Padilla Update

The Minnesota Court of Appeals recently held foreign nationals with criminal convictions who were not advised about the immigration consequences of their convictions may ask the criminal court to reopen their conviction, even for convictions PRIOR to last year’s important U.S. Supreme Court decision in Padilla v. Kentucky. This is important because it will allow immigrants who had criminal convictions from earlier than 2010 to go back to criminal court to ask the judge to change their sentence. As many immigrant defendants unfortunately learn too late, a gross misdemeanor sentence of 364 days instead of 365 can make the difference between remaining in the U.S. and being permanently deported. By reducing a sentence, individuals may become eligible for citizenship, legal permanent resident status or relief from removal (deportation). Please contact our office if you’d like to know more about how this decision or criminal consequences in general may impact your immigration status.