Will misdemeanor affects citizenship application?

J

jenishaa

New Member
Hi,

I am a permanent resident since 2005. I was eligible to file for citizenship in 2007 but never filed for one. I am thinking to file for citizenship sometime this year before my graduation. I do not have any criminal history or anything like that till Nov. 2013. I got caught walking out of the store without paying for couple of items. That day, I attended my friend's funeral and I was not in correct state of mind. I already paid store fines. I was told to get the lawyer for my case. So I went to the lawyer and he said that he can changed it to misdemeanor instead of stealing. Since this is my first offense and I do not have any criminal history, I did not go to jail. Now I am worried how this will affect my citizenship application.

Thank you.
 
Sounds like a conviction to me. Stealing could be misdemeanor. I'm no expert though. See a lawyer.
 
It all depends on what happened in court. If the criminal case disposition affects your ability to file for naturalization, you may want to reopen the case and work out punishment in such a way that it does not run afoul of USCIS

(1) Did you plead guilty or no contest to the charges?
(2) What is the state statute under which you were charged?
(3) Did the judge give any suspended sentence or probation?
(4) Did your criminal lawyer and judge inform you about the immigration impact of pleading guilty?

Theft or stealing is considered a CIMT (Crime of Moral Turpitude). If there is only one CIMT, then it can be construed as petty offense. It can cause you grief in the citizenship application or make you wait another 5 years before applying.

Here is the warning - Conviction of two CIMTs will make the person deportable. So take care not to get in any other problems.


I am going through grief myself for something which happened 14 years ago. Did lot of research in CIMT and immigration provisions. USCIS immigration laws can get your simple unfortunate actions in a trap.
 
hi im a permanent resident since 2005.. so what happen last 2012 of november i plead guilty of Domestic violence cpc.243e1 because of my ex boyfriend...but i attend classes like angry management for like 52 weeks thats why my case drop being misdeameanor do u think its gonna affect my citizenship or i need just to renew my greencard? if so whats the first step i need to do? are they giving chances remove me for deportation? if they deport me how about my 2 citizen childrens and im only singlemom..
 
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leysa,

See I am not an attorney. Just trying to help.

USCIS will definitely give you grief during your citizenship or green card renewal. I would suggest the following steps.

(1) Do not apply for citizenship or green card renewal right now. Wait for at least 5 years after completion of anger management classes. If you do not apply, you may not come under USCIS attention
One still remains a permanent resident irrespective of whether you renew 10 year green card or not. You are fine as long as you do not travel outside USA

(2) See if you can withdraw your guilty plea under any grounds and can get resentenced under any other statute such as disorderly conduct or making noise for which the maximum punishment is less than 365 days. Your current statute has a maximum punishment of one year.

What did you say in guilty plea? Does the police record or your guilty plea has any mention of hitting? If it mentions hitting, then it will be CIMT or aggravated felony.

USCIS treats convictions very differently from criminal courts.

(3) You would qualify for Cancellation of Removal of Deportation as you have been a permanent resident for a long time. Chances of USCIS pursuing deportation is less. Having US citizen children will help you in convincing Immigration judge to approve Cancellation of Removal if USCIS were to pursue deportation.

(4) Do not get in trouble for leaving kids in car or home unwatched even for couple of minutes. Make extra sure that the kids do not keep any small toys or things in pockets while you are coming out of stores. It is hard for parents to notice all of these minor things. Consequences can be very bad for permanent residents.
 
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goodguy1200 said:
leysa,

See I am not an attorney. Just trying to help.

USCIS will definitely give you grief during your citizenship or green card renewal. I would suggest the following steps.

(1) Do not apply for citizenship or green card renewal right now. Wait for at least 5 years after completion of anger management classes. If you do not apply, you may not come under USCIS attention
One still remains a permanent resident irrespective of whether you renew 10 year green card or not. You are fine as long as you do not travel outside USA

(2) See if you can withdraw your guilty plea under any grounds and can get resentenced under any other statute such as disorderly conduct or making noise for which the maximum punishment is less than 365 days. Your current statute has a maximum punishment of one year.

What did you say in guilty plea? Does the police record or your guilty plea has any mention of hitting? If it mentions hitting, then it will be CIMT or aggravated felony.

USCIS treats convictions very differently from criminal courts.

(3) You would qualify for Cancellation of Removal of Deportation as you have been a permanent resident for a long time. Chances of USCIS pursuing deportation is less. Having US citizen children will help you in convincing Immigration judge to approve Cancellation of Removal if USCIS were to pursue deportation.

(4) Do not get in trouble for leaving kids in car or home unwatched even for couple of minutes. Make extra sure that the kids do not keep any small toys or things in pockets while you are coming out of stores. It is hard for parents to notice all of these minor things. Consequences can be very bad for permanent residents.
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thanks for the info goodguy!! my case is 243e1 domestic battery i finish my court probation ,my 52 weeks anger management....so its fine not renewing my greencard??i havent see the actual police report and my court papers because that time im so confused ....do u know where i can get it??
 
and do u think its fine to wait like 2years because my fiance is going to marry me after his citizen do u think its fine not having my greencard as long i dont travel outside of us???or either way eventhough he marry me they still gonna find out about my case?
 
Renewal or non renewal of 1o year green card does not affect permanent resident status. If you are traveling outside, then airlines may give trouble on expired green card.

Marriage to US citizen does not make any difference to USCIS in this case (You are already permanent resident for last 9-10 years)

The key issue is what did you plead guilty or what the police report contains. If it has language related to hitting, then you are in trouble. Then you probably need to withdraw you guilty plea and work out some deal with courts and prosecutors. See this issue will always come up when you apply for citizenship.

Court papers - If you live in the same location, you can go to court and they will be able to provide the copies. Otherwise, you can call court clerk and find out how many pages are there and what the procedure for getting your own records. Google that court and find the court website.

USCIS always looks back 5 years for any moral character issues. But they can even look back 20 years also. ( USCIS has weird ways to define moral character which is different from a normal person).
 
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okay i will thank you so much....ill call them... do u know who i can talk about windrawal of guilty plea do i need to request it?...
 
goodguy1200 said:
Renewal or non renewal of 1o year green card does not affect permanent resident status. If you are traveling outside, then airlines may give trouble on expired green card.

Marriage to US citizen does not make any difference to USCIS in this case (You are already permanent resident for last 9-10 years)

The key issue is what did you plead guilty or what the police report contains. If it has language related to hitting, then you are in trouble. Then you probably need to withdraw you guilty plea and work out some deal with courts and prosecutors. See this issue will always come up when you apply for citizenship.

Court papers - If you live in the same location, you can go to court and they will be able to provide the copies. Otherwise, you can call court clerk and find out how many pages are there and what the procedure for getting your own records. Google that court and find the court website.

USCIS always looks back 5 years for any moral character issues. But they can even look back 20 years also. ( USCIS has weird ways to define moral character which is different from a normal person).
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so even though my case is dismissed and expaunge they still gonna find out my records right??so i dont have a choice if they found out that my case is related to hitting.... im praying and hoping that the police report is not related to hitting ..its really unfair because im the one whos hurting physical and emotionally and i just defence my self to my ex because he wanted to hit my child and take my child away from me....and they still arrest me...
 
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