Applying for Citizenship with a Nolle Pros Court case

A

apacheindi

New Member
Hello all,
I searched the forum and found a couple of similar posts but it is never reassuring until one discusses the specific situation.

My ex-wife filed a complaint for domestic assault a couple of years back. I wasn't arrested and the case was dismissed as nolle pros - no citations, no arrest, no plea. I was willing to produce evidence that this was a false complaint so the prosecutor just dropped it.

I thought this wouldn't be a major issue until I met with an immigration lawyer for consultation before filing papers and he completely scared me with possibilities of "moral pertitude" case, etc. I should probably have done more about the case to ensure there was nothing against me but at that point of time didn't think this will be an issue.

I will answer the N-400 questions appropriately for questions related to any Charges and ensure I take all the court papers but has there been any instance of major problems for cases like this where nothing happened, that anyone is aware of? Should I be retaining legal representation or am I just being scared into one?
 
You can find out if there is any record of a citation, arrest, charges. Contact the DAs office. They should either be able to provide you with it or tell you where you can get it.

Additionally, check with the police department to see what records they have.

Technically the question on the N-400 is "Have you ever been CITED, ARRESTED, CHARGED, CONVICTED, BEEN TO JAIL, etc.

If you were never cited, arrested, charged, etc, the truthful response to all those questions would be "No."

The complaint alone won't affect you negatively. Especially if you were never arrested or charged. Complaints don't mean anything.

You should be fine. It probably won't even come up.
 
Thanks folks. Charges were filed but withdrawn and not prosecuted. When I checked with court they gave me a case disposition as "Nolle Pros."

So I guess the answer on the N400 is YES for Charges filed but "Nolle Pros" for outcome.
 
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