Adjustment of Status with Criminal Record?

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bigbluesky2006

New Member
I am a UK Citizen married to a US Citizen. I came over on the visa waiver program and have been here just over three months. I am considering applying for Adjustment of Status since my wife wants to be nearer to her family (we were previously living in the UK).

Unfortunately I have a criminal record here in the United States. I was arrested for Domestic Violence (2919.25), but the charge was dropped to Assault (2903.13). How will this affect my application?

Thanks :)
 
Hey,

Try to find the punishment, you probably be ok with the "petty offense exception" if not sentenced more than one year.

I have a criminal record too and I am doing some research before sending my application.

Good luck!
 
Think the maximum punishment my crime was 180 days (6 months). I'm trying to find a reasonable attorney to represent me. What bothers me is i've gone past the 90 days on the Visa Waiver Program. :confused:
 
How about the record of a dismissed criminal case?

Hi

Could anybody give me some advice on this matter? I was accused of hit-and-run in an traffic accident in 1998 but the case was dismissed in the court (the prosecutor filed "nolle prosequi - we will not pursue" because the other party of the accident testified that I gave her my license and registration info, so there was really no evidence for the offense at all). Yesterday I just obtained a certified copy of the court record (docket) for that, including the decision of the state (prosecutor) not to proceed with prosecution due to lack of evidence.

When I filed for I485 in 2003, I answered "no" to the question "have you been charged or convicted of any crime excluding traffic violations". The reason was that they said "excluding traffic violations". I understood that one should answer yes if he/she has been charged of any crime, even if the case has been later dismissed or the person has been found not guilty. However, it was unclear to me back then if the "traffic violations" they mentioned referred to civil infractions (e.g., speeding etc) only or they included both civil and criminal cases. Anyways I have answered their question truthfully.

Now anyone has any suggestion on anything I can do about this scenario? Thank you in advance
 
Last edited by a moderator:
eaglejoeli said:
Hi

Could anybody give me some advice on this matter? I was accused of hit-and-run in an traffic accident in 1998 but the case was dismissed in the court (the prosecutor filed "nolle prosequi - we will not pursue" because the other party of the accident testified that I gave her my license and registration info, so there was really no evidence for the offense at all). Yesterday I just obtained a certified copy of the court record (docket) for that, including the decision of the state (prosecutor) not to proceed with prosecution due to lack of evidence.

When I filed for I485 in 2003, I answered "no" to the question "have you been charged or convicted of any crime excluding traffic violations". The reason was that they said "excluding traffic violations". I understood that one should answer yes if he/she has been charged of any crime, even if the case has been later dismissed or the person has been found not guilty. However, it was unclear to me back then if the "traffic violations" they mentioned referred to civil infractions (e.g., speeding etc) only or they included both civil and criminal cases. Anyways I have answered their question truthfully.

Now anyone has any suggestion on anything I can do about this scenario? Thank you in advance
Click to expand...

nothing to worry about. Little explanation will be quite sufficient if CIS find out you have the criminal record after FP. Of course you can tell yourself right thruough the certified copy from the court if you have a case with them. Of course no matter what happened before whether you were found guilty or quital you have to always answer YES and then attach a copy of Certificate of Disposition from the court to prove your case. I truely think you should write a letter to USCIS and tell them you made a mistake by answering NO and actually you had an incident before...blah blah... and later dismissed and furnish them a copy of COD (you have to keep the original one). Good luck!
 
You should attach a letter and supporting materials to explain to UCSIS what was going on when you file your I-485.
I misrepresented myself at the U.S./Canadian border one time, and I was sure they had that record because everytime I crossed the border they scruntized me since then. When I filed my I-485, I answered "yes" to one of the questions (can't remembered which one) and attached a letter to explain what had happened to them. And I got my Green Card.
USCIS stresses this point in immigration application in their website.

Honesty pays off!

Good luck! :D
 
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