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International Prisoner Transfer Program
When a Transfer is Approved by the Department of Justice
When a prisoner is transferred to another country,
the completion of the transferred offender's sentence is carried out in
accordance with the laws and procedures of the receiving country, including
those governing the reduction of the term of confinement by parole, conditional
release, or otherwise. By the same token, when a prisoner has transferred
to the United States, the Parole Commission determines the release date
of the transferee in accordance with 18 U.S.C. § 4106A. Jurisdiction
over the underlying conviction and over proceedings to modify or set aside
the sentence remains with the country in which sentence was imposed.
Outgoing prisoners remain in the custody of the U.S.
Bureau of Prisons until they can be turned over to foreign corrections
officials, usually at our border (in the case of Canada and Mexico) or
at an international airport. Immediately prior to transfer, prisoners
receive what is called a "consent verification hearing," in which a United
States Magistrate Judge talks to the prisoner and confirms that he consents
to the transfer. Incoming prisoners also receive a consent verification
hearing in the foreign country immediately before transfer. All prisoners
are assisted at these hearings by lawyers from the Federal Public Defenders.
The time between the approval of a transfer request
by the United States and by the other nation, and the actual transfer varies
widely. A wait of at least three months is typical.
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