DV 2022 AOS (Adjustment of Status) Only

[DV_Winner_Husband]

5. Didn’t you previously state you guys paid a fine for this incident? Well, agreeing to pay a fine is an admission of guilty IMO (I could be wrong). Which means question 27 be a YES in this case. Anyway, that is how I would answer if this were my case, I will rather be upfront. Admitting to pleading guilty is not a show spoiler in this case, it is not a crime of moral turpitude.

We paid what we were told and therefore didn't come to the court. We thought it was a fine. But when we got court records, started filling the form we got confused. In the court records it's not a fine, but "bond forfeiture". It looks like there's some legal differences between them we don't understand.
If she answers "YES" on 27, then what should my wife add? She didn't come to the court, didn't plead guilty and in the records we don't see she was convicted.

 

[SusieQQQ]

It looks like there's some legal differences between them we don't understand.

Perhaps you should get legal advice on what exactly it means so you can accurately fill out the form. We are not lawyers here (the owner of the website is though)
(When I look up bond forfeiture on Google it seems to mean something quite different than what you are implying.)

 

[Sm1smom]

We paid what we were told and therefore didn't come to the court. We thought it was a fine. But when we got court records, started filling the form we got confused. In the court records it's not a fine, but "bond forfeiture". It looks like there's some legal differences between them we don't understand.
If she answers "YES" on 27, then what should my wife add? She didn't come to the court, didn't plead guilty and in the records we don't see she was convicted.

Pleading guilty or admitting you’re guilty isn’t necessarily about being convicted in the courtroom, or having a judge declare you as being guilty. Take a look at at the sample pre-filled I-485 forms in one of my previous posts above (or previous page) to see how a minor issue such as traffic light infraction or over-speeding was disclosed and addressed. Anyway, I’ve already informed you as to how I will deal with this if this was my case. You may consider getting a legal opinion like Susie also recommended above.

 

[DV_Winner_Husband]

Thank you, SusieQQQ and Sm1smom for the help!
I'll ask the question on legal advice platform.

I tried talking with a layer, but he said that he didn't provide a service of reviewing i-485 documents if he didn't prepared them himself (which costs $$$$).
Obviously I'd like to avoid spending several thousands on answering 3 simple questions

 

[coffeemonster]

We paid what we were told and therefore didn't come to the court. We thought it was a fine. But when we got court records, started filling the form we got confused. In the court records it's not a fine, but "bond forfeiture". It looks like there's some legal differences between them we don't understand.
If she answers "YES" on 27, then what should my wife add? She didn't come to the court, didn't plead guilty and in the records we don't see she was convicted.

In some states this is apparently a normal way of paying a fine. See here:

I got a speeding ticket .... and quickly paid the fine. .... Now the case status says "bail forfeiture". What does it mean ? I called the court and the support representative said I do not have to appear in court and "bail forfeiture" means that the ticket is paid for?

Generally, a bail forfeiture is understood to be the payment of the fine. By paying it, the person cited avoids having to appear in court and the matter is concluded, no further action is required

When you paid the fine early you actually posted bail. When the court date came up and you didn't appear you forfeited the bail because you were found guilty. The case is over.

So yes it's technically forfeited bail but it's understood as a fine. I would follow Sm1smom's advice and state that you pled guilty. You won't be punished for ticking that box if the FO decides that you didn't really plead guilty!

 

[Sm1smom]

We paid what we were told and therefore didn't come to the court. We thought it was a fine. But when we got court records, started filling the form we got confused. In the court records it's not a fine, but "bond forfeiture". It looks like there's some legal differences between them we don't understand.
If she answers "YES" on 27, then what should my wife add? She didn't come to the court, didn't plead guilty and in the records we don't see she was convicted.

What you’re describing seems similar to this case on AVVO by the way. Bail or bond forfeiture = paying a fine = admission of guilt.

 

[SusieQQQ]

Thank you, SusieQQQ and Sm1smom for the help!
I'll ask the question on legal advice platform.

I tried talking with a layer, but he said that he didn't provide a service of reviewing i-485 documents if he didn't prepared them himself (which costs $$$$).
Obviously I'd like to avoid spending several thousands on answering 3 simple questions

FYI, I meant just in terms of clarifying whether or not it counts as a conviction - not to review the entire doc.

 

[ivanze]

We're filling our i-485 and there are things we are confused about and googling doesn't help.

1. we are from Russia. In our birth certificates our country of birth is RSFSR. What should we write in the fields about ours and our parents' birth country? Russia, USSR or RSFSR?

2. my wife's father's city of birth was renamed several years ago. What should we write? New name or the old one?

Same case here, so:

1. Russia
2. We used current city names in the Google Maps transliteration.

Hope this helps, good luck.

 

[DV_Winner_Husband]

Thank you all for the help!

I got another question about the medical exam.
i-693 requires either to provide vaccination records or to be vaccinated.
My doctor practice said that I can also do antibody blood test. Will it work as a proof of vaccination?

 

[coffeemonster]

Thank you all for the help!

I got another question about the medical exam.
i-693 requires either to provide vaccination records or to be vaccinated.
My doctor practice said that I can also do antibody blood test. Will it work as a proof of vaccination?

Yes that's what I did. But I don't know if it will be accepted for the covid-19 vaccination (that wasn't a requirement when I did mine, but it is now).

 

[DV_Winner_Husband]

Yes that's what I did. But I don't know if it will be accepted for the covid-19 vaccination (that wasn't a requirement when I did mine, but it is now).

Thank you for the reply!
We are vaccinated against COVID-19. The question was about other vaccines (MMR and Varicella).

 

[SusieQQQ]

Yes that's what I did. But I don't know if it will be accepted for the covid-19 vaccination (that wasn't a requirement when I did mine, but it is now).

Anyone who has had a Covid vaccine done should have proof of it. It’s not a childhood vaccine done decades ago…

 

[ivanze]

Thank you all for the help!

I got another question about the medical exam.
i-693 requires either to provide vaccination records or to be vaccinated.
My doctor practice said that I can also do antibody blood test. Will it work as a proof of vaccination?

You can do a blood test in a lab (ask Civil Surgeon about specific tests) and use it to skip the vaccination. If you haven't done any vaccines (MMR, Tdap) in the past 10 years, 99% you will not have any antibodies.

 

[ivanze]

Yes that's what I did. But I don't know if it will be accepted for the covid-19 vaccination (that wasn't a requirement when I did mine, but it is now).

Covid vaccine is not yet mandatory for i-693.

 

[coffeemonster]

Covid vaccine is not yet mandatory for i-693.

Technically it's not mandatory now, but anyone doing an i-693 now is presumably a DV2022 candidate, and since DV2022 processing starts after the vaccine mandate begins, it's effectively mandatory now.

 

[ivanze]

Technically it's not mandatory now, but anyone doing an i-693 now is presumably a DV2022 candidate, and since DV2022 processing starts after the vaccine mandate begins, it's effectively mandatory now.

Was there an official statement from USCIS? Cannot find that information on their website.

 

[coffeemonster]

Was there an official statement from USCIS? Cannot find that information on their website.

CDC Requirements for Immigrant Medical Examinations: COVID-19 Technical Instructions for Civil Surgeons | Immigrant and Refugee Health | CDC

A combination of vaccination and routine infection control practices will provide the best protection from COVID-19 for applicants and US communities. These technical instructions for civil surgeons provide information about COVID-19 vaccination for applicants. The instructions in this document...

www.cdc.gov

I suppose someone could do their medical exam now and file in the next 60 days for DV2022, and possibly avoid it if they were so inclined. But clearly it'll be required for virtually all DV2022 applicants.

 

[ivanze]

I suppose someone could do their medical exam now and file in the next 60 days for DV2022, and possibly avoid it if they were so inclined. But clearly it'll be required for virtually all DV2022 applicants.

That is interesting, as we completed our medical exam two days ago and got our envelopes. But doctor never mentioned anything about Covid-19, and I do not see it in the forms.

Guess we'll file them anyway and provide vaccination cards at the interview?

 

[SusieQQQ]

You can do a blood test in a lab (ask Civil Surgeon about specific tests) and use it to skip the vaccination. If you haven't done any vaccines (MMR, Tdap) in the past 10 years, 99% you will not have any antibodies.

Tetanus needs to be done if not in past ten years - not sure if they do the full TdaP for that or just tetanus by itself

Covid vaccine is not yet mandatory for i-693.

From 1 October it will be.

 

[Sm1smom]

That is interesting, as we completed our medical exam two days ago and got our envelopes. But doctor never mentioned anything about Covid-19, and I do not see it in the forms.

Guess we'll file them anyway and provide vaccination cards at the interview?

You cannot just provide vaccination card at the interview for a required vaccine, prove of meeting a specific vaccine requirement needs to be reflected on the medical form by the CS.

Yes you’re right, USCIS has not yet updated their website with information about the COVID-19 vaccine requirement even though CDC indicates this becomes effective Oct. 1st (which is why I equally haven’t updated the AOS Process Spreadsheet “Medical Exam” tab with this information either). This should happen soon and I expect USCIS will be releasing an updated I-693 form shortly to include the COVID-19 vaccine on the vaccine section also. If you plan on filing before Oct.1st when this new requirement goes into effect, you will be fine in that case.