Joe Giudice granted request to return to Italy during deportation appeal

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"Real Housewives of New Jersey" star Joe Giudice's request to be released from the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) so he can move to his native Italy while appealing a deportation order against him has been approved, his lawyer told Fox News Thursday.

Family attorney James J. Leonard confirmed that Joe's petition, which he filed on Sept. 24, had been granted but declined to comment further. The ruling was first reported by People magazine and E! News.

According to Page Six, Leonard said in the filing that Joe “wishes to be released so that [he] can begin working and contributing financially to his wife and four young children.”

TERESA GIUDICE SAYS HUSBAND JOE GIUDICE’S DEPORTATION RULING IS TO ‘MAKE AN EXAMPLE OUT OF US’

Joe shares four daughters -- Gia, 18, Gabriella, 15, Milania, 14, and Audriana, 10 -- with wife Teresa.

It is unclear when exactly Joe will return to Italy, but E! News reports that he is expected to go abroad in the coming weeks.

Teresa and Joe Giudice enter federal court in Newark N.J. for an appearance on federal conspiracy and bankruptcy fraud charges in 2014. (AP File Photo)

Teresa told Us Weekly it was "a sad time" for her family after a judge denied Joe's initial request to be released on bail from ICE custody.

"It’s a sad time with my husband and everything, so we’re going to try and work it out as best we can," the 47-year-old reality star said at the time.

JOE GIUDICE AND FAMILY 'EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED' AFTER DEPORTATION APPEAL DENIED

Joe and Teresa pleaded guilty in 2014 to three counts of bankruptcy fraud and one count conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. Joe Giudice also pleaded guilty to one count of failing to file a tax return.

Teresa was sentenced in October 2014 to 15 months in prison and was released in December 2015. Joe has been held by immigration officials since he completed his 41-month prison term this past March. A judge ruled in October 2018 that he would be deported to his native Italy upon completion of his prison sentence.

Joe Giudice has said he came to the U.S. as an infant and wasn't aware he wasn't an American citizen.

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The father of four previously told Fox News he was "extremely disappointed" after his deportation appeal was denied in April.

“We are extremely disappointed that the Board Of Immigration Appeals has denied Mr. Giudice’s appeal," Leonard told Fox News in a statement at the time.

Fox News' Sasha Savitsky and The Associated Press contributed to this report