Could Joe Giudice Move To Canada Instead Of Being Deported To Italy? – Immigration Attorney Explains

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Joe Giudice was released from a low security correctional facility in Allenwood, PA on Mar. 14 after serving nearly three years for bankruptcy fraud and conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. As the 46-year-old sits in the custody of ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) while waiting for a decision on his appeal in response to his deportation order, Joe is exploring all of his options. A source close to the Real Housewives of New Jersey star EXCLUSIVELY spoke with HollywoodLife and explained, “Joe is exploring all his options in the event he does get deported, including moving to Canada. He is looking into it seriously. He cannot imagine being far away from his daughters.”

Joe and his wife, Teresa Giudice, 46, share four daughters — Gia, 18, Gabriella, 15, Milania, 14, and Audriana, 10. Although Teresa has vowed to separate from Joe if he’s forced to leave the U.S. permanently, her husband of nearly 30 years is fighting to stay as close as he can to his family. However, immigration attorney Edward Shulman, Esq. EXCLUSIVELY told us “that’s not going to happen” unless Canada is “willing to accept him and he has some ties” to the country. “If Joe had citizenship in Canada as well as Italy or if he had permanent residency in Canada and Canada is willing to accept him then it’s not a problem,” Shulman said. “But if he has no ties to Canada, that’s not going to happen.”

“Joe can visit anywhere he wants in the world as long as the place he wants to go is willing to accept him,” Shulman clarified. And as far as Joe visiting Canada and applying to stay as a resident, he said, “If he had citizenship in Canada, or if he had permanent residency in Canada then it’s not a problem. But if he has no ties to Canada then that’s not going to happen.” Even if the Bravo network offered the father-of-four his own spin-off show in Canada, Shulman explained, “Joe would probably be deported to Italy and then he would request a visa or some mechanism to allow him to be able to enter Canada, and then Canada would have to accept him. If Canada doesn’t accept Joe, then it’s a no-go.”

Meanwhile, this decision may take “many more months”, the attorney explained. “The immigration judge never reviewed the merits of Joe’s case and stopped everything before any testimony was even taken. This was done because the judge said that Joe did not qualify for the release sought because he deemed Joe’s crime an aggravated felony. Basically, that’s an immigration definition of a bad crime.” Now, Joe and his lawyers are appealing to the Board of Immigration Appeals that it’s not an aggravated felony, and to ask the judge to please hear his case. “If Joe’s appeal is granted, and it’s ruled that his crime is not an aggravated felony, Joe could be out of ICE detention in roughly five months, approximately. However, if the judge says in their discretion that Joe is ordered to be deported, then Joe could appeal that decision. That would then go back to the Board of Immigration Appeals and it could be many more months that he would stay detained.”