green card and misdemeanor?
- Thread starter seemoo
- Start date
battery
I already have my GC and I have 3 years prohibation because of battery and I almost passed half of this.I passed all of anger managment classes and I paid all of fees.when can I apply for citizenship? I mean the soonest possible time.I heard something about expungement the records.if this is true,can I apply after expunge my records?I don't have any other records from before.please excuse me because my english is not that good.thanks.
I already have my GC and I have 3 years prohibation because of battery and I almost passed half of this.I passed all of anger managment classes and I paid all of fees.when can I apply for citizenship? I mean the soonest possible time.I heard something about expungement the records.if this is true,can I apply after expunge my records?I don't have any other records from before.please excuse me because my english is not that good.thanks.
Jackolantern
Registered Users (C)
Expungement doesn't mean anything to Immigration. They see all records, expunged and active, and they treat expunged records the same as active ones.
Your need to wait until your probation is over before they will consider approving your citizenship. Before actually applying, consult an immigration lawyer with expertise in criminal issues, who can look at the details of your case to determine if it is OK to apply as soon as your probation is over, or whether you should wait until 5 years after the incident, or whether it is serious enough that you risk deportation by applying.
Got my GC!!!
I applied for GC renewal 11/08 and I finally got my renewed card last weekend 03/7/09.
I had a misdemeanor for theft. It was originally a felony but my city counsel/lawyer dropped it to misdemeanor. (lucky me) It was my first time offense, I wasn't send to jail more than six months and I'm guessing my case was not an aggrevated felony (maximum penalty is more than 1 yr) I was on informal probation for 3 yrs and spent 4 days in jail.
So, if you weren't sentenced more than six months and the offense has no maximum penalty of one year and your first time offense, you should be fine. They call it Petty Offense Exception.
Make sure when you are dealing with sentencing court, try to lower your sentence to less than one year so it wont be an aggrevated felony (1 yr or more) and six months or less would help you more.
This happened when I was 18 now I'm 26. Lesson learned and it made me realize a lot of things. God gave me another chance to be here. So, just an advice, don't do anything stupid, you would greatly regret it. Praying would help a lot also. Take care and good luck with yall.
I applied for GC renewal 11/08 and I finally got my renewed card last weekend 03/7/09.
I had a misdemeanor for theft. It was originally a felony but my city counsel/lawyer dropped it to misdemeanor. (lucky me) It was my first time offense, I wasn't send to jail more than six months and I'm guessing my case was not an aggrevated felony (maximum penalty is more than 1 yr) I was on informal probation for 3 yrs and spent 4 days in jail.
So, if you weren't sentenced more than six months and the offense has no maximum penalty of one year and your first time offense, you should be fine. They call it Petty Offense Exception.
Make sure when you are dealing with sentencing court, try to lower your sentence to less than one year so it wont be an aggrevated felony (1 yr or more) and six months or less would help you more.
This happened when I was 18 now I'm 26. Lesson learned and it made me realize a lot of things. God gave me another chance to be here. So, just an advice, don't do anything stupid, you would greatly regret it. Praying would help a lot also. Take care and good luck with yall.
Help!
Hello!
I'm a Brazilian citizen in the US with a J1 visa for 18 months. My visa expired in June this year and I'm still here. I'm engaged to an american citizen and we're planning on getting married in a few weeks.
The problem in I was arrested a couple months ago under theft charges and was finally sentenced on the 1st of July, that was my first offense and definitely the last. After talking to the DA we got a deal in which I should pay the amount of the restitution asked and I would be pleading guilty to a class 2 misdemeanor. That's exactly what happened and I only got 6 months of unsupervised probation.
Now, I've been reading that even though theft is an aggravated felony, if your sentence is one year or less you should be fine when applying for a Green Card. And that's where I have doubts. I tried talking to a few immigration attorneys but nobody will give me a clear answer unless I pay a consultation fee and I really can't afford pay all these consultations without a straight up answer. One of them said that an arrest is already enough of a reason for a Green Card to be denied under the harsh immigration laws. Others said that a sentence of one year or more, including any suspended time, would completely ruin my chances of staying but nothing was said about the sentence I got.
I'm really really worried and afraid because I'm unemployed and I don't want to apply, pay the fees which are really expensive and have it denied. So since I didn't know where else to turn to, I decided to post my question and ask your guys' help.
Thank you so much in advance. Any Comment will be extremely appreciated.
Hello!
I'm a Brazilian citizen in the US with a J1 visa for 18 months. My visa expired in June this year and I'm still here. I'm engaged to an american citizen and we're planning on getting married in a few weeks.
The problem in I was arrested a couple months ago under theft charges and was finally sentenced on the 1st of July, that was my first offense and definitely the last. After talking to the DA we got a deal in which I should pay the amount of the restitution asked and I would be pleading guilty to a class 2 misdemeanor. That's exactly what happened and I only got 6 months of unsupervised probation.
Now, I've been reading that even though theft is an aggravated felony, if your sentence is one year or less you should be fine when applying for a Green Card. And that's where I have doubts. I tried talking to a few immigration attorneys but nobody will give me a clear answer unless I pay a consultation fee and I really can't afford pay all these consultations without a straight up answer. One of them said that an arrest is already enough of a reason for a Green Card to be denied under the harsh immigration laws. Others said that a sentence of one year or more, including any suspended time, would completely ruin my chances of staying but nothing was said about the sentence I got.
I'm really really worried and afraid because I'm unemployed and I don't want to apply, pay the fees which are really expensive and have it denied. So since I didn't know where else to turn to, I decided to post my question and ask your guys' help.
Thank you so much in advance. Any Comment will be extremely appreciated.
I have a similar situation as well, I received a misdemeanor ticket lately for walking in a park after hours. I will have to go to court for that. I am waiting to Receive my Labor permit very soon on a way to a green Card, I guess the best thing for me will be to remove the offense, what is the best strategy to remove it at this stage? If I ask to leave USA for a family visit while on work permit, does the misdemeanor increase the probability that I will be stopped for questioning when I try to enter back to the USA?
iamthegreatest
Registered Users (C)
Which state was this? when is your court date? you have to appear before the judge before you can settle this coz if you don't a warrant will be issued for your arrest for FTA (failure to appear).
My friend had the same citation which was in NYC then she went to court and the judge dismissed it right then and there no questions nor a fine was asked. It was never brought up in her GC interview and was approved without a sweat!
Good luck!
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Al Southner
Registered Users (C)
Guys,
Why do we have so many immigrants and would-be-immigrants committing crimes of sorts? I am baffled by people who knowingly commit crimes, then come to this board to ascertain whether their immigration status is in jeopardy because of those acts.
You better know darn well that if you take something without paying for it and you are caught, your nuts will be roasted and USCIS has a reason to believe your moral character is corrupt, which will be because you are a thief. As for DWI & DUI, I absolutely detest those people and if it were up to me, they would be jailed for 6 months with no trials to sober up. Can you imagine a drunk driver hitting your car head-on going at 80mph in a 45mph zone, because they were drunk? No country deserves to have drunk drivers at all, US isn't obliged to accept them even after 5 years of rehabilitation because most likely, they are rehabing to get citizenship and continue on a murderous rampage by driving drunk because now they have the blue book...
Why do we have so many immigrants and would-be-immigrants committing crimes of sorts? I am baffled by people who knowingly commit crimes, then come to this board to ascertain whether their immigration status is in jeopardy because of those acts.
You better know darn well that if you take something without paying for it and you are caught, your nuts will be roasted and USCIS has a reason to believe your moral character is corrupt, which will be because you are a thief. As for DWI & DUI, I absolutely detest those people and if it were up to me, they would be jailed for 6 months with no trials to sober up. Can you imagine a drunk driver hitting your car head-on going at 80mph in a 45mph zone, because they were drunk? No country deserves to have drunk drivers at all, US isn't obliged to accept them even after 5 years of rehabilitation because most likely, they are rehabing to get citizenship and continue on a murderous rampage by driving drunk because now they have the blue book...Al Southner
Registered Users (C)
Go to court and face the judge an explain yourself. If you had to walk an invincible dog after dark at the park, it is best for the judge to hear it from you.
Running to your home country will only compound problems for you, because you have to appear and failure to appear will likely force the prosecutor request a warrant for your arrest. In my opinion, a warrant is worse than just appearing in court to explain yourself and hope the judge has an invincible dog too and can dismiss or lower the punishment. I suspect you might be fined $50 and be asked to do community service "after dark" in the park... Don't you dare try to flee to your home country and hope this charge is going to magically disappear, you will be a big fool...Green Card and Misdemanor
Hi
I am very new to this forum..My wife just received green card like a month ago..now she has shoplifting charges of $1000 and possession of criminal instrument ( i think that is class misdemeanor) that is in TX and that is first time. she has a court date next month..i know the maximum fine is up to $4000 or1 yrs jail. I already talked to criminal lawyer. Anybody has similar situations or experiences in the past? i know its very hard time for me. will that effect on her green card ? i goggled a lot and found mix reactions. pls guys share your experiences and views.. .thanks in advance..god bless u all..
Hi
I am very new to this forum..My wife just received green card like a month ago..now she has shoplifting charges of $1000 and possession of criminal instrument ( i think that is class misdemeanor) that is in TX and that is first time. she has a court date next month..i know the maximum fine is up to $4000 or1 yrs jail. I already talked to criminal lawyer. Anybody has similar situations or experiences in the past? i know its very hard time for me. will that effect on her green card ? i goggled a lot and found mix reactions. pls guys share your experiences and views.. .thanks in advance..god bless u all..
athelstanfoster
Registered Users (C)
I will have to go to court for that. I am waiting to Receive my Labor permit very soon on a way to a green Card, I guess the best thing for me will be to remove the offense, what is the best strategy to remove it at this stage