How to Fight Extradition to the United States: One Client's Case

Matter: Extradition to the United States, contested in a Bulgarian court.

Service: A medical report and affidavit prepared for use in the extradition hearing.

Outcome: The extradition was rejected. The person believes the medical affidavit played a role.

Life or Death, Not Just a Legal Fight

Peter Mihaylov was living in Europe when the United States sought his extradition.

He had serious medical conditions. Oncological problems. A blood coagulation disorder. Multiple pulmonary embolisms. His position was direct: if he entered the US prison system in his condition, he would most likely die.

That is not a legal argument, but a medical fact. But a medical fact does nothing in a courtroom unless it is documented, sourced, specific, and presented in a format the court can use.

He needed a medical report that could survive an extradition hearing in a European court. He found White Collar Advice.

What an Extradition Fight Looks Like

Most people facing extradition to the United States focus on the legal side. The treaty provisions. The dual criminality requirements. The procedural defenses available under local law.

Those arguments matter, but they are not always enough on their own.

His strongest argument was his health. The US prison system is not equipped to manage his conditions. Pulmonary embolisms require immediate, specialized intervention. A blood coagulation disorder under stress, in a facility not prepared for it, can be fatal. That is not speculation. It is documented medical reality.

But documented by whom? In what format? With what specificity? For a foreign court applying its own standards?

That is the gap. Having a medical condition is not the same as having a medical argument. The argument requires documentation a court can evaluate.

What Carole Built

Scott and Carole at White Collar Advice took the case. Carole prepared the medical report and affidavit. He described it in his review:

"Carole prepared for me truly great medical report/affidavit regarding the risks and lack of medical care in US prisons, which I presented to the local court in the extradition hearing. The report was very detailed, straight to the point."

Detailed and straight to the point. Those two things are usually in tension. Most detailed reports are not straight to the point. Most documents that are straight to the point are not detailed enough to withstand scrutiny.

The report covered the specific medical conditions, the specific risks those conditions create in a carceral environment, and the documented inadequacy of US federal prison medical care for conditions of this severity. It was prepared for a specific court, for a specific hearing, on a specific timeline.

He presented it. The extradition was rejected.

"I believe it played a role in the rejection of the extradition."

Why This Case Is Different

We are not aware of another firm in this space with a documented extradition case from Europe that ended this way.

This is not a sentencing case. There is no guideline range to compare against. There is no PSR to shape. The person was not standing in a US courtroom. He was standing in a Bulgarian court, arguing that extraditing him to the United States would likely end his life.

The document that gave his argument weight was a medical affidavit prepared by someone who understood both the medical reality and the evidentiary standard the court needed to apply.

He also noted something worth reading carefully:

"The fees they charged me was 2-3 times lower than other specialists I found in the same area of expertise."

That detail matters. Extradition cases are expensive. Specialists are scarce. People who face extradition from outside the United States are often isolated, frightened, and working in a language that is not their own. They are also frequent targets for people who know exactly how desperate they are. White Collar Advice charged less and delivered the document on time.

The Outcome

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Frequently Asked Questions

How do you fight extradition to the United States?

Extradition to the United States is governed by bilateral treaties between the US and the country where the person is located. Fighting it means engaging attorneys in both jurisdictions who understand the treaty provisions, the dual criminality requirements, and the procedural defenses available under local law. Beyond the legal arguments, a person can challenge extradition on humanitarian grounds, including serious medical conditions that would make extradition a threat to life. Those arguments require documentation: medical reports and affidavits prepared to a standard the foreign court can evaluate. In this case the challenge was brought in Bulgaria on medical grounds, and the extradition was rejected.

Can you fight extradition on medical grounds?

Yes, but the argument requires documentation, not just a diagnosis. A court evaluating a humanitarian challenge needs to see the specific medical conditions, the specific risks those conditions create in a US federal prison environment, and evidence of the US prison system's capacity to manage them. A letter from a treating physician is a starting point. A detailed medical affidavit prepared specifically for the hearing, addressing the standard the court applies, is a different kind of document. In this case it was the second kind, and the person believes it played a role in the rejection.

What is a medical affidavit in an extradition case?

A medical affidavit is a sworn document prepared by a qualified medical professional that sets out, in specific and detailed terms, a person's medical conditions, the risks those conditions create, and the adequacy of available medical care in the jurisdiction to which extradition is sought. In an extradition hearing it becomes an exhibit the court can evaluate. It is different from a treating physician's letter because it is structured for a legal proceeding, not a clinical record. In this case the affidavit was prepared for a hearing in Bulgaria and described as very detailed and straight to the point.

What are the grounds for challenging extradition to the US?

The grounds vary by treaty and by the laws of the country where the person is located. Common grounds include the absence of dual criminality (the conduct is not a crime under local law), procedural defects in the request, political offense exceptions, humanitarian concerns including serious illness or risk to life, and the passage of time. Humanitarian grounds based on medical conditions are among the most fact-intensive because they require documented evidence of both the medical reality and the inadequacy of US prison medical care. The treaty, the charges, the country, and the person's specific circumstances all determine which arguments are available.

Does the US extradite people from Europe?

The United States has bilateral extradition treaties with most European countries, including members of the European Union. Under those treaties, a country can be asked to extradite an individual facing federal charges in the United States. The process runs through diplomatic channels and requires the requesting country to submit documentation supporting the request. The receiving country holds a hearing under its own laws, and the individual has the right to challenge extradition there. In this case the challenge was heard in Bulgaria, and the court rejected the request.

How long does an extradition fight take?

It varies with the treaty, the country, the charges, and the complexity of the arguments. Some proceedings resolve in months. Others take years. The process in Europe typically involves local court hearings, potential appeals, and in some cases referral to national supreme courts or the European Court of Human Rights. This case was handled in 2023: the medical affidavit was prepared, presented at the local court hearing, and the extradition was rejected, with the timeline moving within the year.

What role does White Collar Advice play in extradition cases?

In this case the role was specific: preparing the medical report and affidavit presented to the local court. That document was the evidentiary foundation for the humanitarian argument. We prepared the medical documentation, complementing the person's legal team rather than replacing it. That is the model in every case: White Collar Advice builds documented assets that attorneys and clients bring to court.