Business Immigration Attorney Robert Nadalin was driving to his San Diego office recently when he passed an immigration checkpoint staffed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Road checkpoints in Southern California have traditionally been run by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), so it stood out.
His takeaway was not alarm. It was awareness. Stay calm, stay informed, and be ready.
For years, employer readiness in immigration meant Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. That still matters. But Robert’s view is that being ready now goes deeper. It reaches into road checkpoints, airport gates, federal court, and immigration court.
The encouraging part: preparation is practical, and HR and Legal Ops teams are well placed to lead it. Here is a plain-language walk through what to know, what to ask, and what to put in place.
Checkpoints: Road and Airport Gate
Road checkpoints. Whether staffed by CBP or ICE, the basics are the same. If your team wants to share general awareness with employees, these are the points Robert covers:
- Slow down and keep your hands visible.
- Do not flee.
- If an officer wants to speak with you, it is reasonable to ask, “Am I free to leave?” Often the answer is yes after a few questions.
- Be truthful, and never present false documents. Stress can lead people to say things that are not accurate, which can make a situation harder than staying silent.
- Individuals generally can ask to speak with an attorney before answering questions. A calm line such as “I am happy to speak with you after I talk with my attorney” keeps things simple.
Airport gates. This one is newer. In some cases, individuals with an expired visa status, or a process that is pending and not yet resolved, have been met by ICE agents at the aircraft gate on arrival. That is not always before boarding.
Robert described a recent consultation that shows why this matters. An individual arrived on a domestic flight, far from home, far from work, and far from any support network, and was met at the gate. That is a difficult place to start a legal conversation.
Does that mean employees cannot travel? No. Travel remains a normal part of doing business. But where a status has expired, a request was denied, or something is still being resolved, a conversation with counsel before the trip can help clarify the options.
If an encounter does escalate, the firm’s general guidance is to avoid physical resistance, identify the agency involved, preserve objections, avoid signing any document before speaking with your own attorney, and contact counsel right away.
Stay ahead on immigration updates: join our newsletter →
When a Case Gets Stuck or Denied: Federal Court
Most cases never come near a federal courthouse. For the ones that do, two tools come up most often.
Mandamus. This is a request asking a federal judge to order an agency to move a stuck case forward. The agency can still approve or deny. What it cannot do is leave a matter sitting on the shelf indefinitely. Courts have recently addressed cases placed on hold, with judges telling the agency to reach a decision. Whether the answer is yes or no, people’s lives need to move forward.
Administrative Procedure Act (APA) actions. If a case is denied, the person can appeal, including through the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO). A separate path is an APA action in federal court. These are generally used when a decision may be arbitrary or capricious, contrary to law, or beyond what the statute allows.
For HR, you do not need to master the procedure. It helps to know these options exist, so a stalled or denied case for a key employee prompts a call to counsel early rather than late.
Immigration Court: What a Notice to Appear Means
Immigration court proceedings, often called removal proceedings (what many people still call deportation), begin with a Notice to Appear (NTA). Once an NTA is filed, the court generally has jurisdiction over the matter and the case moves forward there, unless it is dismissed, closed, or sent back to an agency.
Two points worth knowing:
- A denial can lead to an NTA. An NTA may follow a denial by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) of an application or petition, including situations involving government error.
- Other allegations can too. These may include controlled substance offenses, domestic violence allegations, or other grounds of removability. Note that some conduct that is legal under state law, such as marijuana use, may still be prohibited under federal law.
Here is the part many teams miss. Matters that agencies once worked through administratively may now be handled more formally. So an NTA is not automatically a clerical mistake. A status still being sorted out, or a denied case, may be enough. Counsel can help your team read the document and map the options.
Why Thinking Two or Three Steps Ahead Matters Now
Many people treat a routine filing as simple: complete the form, file it, and if something is missing, the government will write back.
Recent agency guidance suggests officers may decide more cases on what is filed, with fewer follow-up requests for evidence. That puts more weight on a well-prepared filing from the start.
It also changes the planning question. Instead of one move at a time, it can help to ask early:
- What if the case is denied?
- What if we need to go to federal court?
- What if the matter ends up in immigration court?
There is no one-size-fits-all answer. But these questions are easier to answer before a case gets complicated than after.
Choosing Counsel for the Whole Road
Those same questions shape how your team evaluates counsel. A few worth asking:
- Does the attorney offer hourly billing when appropriate? A flat fee is predictable, and that is a real benefit. If a case becomes complicated, though, it is worth knowing whether the extra work falls within the scope of services and whether the attorney has the bandwidth to give the case its best chance. Sometimes a flat fee is not the best fit.
- Does the attorney have experience in immigration court?
- Has the attorney handled cases similar to yours?
Experience also tends to be specialized. An attorney with deep removal defense experience may handle fewer employment-based (EB) cases. An attorney with deep EB experience may only occasionally appear in immigration court. Depending on what is listed on an NTA, a matter may call for someone who can explain complex EB law to a judge, or for someone with deep removal defense experience, even when the turn in the case was a surprise.
A Practical Readiness Checklist for HR and Legal Ops
- Confirm who your immigration counsel is. Make their contact details easy for employees and managers to find.
- Share calm, general awareness. Consider a short employee note covering checkpoint basics. Review the wording with counsel first, and keep it informational rather than advisory.
- Add a pre-travel check-in. Invite employees with an expired, denied, pending, or unresolved matter to speak with counsel before booking. Keep it supportive. HR does not need to evaluate status.
- Keep travel documents easy to retrieve. Employment verification letters and key case documents can save time at the border or the airport.
- Keep Form I-9 practices current. It remains the foundation of employer readiness.
- Flag delayed, denied, or unusual cases early. Counsel can review options, including what to do if a case is stuck.
- Ask about scope before a case gets complicated. Learn how counsel handles federal court, immigration court, and billing if a matter escalates.
- Know who to call if an NTA arrives. Identify counsel with removal defense experience, or a referral path, before it is needed.
- Protect confidentiality. Share case details only with those who need them.
Where Nadalin OnCall+ Fits
Some questions do not fit the standard process. An employee with an unresolved status wants to travel. A case has stalled with no clear explanation. A Notice to Appear arrives and your team is not sure what it means or who should read it.
Nadalin OnCall+ is designed for those moments. It gives your team and your employees direct access to experienced immigration counsel for time-sensitive or complex questions, with the context, judgment, and follow-through a standard case status update cannot offer.
Key Takeaways
- Employer readiness now reaches beyond Form I-9 to checkpoints, airport gates, federal court, and immigration court.
- Road checkpoints may be staffed by CBP or ICE. Calm, truthful, and informed is the consistent theme.
- Employees with expired, denied, or unresolved matters may want to speak with counsel before they travel.
- Mandamus and APA actions are federal court tools for stuck or denied cases. An NTA starts immigration court proceedings.
- Choosing counsel includes asking about court experience, billing flexibility, and what happens if a case becomes complicated.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this mean employees should avoid traveling? No. Travel is a normal part of business. Employees with an expired status, a denial, or a pending process still being resolved may want to talk with counsel before booking, so the options are clear before they leave.
What should an employee do if detained? The firm’s general guidance is to avoid physical resistance, identify the agency involved, preserve objections, avoid signing documents before speaking with a personal attorney, and request counsel immediately. Specific facts matter, so direct legal advice from an attorney is important.
What is the difference between mandamus and an APA action? Mandamus asks a federal judge to order an agency to act on a case that is stuck. The agency can still approve or deny. An APA action challenges a decision, for example when it may be arbitrary or capricious, contrary to law, or beyond the agency’s authority.
Can a denied case lead to immigration court? It can. An NTA may follow a USCIS denial of an application or petition, including situations involving government error. Whether that happens depends on the facts, which is why early counsel review of a denial is valuable.
How should we think about flat fees versus hourly billing? Both can make sense. A flat fee is predictable. If a matter becomes complex, it is worth asking early whether that work is within scope and whether the attorney has the bandwidth to handle it. Hourly billing may be the better fit in some situations.
Ready to build your team’s readiness plan? Contact Nadalin Law to talk through checkpoints, travel planning, and court readiness, or ask about Nadalin OnCall+ for direct access to counsel.
Planning year-end international travel for foreign workers? Download the Holiday Travel Checklist
This article is general information, not legal advice. Every situation depends on its facts.
