A Notice to Obligor to Deliver Alien (Form I-340) is an order directing an individual (Obligor) that had posted an immigration bond on behalf of an immigrant alien to bring him or her before an immigration court or an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer.

Generally, if the obligor fails to comply with the conditions set forth in the I-340 notice, the bond will be forfeited. However, in some instances, the obligor may be able to contest a finding of bond’s forfeiture and obtain an immigration bond refund.

A Notice to Obligor to Deliver Alien is usually issued in conjunction of service of a Notice to Appear, execution of a deportation order, or a status interview by an ICE officer. Instead, a Notice to Obligor to Deliver Alien for interview is generally less serious, since it involves a status update and a background check.

If you or a loved one received an I-340 Notice, it is crucial that you contact an experienced deportation defense lawyer as soon as possible. Depending on the cases, during an I-340 status interview an alien may be held in custody by immigration authorities, have his or her bond revoked, or be immediately sent back to his or her country.

How to Recover Your Immigration Bond

If you have a family member, or any other person detained by the Department of Homeland Security, you may get the person released on the immigration bond. An immigration bond, also known, ICE Form I-352, is a kind of surety bond used by another person to secure the release of a person living unlawfully within the United States from the custody of DHS.

An immigration bond is known as a federal civil bond.

The detained alien can get out of detention while the immigration case is being decided by a judge. The immigration bond helps guarantee that the person released from detention will show up for court hearings and reports to immigration officials. It is very similar to the bond of an insurance contract. A surety company, an entity, or individual who deposits United States bonds, notes, or cash may execute the bond as surety. In an insurance contract, there are two parties: the insurer and insured. A surety bond is issued by one party (the obligor) who guarantees the performance of the conditions of the bond. The bond is a promise to pay another party (the obligee) a certain amount if a third party (the principal) fails to meet some obligation. The bond’s guaranty is secured by the amount of the bond. The surety bond protects the obligee against losses resulting from the principal’s failure to meet the obligation.

New York Immigration Attorney

In the case of an immigration bond, the surety is the obligor, the detained bonded alien is the principal, and the DHS is the obligee and beneficiary of all bonds it authorizes. The obligor can be any person with lawful, legal status in the U.S. or a third party commonly referred to as bondsman.There are three types of immigration bond, available to illegal aliens in ICE custody:

  1. Delivery Bond: the detainee must receive an arrest warrant as well as a notice of custody conditions from ICE to be released on a delivery bond. The delivery bond allows the person to spend time with his or her family, as well as consult with an immigration lawyer leading up to a court hearing;
  2. Public Safety Bond: it is used to ensure that if a bonded alien accepts any form of public assistance, the government is reimbursed. The alien shall not become a public charge;
  3. Order of Supervision Bond: for an alien with a deportation order, but supervised while he or she is obtaining the passport and other documentation for children and/or family before going back to the home country;
  4. Voluntary Departure Bond: detainees are given the option to voluntarily leave the country at their own expense, if the judge allows the detainee to voluntarily leave the U.S. by a specified time period.

A delivery bond is the most common of the bond classes and is ultimately used as a tool to ensure that if an alien is ordered deported, he or she complies with that order.Immigration bonds vary in amount based on the alien’s immigration status, criminal history, and family ties in the U.S.If the bond is made directly with ICE it must be paid 100% in a cash equivalent, such as by cashier’s check. Personal checks are not accepted. The bond sum generally varies from $1,500 to up to $25,000. There is no maximum amount that can be established for it. The higher the flight risk, the higher the bond amount.

After the Immigration Case Has Been Resolved

Once the immigration case has been almost entirely resolved, the person who posted the immigration bond (obligor) can get the bond amount returned. Only the person who posted the bond may get the money back.ICE may cancel the bond only when the alien is in some kind of lawful status or departs the country. The departure bond, if paid in full to ICE, is refundable once the person has left the country, but will be forfeited if the person fails to leave.To be entitled to a refund, the person who posted the immigration bond, must take some required steps. The person needs to keep all original receipts for the posted money and should call the ICE Enforcement of Removal Operations (ERO) office, advise of the alien’s actual legal status, and ask if the bond can be cancelled.

What If the Immigration Bond Is Cancelled?

When an immigration bond is cancelled, the ERO notifies the Debt Management Center and the obligor of the bond cancellation via a Form I-391 (Notice Immigration Bond Cancelled Form). The Debt Management Center then sends a notice of the immigration bond’s cancellation to the obligor.If the case has been concluded, ICE will typically mail this document to the address listed for the obligor on the I-352 bond contract. It can take several months until Form I-391 is received in the mail but if the obligor did not receive it, it is possible that:

  1. The case has not been concluded; or
  2. ICE failed to cancel the bond upon termination of the case; or
  3. ICE canceled the bond but an I-391 copy was never sent to the obligor.

Upon receipt of Form I-391, the obligor must submit the form and the original Receipt of DHS Official US Cash Accepted as Security, Form I-305 (Original Bond Receipt). If the obligor does not have the original I-305 or only have a copy, a completed Form I-395 (Affidavit in Lieu of Lost Receipt of U.S. ICE for Collateral Accepted as Security) has to be submitted. The obligor also has to submit the copy of the bond contract, form I-352.Once the required forms have been received and examined by the Debt Management Center, the obligor will receive a refund of the principal bond amount. It can take several more months until the money is returned to the individual who posted the bond.The outcome of the case, whether the alien is granted to stay in the U.S. or has been removed from the country, does not matter for a bond refund. If a cash bond is breached, ICE notifies the obligor through a Form I-323 (Notice Immigration Bond Breached). ICE is permitted to retain the principal amount from breached bonds. Nevertheless, the obligor is permitted to receive a payment of accrued interest.The condition for a refund for immigration bonds is that the alien has attended all scheduled immigration court hearings and notified ICE, of any change of address. If the alien failed to do so, the bond money is forfeited and kept by the government.

Get in Touch with a Knowledgeable Immigration Lawyer

If you have acted as an obligor and you want to recover your immigration bond, you should look for the assistance of an immigration attorney.