Traveling Abroad While a Virginia DWI Charge Is Pending

Attorney Answer

The restriction that can actually stop you is the one in your own release order — not anything a Mexican border officer is likely to do about an unresolved misdemeanor.

Virginia's pretrial release conditions are set by Va. Code sec. 19.2-123, "Release of accused on secured or unsecured bond or promise to appear; conditions of release." Among the conditions a judicial officer may impose, the officer may "place restrictions on the travel, association or place of abode of the person during the period of release," and may impose "any other condition deemed reasonably necessary to assure appearance as required, and to assure his good behavior pending trial." Read the operative word: may. There is no general Virginia rule barring a person with a pending DWI from leaving the country. Whether you can travel turns on what your individual release order says. A restriction that was not imposed in your order does not apply to you, and if the order is ambiguous you can move the court to modify or clarify it.

As for Mexico — that is not a question Virginia law answers, and I will not pretend otherwise. Entry decisions belong to Mexican immigration authorities, and a charge with no conviction is not something a Virginia court controls. What I can tell you is that nothing on the U.S. side stops you from boarding a plane because a case is pending, unless your release order or a court says so.

The risk that is real and often overlooked is the one on the back end. If something delays your return — a cancelled flight, a lost passport, an illness — and you miss a court date, you face a capias and a failure-to-appear problem that is entirely avoidable and considerably worse than the trip was enjoyable.

What you can do

1. Pull out your release order or recognizance form and read every condition. Look specifically for the words travel, leave the Commonwealth, or surrender your passport. 2. If the order restricts travel, or if you cannot tell, have your lawyer ask the court in writing to modify or clarify the conditions before you book anything. 3. Check every court date against your travel dates, with a wide buffer. Do not fly home the day before a setting. 4. If you are on a secured bond, tell your surety. A bondsman's own contract can prohibit leaving the country even where the court's order does not, and violating it can get your bond surrendered. 5. Carry a copy of your release order and your court paperwork with you. 6. Tell your lawyer your travel dates so you are not unreachable if the case moves.