Immigration · Tampa
Tampa immigration lawyer
There is no immigration court in Tampa, and your Notice to Appear is the only thing that says which one has your case
Jose A. Dapena handles immigration from the Tampa office on North Habana Avenue. Removal defense and bond, asylum, U and T visas, VAWA, waivers, family petitions, adjustment of status, citizenship, DACA and TPS. The consultation is with the attorney who would appear.
- Tampa office
- 4231 N Habana Avenue
Tampa, FL 33607 - Phone
- (813) 930-5422
- Hours
- Monday to Friday
08:00–18:00 - Who handles it
- Jose A. Dapena
Florida Bar 152358
Florida has three immigration courts and none of them is in Tampa. They are in Miami, at Krome, and in Orlando. A Tampa-area case is very often controlled by the Orlando court — but not always, and the thing that decides it is not where you live.
The Executive Office for Immigration Review assigns a case by the DHS office that issued the charging document. That is why the only reliable answer to "which court is my case in" is the one printed on the Notice to Appear. The law behind all of it is on the Florida immigration page.
01 Handled from this office
Immigration matters handled from Tampa
Each one has its own page, with the Florida statutes and what actually decides the case.
- Deportation and removal defenseThe government started this case, which means the deadlines are the government’s and not yours
- Immigration bondWhether bond is even available is decided before anyone argues about the amount
- AsylumOne year from your last arrival, and the exceptions are narrower than people hope
- U visas and T visasStatus built on having been a victim, and on having helped
- VAWA self-petitionsThe petition the abuser does not sign, is not told about, and cannot stop
- Waivers of inadmissibilityA US citizen child does not count, and that single fact changes most of these cases
- Family petitionsTwo categories, and only one of them has a line to stand in
- Adjustment of statusGetting the green card without leaving, and the entry question that decides who can
- Consular processingThe route for people who cannot finish the case here, and the question to settle before booking anything
- Citizenship and naturalizationThe civics test changed, and most of what is published still describes the old one
- DACARenewals still work. First-time requests are a different conversation.
- Temporary Protected StatusFor most people reading this, the designation has already ended
- Marriage and fiancé visasMarry first or marry after, and the ninety-day rule that is not negotiable
- Work permitsThere is no application for a work permit by itself, and that is the thing most people are not told
- Green card renewalThe card expires. Your residence does not — but three things can still go wrong
02 Where a Tampa-area immigration case is heard
Orlando Immigration Court
500 North Orange Avenue, Suite 1100, Orlando, FL 32801
This is the court that controls charging documents issued by the Orlando DHS sub-office, and it is where a great many Tampa-area cases are heard. It is about ninety minutes from Tampa, which makes a hearing a day rather than a morning, and that is worth knowing when arranging work and childcare around it.
It is not automatic. Some Tampa-area cases are controlled by the Miami court instead, and a detained case is controlled by the court for the facility where the person is held — which for someone picked up in Hillsborough can mean Krome in Miami-Dade, four hours away. Transfers between facilities happen with little notice and can change the court.
So read the Notice to Appear. It names the court. An address in Tampa does not, and a family that assumes Orlando because everyone says Orlando can miss a hearing in a different building. The court’s automated case information system confirms the next hearing date from an A-number.
Everything filed with USCIS — petitions, adjustment applications, naturalization — runs on its own geography and has nothing to do with which immigration court controls a removal case. The two are separate systems and people routinely conflate them.
03 How it starts
- The consultationAt the Tampa office on North Habana Avenue, just off Dale Mabry. By phone where someone is detained and time matters. It is with Jose A. Dapena, who is admitted throughout Florida and appears wherever the case is controlled.
- What to bringAny charging document, any notice from the immigration court or USCIS, every receipt notice, any prior filing including ones that were denied, and everything from any criminal case in any state, open or closed. Incomplete is better than nothing.
- The datesWhen you last entered and how, how long you have been here without a break, and when anything was filed before. More immigration outcomes turn on dates than on anything else.
- What it costsImmigration matters are billed hourly, unlike the injury side of this office. Government filing fees are separate. Payment plans are available, and the rate is stated before anything is signed.
What people ask in Tampa
Why is my hearing in Orlando?
Because there is no immigration court in Tampa, and your case is controlled by the court that covers the DHS office which issued your charging document — for many Tampa-area cases that is the Orlando sub-office. It is about ninety minutes each way, so plan the day rather than the morning.
My relative was detained in Hillsborough. Where are they?
Find the A-number and use the ICE detainee locator. Someone picked up in the Tampa area can be held well outside it, including at Krome in Miami-Dade, and the court follows the facility rather than the county of arrest. Transfers happen with little notice, which is an argument for moving quickly.
Do I have to travel to Orlando for everything?
No. Filings with USCIS — petitions, adjustment, naturalization — run on their own geography and are not affected by which immigration court controls a removal case. What requires appearing in Orlando are the court hearings themselves, and some are set by video.
Can you appear for me there?
Yes. Jose A. Dapena is admitted throughout Florida and appears wherever the case is controlled, including Orlando, Miami and Krome. Which office you walk into does not decide where your case is heard.
My TPS ended. What now?
The question stops being how to re-register and becomes what else you qualify for — a family petition, asylum if the one-year deadline is still open, withholding if it is not, a U visa, VAWA. None of it is automatic, but the number of people with no option at all is smaller than the number who believe they have none.
Does a criminal case here affect it?
Substantially, and the consequences attach when a plea is entered rather than when a sentence is served. A Hillsborough disposition that looks minor in state court can be removable or can bar relief. This office handles both, which is why they can be read together before anything is signed.
Consultations and attorney’s fees are billed hourly. Government filing fees and other third-party expenses are separate. Payment plans are available.
Talk to Jose A. Dapena about a Tampa immigration case
The Tampa office is on North Habana Avenue. If someone is detained, call rather than wait for an appointment.
Consultations and attorney’s fees are billed hourly. Government filing fees and other third-party expenses are separate. Payment plans are available.