Bieber risks US deportation

Justin Bieber's run-ins with the law could potentially get him kicked out of the United States, the nation where the Canadian-born teen idol struck it rich, immigration lawyers says.

Bieber, 19, kept a low profile a day after he was charged with driving under the influence after police caught him drag racing in Miami Beach, Florida, allegedly after drinking and smoking marijuana.

And soon after he left the US for Panama where he has been pictured on the beach with model Chantel Jeffries and an increasing number of fans.

Thousands of Americans have signed a petition calling for President Barack Obama to revoke Bieber's visa and deport the singer to his native Canada following his arrest.

The petition was launched on Whitehouse.org hours after Bieber's arrest.

It states: “We the people of the United States feel that we are being wrongly represented in the world of pop culture. We would like to see the dangerous, reckless, destructive, and drug abusing Justin Bieber deported and his green card revoked.

“He is not only threatening the safety of our people but he is also a terrible influence on our nation's youth. We the people would like to remove Justin Bieber from our society.”

The campaign has garnered more than 40,000 signatures, but must reach 100,000 before White House staff will agree to review it and “ensure it's sent to the appropriate policy experts”.

The White House petition is not the only campaign that has been launched following his arrest - 17 additional petitions calling for the same action have appeared online.

Soon after his release from jail Bieber kept an uncharacteristic silence, leaving his 49 million followers to rally behind him with the trending hashtag #WeWillAlwaysSupportYouJustin.

Model Chantel Jeffries walks past Justin Bieber at the beach in Punta Chame. Pictures: Reuters

Instead, he let a picture tell 1,000 words with an Instagram of himself in a dark hoodie, waving outside jail, alongside an image of Michael Jackson a decade ago when the King of Pop was fighting child molestation charges.

"What more can they say," read the caption.

Besides the DUI charge, Bieber -- released on a $2,500 bond -- also faces charges of resisting arrest and driving with an expired Georgia state license behind the wheel of a yellow Lamborghini sports car.

He was already under investigation for allegedly hurling eggs at a neighbor's house in Los Angeles -- an incident that led police to search his mansion, where they seized illicit drugs and arrested one of his associates.

Justin Bieber and Chantel Jeffries with an unidentified man on a beach in Punta Chame. Picture: Associated Press

Like many non-American entertainers, Bieber -- who, says Forbes magazine, made $58 million in 2013 -- lives and works in United States under a so-called O-1 visa, according to the Hollywood Reporter, a showbiz trade journal.

"To qualify for an O-1 visa, the beneficiary must demonstrate extraordinary ability by sustained national or international acclaim and must be coming temporarily to the United States to continue work in the area of extraordinary ability," says the US Citizenship and Immigration Services on its website.

Diana Scholl of the American Civil Liberties Union in Washington suggested that Bieber could dodge deportation on account of his fame and fortune.

"If convicted, another immigrant in his situation would very likely languish in immigration detention before being deported," she said on the ACLU.org website.

"That person ? like 84 percent of people in immigration detention -- would also likely not have an immigration attorney, let alone a high-priced one."

In their incident report, posted on gossip website TMZ.com, the Miami Beach police department gave Bieber's citizenship as "USA" -- apparently a mistake.

It also named Toronto as his birthplace, rather than the smaller Ontario city of London, and listed his occupation as "other."

Immigration lawyer Stacy Tolchin, quoted in the Los Angeles Times newspaper, said Bieber's alleged offenses in Miami Beach, while "not good," were unlikely to add up to a violation of his O-1B status.

But Tolchin added: "Let's say if it's assault, a felony assault, and he's convicted, that's a big problem... He really needs to get excellent criminal defense and an excellent immigration attorney."

A drug conviction would equally pose "a big problem," she said.

Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, violation of any US or foreign drug law -- apart from the possession of a small personal amount of marijuana -- is grounds for deportation.

So too is "moral turpitude," a catch-all term that can include anything from homicide, robbery and kidnapping to gross indecency, lewdness and adultery, a rarely-prosecuted crime in 23 states.

"If ICE wanted to go after him, they could make a case," New York immigration lawyer Michael Wildes told ABCNews.com, referring to the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement unit.

"That and the eggs is opening files in multiple government agencies and states, and could make it more likely," he said.

In the event that Uncle Sam gives him the boot, Bieber won't be alone.

One in 10 deportees are legal permanent residents, or "green card" holders, a majority of whom had merely committed "minor, nonviolent crimes," said the Immigration Policy Center in Washington in a 2010 report.