Citizenship with drug charges/ arrest. PLEASE HELP

[drillzzz]

Thanks for taking a look and any attempt to help me out.

My story in short. Moved to the states in 1991-1992 after my parents got divorced. We moved to the states and lived here illegally (no paperwork) for years from my pre teens to late teens. I received my work visa in late high school and eventually received my green card around 2002. Before receiving my green card I ran into some issues which included petty theft (stealing baseball gloves) and marijuana arrest (less than one gram). After receiving my green card I really got my act together. I have not had any run ins with the law (except for one traffic ticket) and went on to receive a bachelors in science, a masters in biomedical sciences, and now I am in my third year of dental school. I mostly waited so long out of fear of my past and also due to financial constraints but now its time to finally do something before time runs out (my green card expires in 4 months). I got a quote from a lawyer in my area for $2,700 without the application fee. Also, keep in mind I have not left the states since I came in 1991.

What are your thoughts in my case? Should I hire a lawyer?

 

[ananga73]

Did you disclose these run ins with the law on your green card application? You mentioned you got your green card AFTER committing these offenses. If you did reveal them, you're good. If you did not, you could have your permanency revoked for immigration fraud and deported.

Two incidents of Crimes Involving Moral Turpitude would doom you. In your case, your drug conviction was not for the purpose of distribution and the quantity was less than 30g hence it does not count as a CIMT.

http://nm.fd.org/index_files/ImmigrationConsequencesChecklist.pdf

http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/86942.pdf

Thus you have only one CIMT which is the petty theft. That should not preclude you from citizenship particularly since the convictions/arrests were more than 5 years ago and thus you can show good moral character in the period 5 years before you applied for citizenship.

You're good to go IF you revealed these offenses during your initial green card application.

Best.

Thanks for taking a look and any attempt to help me out.

My story in short. Moved to the states in 1991-1992 after my parents got divorced. We moved to the states and lived here illegally (no paperwork) for years from my pre teens to late teens. I received my work visa in late high school and eventually received my green card around 2002. Before receiving my green card I ran into some issues which included petty theft (stealing baseball gloves) and marijuana arrest (less than one gram). After receiving my green card I really got my act together. I have not had any run ins with the law (except for one traffic ticket) and went on to receive a bachelors in science, a masters in biomedical sciences, and now I am in my third year of dental school. I mostly waited so long out of fear of my past and also due to financial constraints but now its time to finally do something before time runs out (my green card expires in 4 months). I got a quote from a lawyer in my area for $2,700 without the application fee. Also, keep in mind I have not left the states since I came in 1991.

What are your thoughts in my case? Should I hire a lawyer?