Any success story with domestic violence cases

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dv02

Registered Users (C)
I'm interested in any success cases where individual with domestic violence misdemeanor case have been successful in getting US citizenship.

I have met about half dozen immigration attorneys and most of them have a vision that I will be first denied US citizenship and then I will get a deportation notice. I will then have a chance to leave the country or fight it in the immigration court.

Is there no hope in my case? Moderators/individuals please share your experience.

Details of my case are listed in the following thread below. I have ONLY one incident of domestic violence misdemeanor case with "With Held Adjudication" + probation (which was early terminated after completion of 26 week of anger management classes).

http://immigrationportal.com/showthread.php?t=282265&highlight=domestic+violence

I'm feeling pretty sad about my situation so please share if you are aware of any success stories. Is there any hope?

I have my US citizenship interview in next four weeks.

Should I withdraw my application or just NOT show up at the interview or go for the interview and face the consequences.
 
dv02 said:
Should I withdraw my application or just NOT show up at the interview or go for the interview and face the consequences.
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It really doesn't matter at this point whether you choose to withdraw your application, or just don't show up for the interview or go for the interview and face the consequences. Why? Because your deportation is a done-deal. Period. Unless a miracle happens.....

Actually, your case is a clear-cut example/proof of the consequences of filing the naturalization application. As I've said all along that INS scrutinizes the whole immigration and criminal history of the applicant at the time of naturalization, of which some facts might have been overlooked or mistakenly judged/determined at the time of obtaining green card. That's why it's so important for applicants with any serious issue to consult with at least 4 experienced and reputed immigration attorneys before filing N-400. Unfortunately, some people either don't know the consequences, take matters for granted, or mistakenly think otherwise which makes them to try to save money from going to attorneys.

A conviction on a domestic violence charge is a deportable offense under INA sec. 237 (E). And it doesn't matter whether it was a misdeamenor, a felony, what was the sentencing and probation, how long ago it happened or anything else of this nature because a mere conviction on this offense is a deportable crime. I've been around on this site and other ones for so long, and believe me I've never seen any approval in cases involving domestic violence except only one which was from Boston 3 yrs ago. A guy had a similiar situation and his case was put on hold for one and half year. One day, after so long he sent me a mesage out of blue telling me that his case got approved. I don't know if he was truthful or not, but that's what he said. So, just prepare yourself for the worse.

If I were you, I would immediately withdraw my case on the date of interview before interview even taking place, and would hope and pray for the officer/INS to not review your application or criminal history. Though chances for them not to reviewing your whole file is VERY-VERY slim, but at least there could be a little hope of it, which could be better than nothing and this could save you from deportation. Otherwise, you should start either praying hard or hope for a miracle to happen....Just u 2 know, miracles do happen....at least sometimes.....so long we believe in them....

Good luck...
 
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Live in fear till the next event

Johnnycash,

You are right in your evaluation but then how long can a person stay in fear. A person with domestic violence case cannot go out to meet it's family in the country of birth or go out on official tour outside US because of the fear that there might be trouble waiting at the port of entry. A person in such case can remain quiet and stay within US till the expiry of the green card because this issue will surface back at the time of GC renewal.

I went for a vacation outside US 2 years back without the knowledge that I can be denied entry on the port of entry. It might just be luck that my last entry was not caught by the immigration officer on the airport.

I'm getting prepared to pack up and go back to my country-of-origin but wanted to find out all the possible ways to retain my hard gained status in last 14 years.

Thanks for your reply to my last posting.
 
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deportable vs "will be deported"

INA sec 237 (E) says that the domestic violence case is "deportable"? Does this mean that the person will surely be deported or their can be some relief given depending on circumstances. Any comments?

(E) 6/ Crimes of Domestic violence, stalking, or violation of protection order, crimes against children and.-

(i) Domestic violence, stalking, and child abuse.-Any alien who at any time after entry is convicted of a crime of domestic violence, a crime of stalking, or a crime of child abuse, child neglect, or child abandonment is deportable. For purposes of this clause, the term "crime of domestic violence" means any crime of violence (as defined in section 16 of title 18, United States Code) against a person committed by a current or former spouse of the person, by an individual with whom the person sha res a child in common, by an individual who is cohabiting with or has cohabited with the person as a spouse, by an individual similarly situated to a spouse of the person under the domestic or family violence laws of the jurisdiction where the offense occurs, or by any other individual against a person who is protected from that individual's acts under the domestic or family violence laws of the United States or any State, Indian tribal government, or unit of local government.
 
To live in a fear or not, it's a matter of personal choice. And I don't think anyone on here is talking of whether you should be in a fear; instead we are all just telling you of the consequences/impact of your conviction on a domestic violence offense in your immigration life here.

And unfortunately, there is NO relief available whenever someone is convicted on a domestic violence offense. So, I don't see any relief for you even if you have US citizen spouse and children. The ONLY possiblity (or you can say a relief) that I can think of is-vacating that domestic violence conviction....no matter how old the case is. Once that conviction gets vacated then it means there was NEVER a conviction. So obviously, USCIS cannot deport you on this conviction. Don't be confused vacating a conviction with expungement/sealing of record, in case if you don't know the difference.

There is a law firm in SF (CA) which is especiallized in this kind of challenges, like vacating a conviction in a criminal case for immigration purpose to prevent deportation. I think that firm is known by Tooby and Norton, something like that. They have handled a lot worse cases than yours and were able to challenge and vacate those criminal cases in order to avoid deportation. This is a BIG law firm, so obviously it might cost you at least $10K or more. I don't know what you do here to make money or how important it is for you to be in the US, but many people don't care spending money to protect themselves from deportation and from being barred for good. They say that they can always make money in the future so long they would live here, but they won't be able to make any money from here if they get deported. So, you have to act according to your own decision and situation.

If you really want to do your best to live here then don't waste your time and energy in going/talking to any other attorney because there is nothing anyone can do for you as far as deportation goes because law is very clear on this, and attorneys are not above the law. Instead, you should try to find a reputed law firm which is specializing in challenging old criminal conviction to vacate them. Google this law firm in SF (CA). At least talk with them...who knows there might be a glimpse of hope....Immigration is a federal matter, thus they can handle cases anywhere across the United States...

Good luck...
 
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Hi JohnnyCash,

I did the search myself and it seems the name is Norton Tooby. I found this in his website:
"Prosecutors often will not care to defend misdemeanor convictions with any vigor. Defense attorneys who have good relationships with court or prosecutor can frequently call in a favor and get these vacated and dismissed. There are some exceptions: Driving under the influence, petty theft, or domestic violence convictions may be more stoutly defended because they can be alleged as prior convictions in the future to enhance sentences. Moreover, misdemeanor convictions resulting from plea bargains in felony cases, or that carry more severe sentences in their own right, may also be more vigorously defended. Nonetheless, courts may not care very much about even these more serious misdemeanors and may be willing, if you can force them open, to dismiss rather than relitigate these old cases.

The more serious the case, the more the prosecution may care to defend the conviction. For more serious misdemeanors and minor felonies, it is often necessary to offer the prosecution an equivalent immigration harmless conviction and reinstate the original sentence in order to persuade them to alter the troublesome conviction."

http://www.criminalandimmigrationlaw.com/~crimwcom/Free_postcon.php#1.10


and the homepage at:

http://criminalandimmigrationlaw.com/~crimwcom/index.php

I hope this helps.
 
Knowledeable replies

JohnnyCash said:
.............

There is a law firm in SF (CA) which is especiallized in this kind of challenging and vacating a criminal case for immigration purpose to prevent deportation. I think that firm is known by Toby and Norton, something like that.......................
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JohnnyCash,

Your replies have been in-sync with what good immigration attorneys have told me. You are knowledgeable and correct in your analysis. Thanks for being clear and upfront about the matter.

You are good resource on this website and you should keep helping others.

Thanks.
 
Dv,
You should consult with an immig attny instead of getting counsel from somebody on the net.Ideally you would have done the background work before you applied. Hope this works out for you. Keep this thread updated.
 
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