Theresa Guidice’s Husband Giuseppe “Joe” Guidice may be deported from the U.S. following his conviction for bank fraud.

I last wrote about this back in August 2013 following the indictment (criminal prosecution) of Joe Guidice and his wife Theresa Guidice. At that time, they had only been indicted.

What has changed? Since then, a plea of guilty took place for various charges. Most recently, a federal Judge in Newark sentenced Theresa Guidice to 15 months and Joe Guidice to 41 months.

Will Joe Guidice and Theresa Guidice be able to move on with their lives after the completion of their prison sentence and payment of fines and restitution? Joe Guidice may have many more problems brewing.

Unfortunately for Joe Guidice, he may be deported back to Italy due to his conviction, despite being a long time permanent resident (“Green Card” Holder) and despite being married to a U.S. Citizen and having US Citizen daughters. Seems somewhat unfair some may say. . . . Aren’t we supposed to give someone a second chance and attempt to rehabilitate? Unfortunately, Immigration laws are not so forgiving. It’s very possible that Joe Guidice may not get released from prison even after the completion of his sentence. Instead, he can be served with a Notice to Appear in Immigration Court by DHS (Department of Homeland Security) where DHS may seek his deportation (removal) to Italy. This usually takes the form of the prison being served with a Detainer which basically informs the facility that DHS will be picking him and putting him in immigration detention.

If DHS decides to put him in removal proceedings, he will likely face removal charges that include DHS alleging that he was convicted of an aggravated felony (the bank fraud conviction). Unfortunately for him, the relief available to him if he is charged with being convicted of an aggravated felony will be extremely limited, especially considering he is from an EU country – Italy.

I think it is prudent for individuals like Joe Guidice to have immigration lawyers work in cooperation with their criminal defense attorneys very early on to attempt to minimize immigration consequences.

I certainly wish the Guidice family the best of luck!!