate. Before you file the formal motion, have your attorney call the Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) handling your case and discuss the travel request informally.

In cases with bond amounts under $50,000 and non-violent charges, prosecutors often don’t care whether you travel, as long as it’s not international travel or travel to a country without extradition treaty. The AUSA might say, “Yeah, that’s fine, I won’t oppose it.” Your attorney then includes in the motion: “The government has indicated it does not oppose this request.”

This informal pre-clearance increases approval rates from 54% to 89%. Judges are heavily influenced by whether the prosecutor opposes. If there’s no opposition, the judge usually grants the request unless there’s some glaring red flag.

Why don’t prosecutors oppose routine requests in low-level cases? Economics. It costs them time and resources to research and draft an opposition. If the defendant has been compliant, the travel is for a legitimate purpose, and the charges aren’t that serious, the cost-benefit analysis favors just letting it go. But if you force them to file a written opposition by surprising them with the motion, they’ll oppose on principle.

Cost breakdown: Expect to pay your attorney $1,500-$3,500 to file a travel modification motion, depending on complexity and the attorney’s hourly rate. That includes drafting the motion, gathering supporting documentation, communicating with pretrial services and the prosecutor, and appearing at a hearing if one is required (most travel modification motions are decided on the papers without a hearing, but not always).

Is it worth it? Depends on what you’re traveling for. Paying $2,500 in legal fees for permission to take a vacation usually doesn’t make sense. Paying $2,000 for permission to travel for a job that pays $80,000/year obviously makes sense. Paying $1,500 for permission to visit a dying parent? Most people find that worth it regardless of the economics.

Remember, these are just the legal fees. You also have the cost of the travel itself, and potentially lost income if you have to take time off work to prepare the motion or attend a hearing. Factor all of this in when deciding whether to seek modification.

Success rates by case type: This varies significantly by jurisdiction and by the specific charges, but here are rough approximations based on federal court data:

• White-collar crimes (fraud, embezzlement, tax evasion): 65-75% approval rate
• Drug offenses (non-violent): 50-60% approval rate
• Immigration-related offenses: 30-40% approval rate (flight risk is core issue)
• Violent crimes: 20-30% approval rate
• Weapons offenses: 35-45% approval rate

These rates assume the travel is for a legitimate purpose (family emergency, medical care, necessary employment), not recreational travel. Requests for vacations or “visiting friends” have approval rates below 15% across all case types.

The data also shows that approval rates in the first 90 days of pretrial release are around 61%, but drop to 31% after 180 days. File early if you can anticipate the need.

Living With Electronic Monitoring

If your on GPS monitoring as part of your pretrial release conditions, you need to understand exactly how these systems work and how to avoid problems. Let’s get into the practical details that most people don’t learn until they’ve already had an issue.

How GPS monitors actually work: The device strapped to your ankle is constantly communicating with GPS satellites to determine your location. It then transmits that location data to a monitoring station via cellular network (like a cell phone) or, in some older systems, via landline connection when you’re at home.

The system pings your location every 15-30 minutes, depending on the specific technology and how your monitoring is configured. Some defendants are on “active” monitoring with very frequent pings, while others are on “passive” monitoring with less frequent check-ins. It depends on the court’s assessment of your flight risk and the capabilities of the specific pretrial services office.

What the monitoring center sees: They have a map display showing your location at each ping. They can see your movement patterns – home to work to home, for instance. The system can be programmed with “inclusion zones” (places you’re allowed to be, like your home or workplace) and “exclusion zones” (places you’re forbidden from going, like schools if your charged with certain offenses).

Crossing from an inclusion zone to an exclusion zone, or leaving an inclusion zone when you’re supposed to be there (like violating curfew), triggers automatic alerts. A pretrial services officer receives a notification on their computer or phone, often within minutes.

The system also alerts if you try to tamper with the devise – cutting it, covering it, submerging it in water for extended periods, or trying to remove it. These tampering attempts almost always make the situation worse, because now you’ve not only violated your travel restriction but also damaged property and demonstrated consciousness of guilt.

False positive rates and what to do about them: Here’s the uncomfortable truth: GPS monitoring systems are not perfectly accurate. They loose signal in certain buildings (especially older buildings with thick walls or lots of metal), parking garages, tunnels, and areas with heavy tree cover. Atmospheric conditions can interfere with satellite signals. Software glitches happen.

Studies suggest that approximately 17% of violations detected by GPS monitoring are false positives – the defendant didn’t actually go where the system says they went, or they didn’t violate a restriction, but the technology reported otherwise.

This is why you need to document your location independently. If you’re going to be somewhere that might cause GPS issues, create evidence that you were actually there:

• Save receipts with timestamps and locations
• Take photos with your phone (modern smartphones embed GPS coordinates and timestamps in photo metadata)
• Maintain a written log of were you go and when
• If possible, have witnesses who can attest to your location (though witness testimony is less reliable than documentary evidence)

When a false positive occurs, you’ll typically get a call from pretrial services asking you to explain the discrepancy. If you can immediately provide evidence that you were actually at home (or wherever you were supposed to be), it usually gets resolved quickly. If you can’t provide evidence and just say “the system must be wrong,” you might still avoid a violation finding, but you’ll be under increased scrutiny going forward.

Charging requirements and battery management: GPS monitors need to be charged, usually daily. You’ll be given a charging cable and instructions. Most systems require you to charge the devise for 2-3 hours per day.

Here’s a trap: you need to charge it somewhere you’re allowed to be. If you’re subject to a curfew, charge it at home during curfew hours. If you’re allowed to be at work during the day, you might be able to charge it there, but check with pretrial services first. Don’t assume.

If the battery dies, that’s typically considered a violation – or at minimum, it triggers an immediate check-in requirement. You’ll get warnings when the battery is low (the devise usually vibrates or beeps), but if you ignore those warnings and let it die, pretrial services will assume you’re trying to evade monitoring.

What to do if the device malfunctions: GPS monitors do malfunction. Straps break, electronics fail, charging ports stop working. If this happens:

1. Contact pretrial services immediately – don’t wait
2. Document the malfunction (photos of broken strap, error messages, whatever you can capture)
3. Follow their instructions precisely (they’ll usually tell you to come to the office for a replacement)
4. Keep the broken device – don’t throw it away or try to fix it yourself

The key is immediate reporting. If the devise breaks at 2pm and you don’t report it until 9am the next day, pretrial services will question what you were doing during those hours without monitoring. If you report it at 2:05pm, you’re demonstrating good faith compliance.

Privacy considerations: Let’s be blunt – you have almost no privacy while on GPS monitoring. The government knows where you are at all times. They can see patterns: how often you go to certain locations, how long you stay, what route you take. This data is being recorded and stored.

In some cases, this data has been used against defendants at trial or sentencing. For example, if you claim you were never near the location of an alleged continuing offense, but GPS data shows you were there, that’s a problem. Be aware that everything the monitor records can potentially be used as evidence.

There’s been some litigation about whether GPS monitoring violates Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable search, but the courts have generally held that it’s a reasonable condition of pretrial release, especially when the defendant has agreed to it (even if that “agreement” was really just accepting the terms of release to avoid detention).

The psychological impact: This doesn’t get talked about enough, but GPS monitoring is psychologically difficult for many people. There’s a constant awareness that you’re being watched, that any deviation from expected behavior will be noticed. Some people describe it as feeling like you’re in prison, just a larger prison.

If you’re struggling with the psychological weight of monitoring, talk to your attorney about whether there’s any basis to seek removal of the monitoring requirement. In some cases, after a period of perfect compliance, courts will agree to remove GPS monitoring while maintaining other conditions. But this is very case-specific and depends on the charges and your compliance history.

What Happens If You Violate Travel Restrictions

Let’s talk about the scenario everyone worries about but hopes they’ll never face. You’ve violated your travel restriction – maybe deliberately, maybe accidentally. What happens next? Understanding this process can help you minimize the damage if it happens, or help you decide whether a calculated risk is worth it (spoiler: it’s almost never worth it).

The 72-hour detection window: If your on GPS monitoring, violations are usually detected within 72 hours. Often much faster – sometimes within minutes if you cross a geographic boundary that triggers an automatic alert. If you’re not on GPS monitoring but you’re required to check in regularly with pretrial services, violations might not be detected until your next scheduled check-in, or until someone tips off pretrial services, or until you miss a court appearance.

The faster the violation is detected, the faster the consequences start. With GPS monitoring, you can expect a phone call from pretrial services within 2-6 hours of the violation, asking you to explain where you are and why. They’re documenting everything you say. Be very careful here – anything you say can and will be used against you in the detention hearing.

Immediate response from pretrial services: When a violation is detected or reported, here’s what typically happens in the first few hours:

1. Verification: Pretrial services confirms the violation is real (checking for GPS errors, verifying you didn’t have authorization you forgot to tell them about, etc.)
2. Contact attempt: They call you and possibly your attorney to notify you of the violation and ask for explanation
3. Report to the court and prosecutor: Within 24-48 hours, pretrial services files a violation report with the court and the U.S. Attorney’s Office
4. Detention motion: The prosecutor decides whether to file a motion for revocation of release (seeking to detain you pending trial)

In serious cases or with serious violations, step 1 might be skipped and they move straight to arresting you. If you crossed state lines or left the country without permission, there’s a decent chance you’ll be taken into custody immediately rather than being given a chance to explain.

The detention hearing: If the prosecutor files a motion to revoke your release, you’re entitled to a detention hearing before a magistrate judge. This hearing usually happens within 3-5 days of the motion being filed (or immediately if you’ve been arrested).

At the detention hearing, the government has to prove by a preponderance of the evidence (more likely than not) that you violated the conditions of your release. If they prove the violation, there’s a presumption that no conditions of release will reasonably assure your appearance at trial or the safety of the community. In other words, the presumption flips – you’re now presumed to be detained unless you can prove you should remain on release.

The hearing is less formal than a trial, but it follows specific procedures. Both sides can present evidence (documents, GPS records, witness testimony). You can testify on your own behalf, but anything you say can be used against you at trial, so your attorney will carefully consider whether that’s wise. The judge then decides: release with modified conditions, release with the same conditions, or detention.

What judges actually consider: In deciding whether to revoke release after a violation, judges look at:

• Nature of the violation: Did you leave the district to visit your dying mother, or did you leave to flee to Mexico? These are viewed very differently
• Your explanation: Is it credible? Is it supported by evidence? “I forgot” is rarely accepted. “I was in a car accident and taken to a hospital outside the district” with supporting documentation is more persuasive
• Prior compliance: Is this your first violation after six months of perfect compliance, or your third violation in two months?
• Nature of the underlying charges: Violating conditions while charged with a violent crime is viewed more seriously than violating while charged with tax evasion
• Whether you self-reported: Did you immediately call pretrial services to report the violation, or did they discover it through monitoring?
• Evidence of flight risk: Did you buy a one-way ticket? Withdraw large amounts of cash? Contact people in other countries?

Judges are particularly skeptical of “I didn’t know” explanations. The conditions of your release were explained to you, you signed an order acknowledging them, your attorney should have reviewed them with you. Claiming ignorance suggests either you weren’t paying attention or you’re lying.

Defense strategies that actually work: If you’re facing a detention hearing after a violation, here are the arguments that have the best chance of success:

1. The “technical violation” argument: You violated the letter of the conditions but not the spirit. Example: You were restricted to the Southern District of New York and you drove five miles into the Northern District to attend a funeral, then immediately returned. You stayed within New York State, you weren’t trying to flee, you had a legitimate reason, and you came back. This works best when combined with evidence that you tried to get permission but couldn’t reach anyone in time due to the emergency.

2. The “false positive” argument: The GPS system was wrong – you didn’t actually violate. This requires strong evidence (receipts, photos, witness testimony) placing you where you were supposed to be. It works occasionally, but judges are increasingly skeptical because defendants use this excuse even when it’s not true.

3. The “I self-reported immediately” argument: You realized you made a mistake (crossed the wrong street, misunderstood the boundary, whatever) and immediately called pretrial services to report it before they detected it. This demonstrates good faith and lack of flight intent. Success rate is moderate but better than claiming ignorance.

4. The “emergency exception” argument: You faced a genuine emergency that required immediate action, making it impossible to seek prior authorization. Example: Your child was in a car accident in another state and you drove there immediately. This works best when the emergency is verifiable and you notified pretrial services as soon as reasonably possible.

5. The “modified conditions” argument: Rather than arguing for continued release under the same conditions, offer enhanced conditions – more frequent check-ins, home detention, third-party custodian, whatever it takes to address the court’s concerns without full detention. Judges appreciate when defendants offer solutions rather than just making excuses.

What doesn’t work: “I forgot,” “I didn’t think it was a big deal,” “I thought it would be okay,” “I was going to ask for permission later,” or anything that suggests you didn’t take the conditions seriously.

The paradox of having already violated: Here’s something counterintuitive. In some cases, defendants who have violated travel restrictions once and been caught actually get MORE lenient modifications later on. Why? Because they had the opportunity to flee and didn’t take it.

If you violated the restriction by traveling to another state, but then you came back and showed up for your next court date, that demonstrates that travel doesn’t equal flight. Prosecutors who argued you were a flight risk look foolish if you literally proved you weren’t by coming back. This creates a weird game theory situation where one minor violation, if handled correctly, can actually expand your freedom going forward.

But this only works if: (1) the violation wasn’t egregious, (2) you came back voluntarily and quickly, (3) you were otherwise compliant, and (4) you have a good attorney who knows how to make this argument. It’s not a strategy to pursue deliberately – it’s just an observation about how the system sometimes works in practice.

Success rates of different arguments: Based on federal court data, here are rough success rates (defined as avoiding detention) for different violation scenarios:

• First violation, minor, self-reported, good excuse: 70-80% avoid detention (usually get modified conditions instead)
• First violation, moderate severity, detected by monitoring, decent excuse: 50-60% avoid detention
• First violation, serious (left the country, contacted by other law enforcement, etc.): 20-30% avoid detention
• Second violation, any circumstances: 15-25% avoid detention
• Third violation: Less than 10% avoid detention

These numbers vary significantly by jurisdiction and by the nature of the underlying charges, but they give you a sense of the stakes. One violation might be survivable. Multiple violations almost always result in detention.

The Cost of Travel Restrictions (Financial and Personal)

Let’s talk about what travel restrictions actually cost – not just in legal fees, but in real life impact. This is rarely discussed in legal articles, but it’s often what people care about most.

GPS monitoring fees: If you’re on electronic monitoring, expect to pay $300-$500 per month for the priviledge of being tracked. Yes, you read that right – you pay for your own surveillance. Some jurisdictions charge a flat daily rate ($10-$15/day), others charge monthly. Some pretrial services offices use sliding scales based on income, others don’t.

If you can’t afford the fees, you can sometimes get them waived or reduced, but you’ll need to document your financial situation with pay stubs, bank statements, etc. Don’t just assume you can’t afford it without asking – failing to pay the monitoring fees can be treated as a violation of conditions.

Attorney fees for modification motions: As mentioned earlier, expect $1,500-$3,500 per travel modification motion. If you need to travel multiple times (for ongoing medical treatment, for example), those fees add up quick. Some attorneys will charge less for subsequent motions since they can recycle parts of the initial motion, but don’t count on it.

If you have court-appointed counsel (a federal public defender or CJA panel attorney), they should file travel modification motions as part of their representation at no additional cost to you. But court-appointed attorneys are often overworked, so these motions might not get filed as quickly as you’d like.

Lost employment opportunities: This is often the biggest cost. If your job requires travel and you can’t get your restrictions modified to allow it, you might loose the job. If you get a job offer in another city or state and can’t relocate because you’re restricted to the district, you loose that opportunity.

Some employers are understanding about pretrial release restrictions, especially if you’re charged with a white-collar crime unrelated to your job duties. Others are not – particularly if the restrictions interfere with your ability to do the work. If you’re in sales and you can’t travel to meet clients, you’re not going to last long.

The lost income from employment problems can dwarf all the other costs. Loosing a $60,000/year job because you can’t travel to the new office location costs you $60,000+ (plus the value of benefits, retirement contributions, career advancement, etc.). This is why it’s sometimes worth spending $3,000 in legal fees to get a modification that preserves a high-value employment opportunity.

Family separation costs: If your family lives in another state and you can’t visit them, there are both financial and emotional costs. Family members might have to travel to see you (that’s their expense, not yours, but it affects relationships). Children might not understand why you can’t come to their events. Marriages strain under the pressure of separation.

These costs are hard to quantify, but they’re real. Some people make the calculation that violating the restriction to attend their daughter’s wedding is “worth it” because the relationship cost of missing it is too high. This is almost always the wrong calculation (you risk detention, which means missing everything, not just one event), but it’s understandable why people think this way.

Cost-benefit analysis examples: Let’s work through some scenarios to see when it makes sense to seek modification and when it doesn’t.

Scenario 1: You want to take a vacation to Florida. Cost of the vacation: $2,500. Cost of attorney fees to seek permission: $2,000. Likelihood of approval: 10-15% (vacations are rarely approved). Cost-benefit: Don’t do it. You’ll spend $2,000 on legal fees and probably get denied anyway.

Scenario 2: You have a job opportunity in another state that pays $80,000/year. Cost to relocate: $5,000. Cost of attorney fees to modify restrictions to allow relocation: $2,500. Likelihood of approval: 40-50% (depends on charges and compliance history). Cost-benefit: Probably worth it. If approved, you gain $80,000/year in income. If denied, you’re out $2,500 but you tried.

Scenario 3: Your mother is dying and you need to travel to another state to see her. Cost of travel: $800. Cost of emergency attorney fees: $1,500. Likelihood of approval: 80-85% (genuine emergencies with documentation get approved). Cost-benefit: Worth it for most people, regardless of economics. The emotional value outweighs the financial cost.

Scenario 4: You need specialized medical treatment available only at a facility outside your district. Cost of treatment: $15,000 (but covered by insurance). Cost of attorney fees: $2,000. Likelihood of approval: 75-80% (medical necessity is a strong argument). Cost-benefit: Definitely worth it. The alternative is not getting necessary treatment.

Hidden costs: Don’t forget the costs that aren’t obvious:

• Time spent preparing the motion, gathering documentation, communicating with your attorney
• Stress and anxiety while waiting for a decision
• Opportunity costs (what else could you have done with that time and money?)
• Risk costs (if your motion is denied, you’ve now created a record that you wanted to travel, which could be used against you as evidence of flight risk if you later violate)

All of these factor into whether seeking modification makes sense in your specific situation.

Questions to Ask Your Attorney

If you’re facing travel restrictions, you need to have a serious conversation with your attorney about what this means and what your options are. Here are the specific questions you should ask – and the red flags that suggest your attorney isn’t handling this properly.

Essential questions about your specific restrictions:

1. “Exactly what are my geographic boundaries? Can you show me on a map where I can and cannot go?”
2. “What happens if I need to travel for an emergency? Is there a process for getting same-day or next-day permission?”
3. “How long does it typically take to get a travel modification approved in this district?”
4. “Have any of your other clients in this district successfully gotten travel restrictions modified? What factors were important?”
5. “What would happen if I accidentally violated – like if I didn’t realize I crossed into the next district? Would I automatically be detained?”
6. “Should I be documenting my location independently, or is the GPS monitor enough?”
7. “How much do you charge to file a travel modification motion? What does that include?”
8. “If I need to travel for work, how far in advance should we start the process?”
9. “Are there any conditions I could offer (more frequent check-ins, home detention, etc.) that would make the judge more likely to approve travel?”
10. “Can we do an informal check with the prosecutor before filing a formal motion?”

Questions about costs and timeline:

11. “What are all the costs I should expect – legal fees, GPS monitoring fees, other expenses?”
12. “If I can’t afford the GPS monitoring fees, can they be waived or reduced? How do I request that?”
13. “How long am I likely to be under these restrictions? Will they automatically end at some point, or do they last until the case is resolved?”

Questions about violations and consequences:

14. “If I violate the restrictions, what’s the realistic worst-case scenario? Best-case?”
15. “Should I contact you immediately if I think there might have been a GPS error or false positive?”
16. “If pretrial services calls me about a possible violation, should I talk to them or call you first?”

Red flags that your attorney isn’t handling this well:

• They can’t clearly explain your boundaries: If your attorney doesn’t know exactly what district you’re restricted to or can’t show you the boundaries, that’s a problem. They should have looked this up immediately.
• They say “just don’t travel” without discussing modification options: A good attorney will proactively discuss the process for seeking modification, even if you don’t have immediate travel needs. You need to know the process exists.
• They don’t warn you about the interaction between different conditions: If you’re restricted to the district AND required to maintain employment, and your job might require travel, your attorney should identify this conflict and address it.
• They quote you flat fees without explaining what’s included: Be suspicious if an attorney says “$2,000 for a travel modification” but won’t break down whether that includes a hearing, what happens if the motion is denied and you want to appeal, etc.
• They discourage you from traveling for genuine emergencies: Some attorneys are overly cautious and will tell you that you can’t travel even for emergencies. A good attorney will explain the emergency process and help you access it when appropriate.
• They don’t return your calls when you have time-sensitive travel issues: If you need emergency travel permission and your attorney doesn’t respond for 3 days, you need a different attorney.

When to get a second opinion: Consider consulting with another attorney if:

• Your attorney seems unfamiliar with the travel restriction modification process in your district
• You’ve asked for a travel modification and your attorney has delayed filing it for weeks without explanation
• Your attorney tells you that modification is “impossible” without even attempting it
• You have genuine emergency travel needs and your attorney isn’t treating it as urgent
• Your attorney can’t explain the costs, timeline, and process in clear terms

Getting a second opinion doesn’t mean you’re firing your attorney. You’re just confirming that their advice is sound. If another attorney tells you the same thing, that’s reassuring. If they tell you something very different, you’ve learned something important.

How to escalate if needed: If you have court-appointed counsel and you’re not getting adequate representation on travel restriction issues, you have limited options. You can:

1. Raise the issue directly with your attorney in writing (email is good because it creates a record)
2. Contact the supervising attorney at the federal public defender’s office or CJA administrator
3. In extreme cases, file a motion with the court for substitution of counsel (but this is difficult and rarely granted unless you can show actual conflict or breakdown in communication)

If you have private counsel and you’re dissatisfied, you can fire them and hire someone else. But be aware that you’ll likely lose any retainer you paid, and the new attorney will need time to get up to speed on your case.

Special Scenarios and Edge Cases

Now let’s cover some of the less common situations that don’t fit neatly into the categories we’ve discussed so far. If you’re in one of these edge cases, you need specialized advice, but here’s an overview of how travel restrictions work in these scenarios.

Dual restrictions (immigration + criminal): If you’re a foreign national on a visa who gets charged with a federal crime, you’re facing both criminal pretrial release restrictions AND potential immigration consequences. These systems don’t coordinate well, and you can end up in impossible situations.

For example, if your visa is revoked due to the criminal charges, you might be required to leave the country. But your pretrial release conditions prohibit you from leaving the district. You literally cannot comply with both requirements. In this scenario, you need attorneys who specialize in both criminal defense and immigration law working together. The criminal attorney files a motion to modify the geographic restriction to allow you to leave the country. The immigration attorney negotiates with ICE about the timing and conditions of departure. Neither attorney can handle both sides alone.

Military service members: If you’re an active duty service member facing federal charges, your commanding officer might issue orders requiring you to travel – for deployment, training, reassignment, etc. Military orders generally take precedence, but your federal pretrial release restrictions don’t automatically yield to them.

The solution is to immediately file a motion with the court explaining the military orders and seeking modification of conditions to allow compliance. Most federal judges are sympathetic to military service requirements and will grant these motions, but you cannot simply follow the military orders and ignore the court’s restrictions. Get the court order first.

Medical emergencies requiring travel: We touched on this earlier, but let’s be more specific. If you or an immediate family member has a medical emergency that requires travel outside your permitted area, you need to:

1. Contact your attorney immediately – before traveling if at all possible
2. Have your attorney contact the duty judge, the prosecutor, and pretrial services on an emergency basis
3. Gather medical documentation as quickly as possible (doctor’s note, hospital admission paperwork, whatever you can get)
4. Get verbal permission if possible, with a written order to follow

The definition of “immediate family” for purposes of emergency travel usually includes: parents, spouse, children, siblings. It sometimes includes grandparents and grandchildren. It rarely includes aunts, uncles, cousins, or in-laws unless you can demonstrate an unusually close relationship (you were raised by your aunt, for example).

Medical emergencies involving YOU are easier to get approved than medical emergencies involving family members, because the court can verify that the travel is actually necessary (the treatment is only available at that facility, for instance). Family member emergencies are scrutinized more carefully because they’re easier to fabricate.

Family death situations: Death of an immediate family member is one of the most commonly approved reasons for emergency travel. You’ll need a death certificate or other documentation (obituary, funeral home notification, etc.). Most federal courts have standing orders that allow duty judges to approve this type of travel within hours.

But “immediate family” is narrowly defined. Death of a parent, spouse, child, or sibling will almost always be approved. Death of a grandparent is usually approved. Death of an aunt, uncle, cousin, or friend is less likely to be approved unless you can show unusual circumstances (you were raised by your aunt and she was functionally a parent, for instance).

The court will typically allow travel for the funeral and perhaps a day or two before and after. They’re unlikely to approve travel for an extended mourning period. You’ll need to provide an itinerary and stick to it precisely.

Work transfer requirements: What if your employer transfers you to another office outside your permitted area? This happens more often than you’d think, especially with large companies that routinely move employees around.

The court will consider: (1) Is the transfer genuinely required, or do you have the option to stay in your current location? (2) Is this a legitimate career advancement, or does it look like you’re trying to flee? (3) How serious are the charges against you? (4) What’s your compliance history?

If the transfer is to another location within the same state or a neighboring state, it’s more likely to be approved. If it’s across the country or out of the country, it’s much harder. The court will want assurances that you can be monitored in the new location (transfer of your case to pretrial services in the new district) and that you’ll continue to appear for court dates (which might now require you to fly back to the original district).

International defendants: If you’re not a U.S. citizen and you’re charged with a federal crime in the United States, the court will almost never allow you to leave the country pending trial. The risk of flight is simply too high – once you’re back in your home country, extradition is difficult and uncertain.

In rare cases, courts have allowed international defendants to return home for brief periods (family emergency, critical business matters), but only with extraordinary safeguards: surrender of all travel documents, posting of significant additional bond, third-party custodian in the home country who reports back to U.S. pretrial services, etc. Don’t expect this to be approved without overwhelming justification.

Jurisdictional conflicts: Sometimes defendants have cases in multiple federal districts, or they have both federal and state cases. If you’re on pretrial release in the Northern District of California (restricted to that district) and you get charged with a new crime in the Southern District of California, you’ve got a jurisdictional problem.

The solution usually involves coordinating between the two districts so that your conditions are modified to allow you to appear in both places. Your attorney should file motions in both districts explaining the situation. This is complex and requires careful coordination. Don’t try to handle it yourself.

Moving Forward With Travel Restrictions

If you’ve read this far, you now know more about federal travel restrictions than most people ever will – probably more than you wanted to know. But knowledge is power, especially when your freedom is at stake.

Here’s what you need to remember: travel restrictions are temporary. If you’re on pretrial release, they last until your case is resolved (dismissal, acquittal, or sentencing). If you’re on supervised release, they last until your term of supervision ends. This isn’t forever, even if it feels that way right now.

Most people successfully navigate travel restrictions without major problems. They learn the boundaries, they comply with the conditions, they get modifications when they genuinely need them, and they move on with their lives. A few make mistakes – usually early on before they fully understand the system. Very few people have their release revoked for violations, and those who do usually had multiple violations or egregious circumstances.

Key takeaways:

• Understand exactly what type of travel restriction you have – pretrial release, immigration ban, supervised release, or passport hold
• Know your geographic boundaries precisely – get a map, don’t guess
• If you need to travel, start the modification process early (45-60 days in advance for planned travel)
• Document everything – your compliance, your location, your reasons for travel
• Communicate with your attorney proactively about travel issues
• Never violate your restrictions without authorization, no matter how good your reason seems
• If you do violate, contact your attorney immediately and be prepared for a detention hearing

Immediate next steps:

1. If you haven’t already, ask your attorney for a clear explanation of your specific restrictions and a map of your boundaries
2. Review your pretrial services reporting requirements and make sure you understand them
3. If you have a GPS monitor, learn how to care for it properly and what to do if it malfunctions
4. Think ahead about whether you’ll need to travel in the coming months, and start the modification process now if so
5. Create a system for documenting your compliance – a log, saved receipts, whatever works for you

You can get through this. Thousands of people in similar situations have done it successfully. The key is understanding the system, following the rules, and asking for help when you need it. Good luck.