Your phone rings and it is not your son’s voice. A stranger tells you he has been taken into custody in a country you have never visited, in a language you do not speak, and no one can tell you when you will hear from him again.
Jeffrey S. Weiner has practiced criminal law since 1974 and has personally guided American families through arrests in countries stretching from Singapore to Venezuela, working directly with the State Department and licensed local counsel on the ground. A former president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, he has spent five decades building the relationships it takes to reach someone, confirm what is happening, and start moving your family member toward home.
Contact our defense lawyers for U.S. citizens arrested abroad and tell us what you know so far. We will tell you what happens next.
An arrest overseas rarely looks like the arrests you have seen on American television, and the situations we handle reflect that. Because foreign legal systems often operate under completely different rules and timelines, having experienced counsel who understands the intersection of U.S. and international law is critical.
We represent U.S. citizens and their families through:
No matter the complexity of the charges or the location of the detention, we are committed to providing the consistent, aggressive advocacy your family needs.
Our attorneys have tried cases in more than 25 states and argued before the Florida Supreme Court and the United States Supreme Court. Wherever your case stands right now, we've likely stood there before — with a client's freedom on the line.
Call Us Today 305-670-9919
Jeffrey S. Weiner has spoken directly about this part of his practice. On the international cases his firm has handled, he has said:
“In addition to our cases throughout the United States, we’ve worked with clients in Singapore, South Africa, Israel, Spain, Italy, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Panama, Colombia, Peru, Guyana, Venezuela, literally all over the world.”
He has also described the moment a family is usually in when they first call:
“When American citizens or residents are arrested in a foreign country, they’re often scared and don’t know what to do.”
The rights you know from American courts do not travel with you. Many countries hold defendants for weeks or months before any bail hearing, some do not recognize a right to stay silent, and a statement signed in a language you barely understand can become the centerpiece of the case against you.
Under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, a detained American generally has the right to request that the U.S. consulate be notified of their arrest without delay. While this typically requires the detainee to make an explicit request, some countries maintain separate agreements with the U.S. that mandate automatic notification.
The critical risk, however, is enforcement. When these rights are ignored or delayed, evidence can become entrenched, prosecutors may offer a plea deal before your family has the full picture, and families who wait even a week to seek legal counsel often lose ground that is difficult to recover.
Our defense attorneys move immediately to confirm what has happened, who has legal authority over the case, and which deadline is closing first.
A Miami defense attorney cannot walk into a courtroom in Panama City or Tel Aviv and argue a case. No one can, unless they are licensed in that country. What Jeffrey S. Weiner brings instead is 50 years of knowing how to find a local attorney fast, how to judge whether that attorney is equipped for the specific charge involved, and how to hold that attorney accountable to your family once retained.
We explain what local counsel tells us in plain terms, flag anything that does not match what the embassy is reporting, and push when a case is moving slower than it should. You are never left waiting on a foreign law firm you have never met, with no one on this side checking what is happening.
Miami is one of the only cities in the country built for this kind of case. Dozens of foreign consulates operate here, a reflection of how many international travelers and dual nationals call South Florida home, and Miami International Airport remains the point of return for many clients once a matter abroad is resolved.
When a foreign government seeks the return of someone living in South Florida through an extradition request, that case is heard at the Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. United States Courthouse, 400 North Miami Avenue, in the heart of downtown Miami. Jeffrey S. Weiner has argued before federal courts across the country for five decades along with the United States Supreme Court itself.
Whether your case starts overseas or starts with an extradition filing right here in Miami-Dade County, you are working with an attorney who already knows this courthouse.
When a loved one is arrested abroad, waiting is the hardest part, but a few things are worth doing right away, and they do not require knowing anything about the country’s legal system.
Start collecting basic paperwork: a copy of the passport, any travel itinerary, and contact information for anyone who saw or spoke with your family member right before the arrest. Consular officers and local counsel will ask for this, and having it ready saves time later.
Ask early whether a power of attorney is needed so someone in the U.S. can access accounts, send funds for local counsel’s retainer, or make decisions if your family member cannot. Requirements vary by country, and not every situation needs one, but it is worth asking rather than assuming.
Keep a written log of every call, email, and visit, including dates and names. That log becomes useful if a consular notification delay or mistreatment ever needs to be raised formally.
Two legal frameworks matter most in these cases. The first is the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, Article 36, which generally gives a detained American the right to ask that the U.S. consulate be told of the arrest without delay, though the notice usually has to be requested rather than happening automatically. In plain terms: if that notice was skipped or delayed, it is worth raising early, even though U.S. courts do not always treat a violation as grounds to overturn a conviction.
The second is 18 U.S.C. § 3184, the federal statute that governs extradition proceedings inside the United States. If a foreign country asks the U.S. government to send someone back to face charges abroad, this is the law that puts the case in front of a federal judge, with a hearing on whether the evidence is sufficient before anyone is surrendered.
Not every international case starts with an arrest overseas. Sometimes a foreign government wants someone already living in South Florida sent back to face charges there, and that request is decided in a U.S. courtroom, not a foreign one.
An extradition request is filed in federal court. A judge holds a hearing to decide whether the evidence meets the standard set by treaty, and no one can be surrendered to a foreign government until that hearing is resolved. For cases connected to South Florida, that hearing takes place at the Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. United States Courthouse.
In an extradition case, our defense lawyer represents the person named in the request, not the foreign government, and the goal from day one is making sure that hearing gets the scrutiny the law requires.
This reflects U.S. and international law as of July 2026.
Serving Criminal Defense Clients for Over 50 Years
Yes, it can, because the work that matters most in the first days — confirming consular notification, vetting local counsel, and keeping the family informed — does not require standing in that country’s courtroom. That coordination can run from Miami starting on day one.
In some cases, yes. The United States has prisoner transfer agreements with a number of countries that allow an American convicted abroad to serve the remainder of a sentence in a U.S. facility, though not every country participates, and eligibility depends on the specific agreement and the offense involved.
Call the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate in that country and ask them to confirm a welfare visit, then contact an attorney experienced in these cases the same day. Every day without direct contact makes it harder to learn the charge and custody status.
No. Consular officers can give you a list of local attorneys and check on your family member’s welfare, but they cannot represent anyone in a foreign court. You need to retain counsel yourself, and we help identify and vet that local attorney.
Only an attorney licensed in that specific country can appear in its courts. What we do instead is identify, retain, and directly oversee that local attorney, so your family always has one point of contact looking out for you.
Yes. Dual nationals and lawful permanent residents face many of the same issues, sometimes complicated further by which country’s consulate has jurisdiction. We handle both.
We speak with families the same day in most cases and begin confirming consular notification and custody status right away. Extradition and detention cases move quickly, and early involvement matters.
Costs vary depending on whether the matter stays with consular coordination and local counsel or moves into a federal extradition proceeding here in the United States. Contact us for a confidential consultation, and we will walk through what your situation involves.
You do not have to figure out a foreign legal system from your kitchen table alone. Jeffrey S. Weiner has spent 50 years doing exactly this work, from Miami federal courtrooms to cases reaching clients on five continents, and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers does not hand its presidency to just anyone. Contact Jeffrey S. Weiner, P.A. today for a confidential consultation with our defense lawyers for U.S. citizens arrested abroad.
You may call our office 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We are always ready to consult with you, whether
by telephone consultation, a meeting in our office, or a visit if you are incarcerated. All communications
are confidential and protected by the attorney-client privilege.
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