What to do before an appointment in the Immigration Court 2023

Many people wonder what they should do that day and what will happen in the immigration court, usually you will receive an appointment with your court date and the time you must appear.

This appointment almost always arrives well in advance so don’t worry about it, the important thing is to be patient, and to know exactly the place, date and time indicated.

All that remains is to wait for that first day of immigration court, surely many people like you have never been to court and do not know what it looks like or what is going to happen that day, who is going to receive them, how they are going to be treated, so Don’t worry, the important thing here is not to feel nervous, just try to feel confident and positive that everything is going to work out for them.

What should you bring to your first immigration court date?

Bring your court date and the documents that you were given at the border if you do not have a document called a Notice to Appear’ (NTA) better known as an appearance sheet, ask the judge to give you a copy of that document, as it is an essential document and if you intend to hire an immigration lawyer, the lawyer will need that document

So if you don’t have it before you go to your first court, ask for that document because it is necessary for your case.

These documents are very important and you should always keep them in a special place so that they are not lost or damaged. Remember that any legal process must always go hand in hand with documentation in order to formalize your case.

Recommendations for your first appointment in immigration court

Some recommendations for you are the following:

To be on time

Arrive 30 minutes early to avoid being delayed by traffic, because due to a delay you may not be able to find parking, there may also be some type of construction near the court area that prevents you from arriving on time, we always recommend our customers who are scheduled to arrive 30 minutes before, that is, if the appointment is at 9 in the morning, schedule yourself that you will be there at 8:30 in the morning, if the appointment is at 10 in the morning, schedule yourself at that you will be there at half past 9 in the morning

If possible, if you live in the same city, try to go beforehand and drive around the area and familiarize yourself with the place, so you know where you can park, where and how to get into the building and all that stuff.

Sometimes people live hours away from where the immigration court is, but if you have the possibility to go to the court before and know where the building is, it would be ideal.

Bring cash

I recommend you bring money for the parking lot. It has happened to me a lot when I have gone to court and I have had to park and then I don’t have cash to pay for the parking lot. Many offices and many parking lots only accept cash, so I recommend bringing 20 dollars or 40 dollars

They can also choose to look for a parking lot that is a little further away where they do not have to pay, many immigration courts do not charge for parking; but others do and that is why it is important to familiarize yourself with the different locations.

Go to court well dressed

A very important point is that they should be well dressed, ladies should wear blouses preferably long-sleeved blouses covering up to the sleeve, any long-sleeved blouse of any color should suffice

Try not to wear jeans or wear some kind of shorts, a recommendation is if you have any of these black or beige pants that are normally used to work in offices, take them.

We always tell our clients to imagine that they are going to church, what clothes you would wear to church and that is the ideal clothes, it has to be formal clothes and closed shoes, especially for ladies, do not wear sandals, Do not wear tennis shoes, wear a closed and low heel preferably.

It’s the same for men, wear a shirt, not wear jeans, but pants, they don’t have to wear jackets; Although we recommend that, for your last cut, if you are going to have the last cut, you should use a jacket, but the first court can go without a jacket, a shirt, pants, a belt and closed shoes, it is more than enough.

That is our recommendation, you don’t have to spend a lot of money, you can find these clothes in rose, or in other stores like that, but the idea is to go formal and well dressed.

Obviously, well-groomed and all those things, take into account that this is the impression that you give the judge, it is the impression that he will have for the rest of your case, so it is very important, even if you don’t think it will go well prepared.