Understanding Your Options for Immigration Bail Bonds
There are more than 15,000 bail bond agents in the United States. They are the type of professionals you hopefully never need, but will be glad that you had them when you find yourself in a pinch.
With the world such a globalized place, many bail bond agents also provide immigration bonds. Understanding your options for these bonds will help you shop around should you ever need one.
Keep reading to learn more about immigration bail bonds and the options that you have.
What Are Immigration Bail Bonds?
Make sure that you learn all about immigration bonds so you can explore your options. An immigration bond is a type of bail bond issued to a non-citizen. Like traditional bail bonds, the money paid is to assure that the person arrested or charged shows up to their court date.
These bonds allow a person to be released from behind bars as they await their trial or court hearings.
Study the Current Immigration Laws
Before anything, make sure that you are up-to-date on immigration laws and that you are being treated fairly.
This includes things like knowing how long you can legally be held at an immigration detention center. Non-citizens have rights to retain legal aide and to secure bail bonds, just like a citizen would have those same rights.
Once you are arrested for an offense, your case will be transferred to an immigration department once it’s established that you’re not a citizen. From there, you might choose to seek an immigration bond that will help guarantee your release.
Get to know as much as you can about immigration bonds so that you get the desired outcomes.
Learn About the Different Types of Bail Bonds
If you’re going to shop around for immigration bonds, it pays to first and foremost get to know the different types of bail bonds that are available. This way, you will know how the process is handled and can then decide how you’d like to proceed.
It’s particularly important to understand the different types of immigration bonds since you aren’t in your home country and will be subject to a different set of rules. Each type of bond comes with stipulations that you need to understand and uphold before signing and securing it.
Here are some of your options:
Delivery Bonds
In terms of immigration bail bonds, the delivery bond is the type most commonly used by the United States Department of Homeland Security. It’s a type of bond that is issued whenever a person is found to be staying in the United States illegally.
With this type of bond you will need a person to sign the agreement to personally guarantee that you will show up to your court hearings. It’s important that you honor this bond and show up for court since your guarantor is putting money on the line for you that they can’t get back unless you honor all commitments through the completion of your case.
Voluntary Departure Bonds
This is a type of bond issued when you come up with an agreed upon date to leave the country. Once you sign an agreement, you will be released from custody and allowed to live in the country up until the voluntary departure date.
Like delivery bonds, this sort of bond also requires someone to sign on your behalf. They must ensure that you leave by the date or they will forfeit any of the money that they paid upfront. The person that signs for you will also be required to show evidence within 30 days of the date that you have left.
This might include a plane ticket or boarding pass. Otherwise, the full bail bond cost will be due and the responsibility of your guarantor.
Order of Supervision Bonds
With an order of supervision bond, a person has already been given a final removal order. Prior that order being executed, the non-citizen might be given some freedom to live in the country in the interim.
Rather than remaining in custody, they can live as they please as long as they check in with the immigration office at an agreed-upon time or frequency.
The person that signs on for your bond will also be responsible if it is found that you didn’t leave on the removal date. Receiving a removal order is one of the more severe situations, as people are typically barred from re-entering the United States for a decade after receiving one of these orders.
Public Charge Bonds
With a public charge bond, a non-citizen is allowed to enter the United States under the agreement that they don’t apply for or receive any form of public assistance. A co-signer will witness this bond and sign to it.
If it is found that you do sign up for public assistance, your co-signer could be required to pay the difference back to the government agency that issued it. The bond that they pay upfront will be used to cover the costs in lieu of the co-signer coming up with the money.
Find a Bail Bond Company
Since you can now understand the importance of immigration bonds and the different types available, you should act quickly to get whichever one you need. This is a matter of freedom for many people, and can make your time on United States soil as fruitful and pain-free as possible.
Your next step is to find a company that issues immigration bonds of all types. Here’s what you need to know about going through the process.
Recognize Your Charges and Circumstances
It is up to you to understand what jurisdiction is holding you and on what grounds. This will allow you to make the necessary calls and to take advantage of your rights.
Ask for language assistance if you need it so that you can advocate for yourself without dealing with language barriers. You’ll need to be able to forward the correct information to your bail bond company so that they can communicate on your behalf and secure your release.
Find a Company That Is Professional and Proven
With large sums of money and guarantees being made, make sure that you find the right company to handle it. Your bail bond agent should be licensed, insured, and bonded so that your claim is legitimate and so that you are able to get your release.
Look up the company to verify their license and to make sure that you aren’t taken by a scam. Any immigration bond company that you look up should have some verifiable reviews that you can check on to know that they are an authentic and legitimate business.
Know How the Process Works
After you are detained by an agency, you will be given the opportunity to call someone that can help you out. This might be a relative overseas that can speak on your behalf and guarantee your bond. If you have relatives in the United States, you can also call them so that they can assist you with getting the bond and your release.
In many cases, a bond hearing will be held to name the price and terms of your bond. The judge could put stipulations that require you to stay at a specific address for your residence, and the price will be determined based on your flight risk, employment, ability to repay the bond, reason for being in the country, and other factors.
You will fare better if you don’t have a history of immigration violations or any other criminal infractions.
Shop Around for the Best Prices
When you shop around for immigration bonds, make sure that you’re also clear on how much it’ll cost. This includes knowing how much money must be paid upfront to secure the bond and how much the total amount is worth.
You might expect to pay a premium of about 2% for full cash immigration bonds. Every company has its different rates, so ask upfront and make sure to get the rate in writing so that you are prepared.
Most importantly, make sure that you are prepared to honor the bond completely so that no one has to forfeit any money that they can’t get back on your behalf.
Learning All About Immigration Bail Bonds
These tips are helpful when you’re looking into immigration bail bonds. Take some time to shop with an immigration bond agent that is professional and fast.
Amistad Bail and Immigration Bonds can help you. Use our site to search for an agent that can assist you with your bail bond needs.