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Artem Ustimenko
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Drug conviction impact on Citizenship qick question please help
Talk to a very good immigration lawyer about this. I think you will have to fight this in court. I'm afraid your citizenship might be out the door for now, but at least you might stay in the country. Drug offenses are seen very seriously in the US, and for immigration purposes. Saying that, this seems to be a very minor thing, it might kill your current naturalization, but perhaps it won't kill your permanent residence. I don't mean to scare you. I don't really know much about this. I'm just trying to give you the advice to take this very seriously and to get reputable and good legal representation. A good immigration lawyer can help you about what to do in court, what to plead the judge, perhaps ask them to drop the charge. I'm not sure, I'm not a lawyer. For me just paying the ticket would be the kiss of death, as I guess you are admitting some sort of guilt that way.
I remember a worksheet, explaining what constitutes deportable and non-deportable crimes, floating around this site. It clearly stated that a minor marijuana possession charge is non-deportable. However, the OPs citizenship will probably be denied if he applies the next 5 years.
It won't make difference unless it is deportable. You can not get a refund
if you withdraw application. So as long as it is not deportable (I think
cutoff line is 30 milligram of marijunna), go ahead. You will lose some time for FP and interview, gasloline for driving and parking money but nothing else.
You can treat yoru IO as a lawyer and ask legal questions
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Artem Ustimenko
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Jackolantern
Registered Users (C)
Whether or not this offense is a deportable one, your naturalization will not be approved until the case is resolved. Also, you need to be aware that probation, deferred adjudication, dismissal, and other situations can be considered a conviction for immigration purposes even though there is no guilty verdict. So be careful of what you admit or plead to. And you definitely need to consult a lawyer.
Jackolantern
Registered Users (C)
You mean without your consent? Depending on the nature of the situation, you can get the evidence thrown out if it was an illegal search. Again, consult a lawyer.
Jackolantern
Registered Users (C)
I think If the IO know the defendent was not found guilty because it was an iilegal search, he/she would still be able to find good moral char is not established because the applicant did it anyway. If the applicant sued in court, the USCIS can ask teh cop to testtify. I heard It is ruled that evidence from illegal search
can be used in immigration court
Al Southner
Registered Users (C)
Dude,
I hate to break it to you, your citizenship is out of the window for the next 5 years. No immigration lawyer can wipe off your bad moral conduct in this instance. In claiming that your were searched without your consent, you are actually on thin ice on that one. You can ask why? The law in that case is simple as ABC. There is a probable cause doctrine.
In United States criminal law, probable cause refers to the standard by which a police officer has the right to make an arrest, conduct a personal or property search, or to obtain a warrant for arrest. If the police officer suspect that you were committing a crime, which clearly you were by having herb in your possession, then the court has determined that he doesn't need a consent from you. The damaging evidence is that your signed the ticket and the bottle with weed had your name on it. Which self-respecting judge would see facts from your vantage point?
. Why would a police officer need a warrant to search you while he has a reasonable suspicions that you are committing a crime? 
The application for N400 is incomplete until you are sworn-in to tell the truth before an IO. So, because you have mailed this N400 but committed this crime later on, you will be required to amend this filing, meaning indicate to the officer that you committed a crime after submitting the application. The moment you are sworn-in to tell the truth by the IO, you should disclose this because what is going to happen is that the FBI will flag your FP to USCIS as a record returned. In short, a criminal activity bearing your FP and name. Lastly, by claiming that you had less than an ounce of this bannded substance, you are minimizing your criminal act, which has a potential to turn ugly from a perception viewpoint. You have no smoking gun to convince the court that your were wronged by the police officer. You need to sit your butt down and consider the consequences of your actions, what is coming your way might not be pretty at all.
A friend of my wife, who came to the US from Ukraine as a little kid got arrested 3 times, once for possession of marijuana and twice for driving with a suspended license.
He breezed through the interview, then even forgot to go to the oath and they sent him another oath letter for 2 weeks later.
He's now a USC.
Don't worry about it and apply. Just have all the paperwork. It's not even a felony, not even a misd in some states, just a citation.
He breezed through the interview, then even forgot to go to the oath and they sent him another oath letter for 2 weeks later.
He's now a USC.
Don't worry about it and apply. Just have all the paperwork. It's not even a felony, not even a misd in some states, just a citation.
If the OP had not applied, I would not advise him to apply. But he already sent his application, so I advised him not to withdraw since thereis no refund anyway. He can use this application as an exercise in order ot prepare for application 5 years later. And if by any luck, he get approved this time, then it is super.
It is a CIMT. and it is deportable if the weight exceed 30 grams.
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Artem Ustimenko
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Artem Ustimenko
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btw the weight is shown as less then 1 oz but it actually was like .5g
First, I very much agree with those posting above who suggested that the OP should consult an immigration lawyer (and maybe more than one) before doing anything regarding the ticket. A competent legal advice is definitely needed here.
My own non-expert take on the matter is the following.
I don't think the OP is deportable even if he pleads guilty and pays the ticket.
There is a specific exception from deportability on U.S.C.
http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/uscode08/usc_sec_08_00001227----000-.html
related to a single count of possession of under 30gm of marijuana:
"(B) Controlled substances
(i) Conviction Any alien who at any time after admission has been convicted of a violation of (or a conspiracy or attempt to violate) any law or regulation of a State, the United States, or a foreign country relating to a controlled substance (as defined in section 802 of title 21), other than a single offense involving possession for one’s own use of 30 grams or less of marijuana, is deportable."
However, I would think that any conviction on any drug charge within the statuary 5 year period prior to naturalization would prevent the IO from finding that the applicant has good moral character.
So it is likely that if the OP pays the ticket (which is the same as pleading guilty to the charge), his current N-400 application will be denied.
Then he'll have to wait another five years to wipe the slate clean, before having a chance for an N-400 to be approved.
It is not possible (and certainly not a good idea to try) to conceal the ticket during the naturalization interview. At the interview the IO will go over every question in N-400 and ask the OP if there are any updates or changes to the answers given on N-400 at the time it was submitted. The ticket will have to be disclosed then.
If the OP has paid the ticket by the time of the interview, the application will most likely be denied based on the lack of good moral character. If the ticket is contested but the matter still not resolved by the time of the interview, the IO will likely postpone a decision to see the final outcome of the ticket.
If I were in the OP's shoes, I'd contest the ticket and also try to postpone the naturalization interview. If the ticket is dismissed by the court by the time of the naturalization interview, then the N-400 application would likely be approved.
My own non-expert take on the matter is the following.
I don't think the OP is deportable even if he pleads guilty and pays the ticket.
There is a specific exception from deportability on U.S.C.
http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/uscode08/usc_sec_08_00001227----000-.html
related to a single count of possession of under 30gm of marijuana:
"(B) Controlled substances
(i) Conviction Any alien who at any time after admission has been convicted of a violation of (or a conspiracy or attempt to violate) any law or regulation of a State, the United States, or a foreign country relating to a controlled substance (as defined in section 802 of title 21), other than a single offense involving possession for one’s own use of 30 grams or less of marijuana, is deportable."
However, I would think that any conviction on any drug charge within the statuary 5 year period prior to naturalization would prevent the IO from finding that the applicant has good moral character.
So it is likely that if the OP pays the ticket (which is the same as pleading guilty to the charge), his current N-400 application will be denied.
Then he'll have to wait another five years to wipe the slate clean, before having a chance for an N-400 to be approved.
It is not possible (and certainly not a good idea to try) to conceal the ticket during the naturalization interview. At the interview the IO will go over every question in N-400 and ask the OP if there are any updates or changes to the answers given on N-400 at the time it was submitted. The ticket will have to be disclosed then.
If the OP has paid the ticket by the time of the interview, the application will most likely be denied based on the lack of good moral character. If the ticket is contested but the matter still not resolved by the time of the interview, the IO will likely postpone a decision to see the final outcome of the ticket.
If I were in the OP's shoes, I'd contest the ticket and also try to postpone the naturalization interview. If the ticket is dismissed by the court by the time of the naturalization interview, then the N-400 application would likely be approved.
Jackolantern
Registered Users (C)
If the evidence is thrown out, I don't think the court disposition would be allowed to say it was found and got thrown out. The court would have to act as if it doesn't exist, and USCIS would have no basis for calling it a conviction if the individual didn't admit to having it.
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