Immigration court is a civil proceeding with criminal-level stakes and none of a criminal defendant's core protections, and the gap between what people expect and what actually happens costs cases every day. This article explains what a notice to appear is, what happens at a master calendar hearing and an individual hearing, and why the single most consequential rule in the system is that missing a hearing produces an order of removal in absentia. It sets out the structure of removability charges, the main forms of relief and who qualifies for each, and the detention and bond framework that determines whether a person fights the case from inside or outside. Separate sections cover the categorical approach that decides whether a criminal conviction triggers removability, the immigration consequences a criminal defense lawyer must advise on, and the appeal and reopening routes after an adverse decision. Practical sections cover what to do the day a notice arrives, how to keep an address current, and the evidence that decides discretionary relief. Every authority is linked to its text.