After lying to federal agents about his visa, Midland-Odessa Attorney Rahul Malhotra is now being deported.

The decision was finalized Tuesday, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

Now the question is what's going to happen to his law firm?

CBS 7 News walked into the Malhotra Law Firm in Midland on Wednesday and confirmed with an employee that the practice is still operating. That same employee then handed us a brochure saying Jon Hanna is their new attorney and would give no further comment.

On December 15, 2015, the roles were reversed for Malhotra.

He was now the one sitting in the defendant’s chair.

The prominent lawyer was caught lying to federal agents over his TN visa also known as the Trade NAFTA Visa.

"Shortly said, that's a visa for professionals to come as employees to work for American employers,” explained Midland Immigration Attorney Mike Borland. “The problem with that is as a TN employee you can't be self-employed, or you have violated your status."

Borland says people typically hold this kind of visa for two years.

Malhotra was granted his back in 1997 and purchased the firm in 2000, according to court documents.

On March 23, 2017, Malhotra plead guilty to charges of making a false statement to federal authorities, and attempted to reduce his sentence of five years of probation, claiming he needed to work and maintain his practice.

It’s a move that surprised the government since Malhotra agreed in his plea not to challenge his sentence.

“Malhotra fails to address and advise this Court of the fact he has no USCIS work authorization permit,” the government wrote in response to a motion to change his sentence. “Without this authorization, Malhotra should not be working for anyone or operating his law firm. His efforts to obtain approved immigration status and stay in the United States have been denied.”

On Wednesday, we learned that his firm is no longer under his name.

Attorney Jon Hanna from Abilene and Malhotra's wife, Vinita Malhotra, are both shown on court documents as the managing members. Hanna is listed as the initial registered agent of the firm.

It also looks like the firm is under a new name – Malhotra Hanna Law Firm.

CBS 7 News left Hanna a voice message asking what's going to happen with Malhotra's clients.

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ORIGINAL REPORT:

Odessa-Midland Attorney Rahul Malhotra is officially being deported after pleading guilty to charges of making a false statement to federal authorities, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

On Tuesday, Malhotra was ordered by a judge to be removed from the country. It is unclear to which country he will be deported, as Malhotra is both an Indian and Canadian citizen.

As part of his March 23rd felony plea deal, Malhotra was sentenced in San Antonio to five years of probation. His sentencing documents outlined that he could not operate a business because of his lack of visa.

In a previous story Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Lewis said the nature of the indictment centers around oral and written statements that were made by Malhotra during his immigration proceedings.

Court documents reveal Malhotra came to the United States in 1997 using a non-immigrant Visa which allows professionals like lawyers to seek employment without becoming citizens. However, that Visa did not allow Malhotra to be self-employed or run his own business. Accordingly, he violated those Visa rules when he incorporated the Malhotra Law Firm in 2000.

According to court documents, part of his plea agreement was to waive all rights to challenge his sentence. Malhotra did try to appeal his deportation proceedings.

“Malhotra suggests his need to work and maintain his law practice as the basis for a reduced sentence,” the government wrote in response to a motion to change his sentence. “Malhotra fails to address and advise this Court of the fact he has no USCIS work authorization permit. Without this authorization, Malhotra should not be working for anyone or operating his law firm. His efforts to obtain approved immigration status and stay in the United States have been denied.”

CBS 7 checked with the State Bar of Texas and discovered that Malhotra’s license to practice is still active. A state bar spokesperson said they were not aware of the court proceedings yet, so no action has been taken.

A local attorney states that Malhotra’s clients have been filing into their office asking for advice on what to do, saying that they haven’t seen Malhotra at the office in a while.

The Malhotra Law Firm’s website is still active, though phone calls to both locations were not returned on Wednesday.

Malhotra is currently being held at an El Paso federal detention facility.