HELENA — For nearly three decades, Missoula-based immigration attorney Randall Caudle has helped clients navigate the often-complicated path to legal residency and citizenship in the United States.
Caudle, who runs River Mountain Immigration, talked with MTN’s Jessica Nelson to shed light on the process, especially for Mexican nationals, and to offer insight into how immigration enforcement and policy play out in rural states like Montana.
Full interview with Randall Caudle:
Caudle says the path to citizenship is rarely straightforward. “There is no legal pathway for 95% of immigrants that want to come here,” he said. “It’s not like back during the Ellis Island days when people could just get on a boat and show up at Ellis Island and immigrate here.”
He added that Montana’s immigration office is among the most efficient in the country. “Most cases are getting to interview there in like six months, maybe sometimes less, sometimes a little more, but they are quick. If you are in San Francisco, you are probably going to be waiting a year and a half.”
He noted delays and denials are often caused by incomplete documentation, misunderstandings about eligibility, and lengthy government backlogs. Caudle says financial costs can also be a hurdle, with fees starting at $2,200 just to apply for a green card.
He added if an individual has entered the U.S. illegally once before and been removed, they are subject to a 10-year ban. If they reenter unlawfully a second time, they face a permanent bar from legal status. “Realistically, if you are deported, you are probably never going to be able to get any legal status in the U.S.,” he said.
Caudle also pointed to lesser-known issues that can derail an application. “Minor criminal issues are problematic for immigration,” he said. “At the beginning of this year, the first bill that Trump signed was a bill making shoplifting basically a major issue, you know, preventing you from immigration benefits.”
He also noted, “In Montana, I had to warn clients about smoking pot and hunting because even though smoking pot is legal in 36 states, it is still a federal crime and it still prevents you from getting any immigration benefits. Hunting, you may get a ticket for a hunting violation and you just pay the ticket and think, ‘Oh, that’s no big deal.’ Well, it is a firearms violation, which is also majorly problematic for immigration purposes."
