Citizenship and Misdemeanor charge

I

imhlpnd

New Member
Hello,

I have a quick question for the knowledgeable folks here.

After a lot many years of marriage without problems, recently my wife and I got into a fight and in the spur of the moment I slapped her and she called 911. Things cooled off in a few minutes, even before the police arrived, but it was too late for any corrective action at that time, even when my wife tried to send them back saying there was no issue. I was arrested, booked and then released immediately. I now have a misdemeanour offence (which I believe is a crimial offense) tagged on my name.

We are both GC holders for a long time and are now thinking of applying for US citizenship (which I had deliberately put off for many years).
Whill this case jeopardize my chances? What do you guys recommend I do?

Thanks in advance for the help.
 
imhlpnd said:
Hello,

I have a quick question for the knowledgeable folks here.

After a lot many years of marriage without problems, recently my wife and I got into a fight and in the spur of the moment I slapped her and she called 911. Things cooled off in a few minutes, even before the police arrived, but it was too late for any corrective action at that time, even when my wife tried to send them back saying there was no issue. I was arrested, booked and then released immediately. I now have a misdemeanour offence (which I believe is a crimial offense) tagged on my name.

We are both GC holders for a long time and are now thinking of applying for US citizenship (which I had deliberately put off for many years).
Whill this case jeopardize my chances? What do you guys recommend I do?

Thanks in advance for the help.
Click to expand...

This will cause the USCIS to look at the case a bit more closely,
but as long as you can *document* what happened then I doubt
it will stand against your moral character. If you read through
people's interview experience (see the experiences 2005/2006 section of
this site) for examples.

I don't see how they could arrest and book you, presumably your wife
said it was okay and did not want to press charges.

I'm sorry that such a small thing can cause you both problems,
I'm sure your wife feels very bad.
 
Thanks. When the officers asked both of us to describe the situation, we told them what had happened... so I think they took that as admission and booked me.

What's happened can't be undone unfortunately... it takes years to build a spotless record, and a few seconds to stain it :)

Should I get an immigration lawer when filing our paperwork? Should I apply after some years to see if I can get the record expunged? Any help will be greatly appreciated.
 
Hi Imhlpnd,

You said you were released immediately. The question is were you convicted? Did you plead guilty/no-contest? You wife doesn't have the right to decide to whether press charges or not. Based on evidences the DA decides the charge on behalf of the state.

Suggest you better get an attorney. If you have a clean 5 years, you are statutorily eligible but discretionary eligibility is upto the immigration officer.
 
more details...

imhlpnd said:
Hello,

I have a quick question for the knowledgeable folks here.

After a lot many years of marriage without problems, recently my wife and I got into a fight and in the spur of the moment I slapped her and she called 911. Things cooled off in a few minutes, even before the police arrived, but it was too late for any corrective action at that time, even when my wife tried to send them back saying there was no issue. I was arrested, booked and then released immediately. I now have a misdemeanour offence (which I believe is a crimial offense) tagged on my name.

We are both GC holders for a long time and are now thinking of applying for US citizenship (which I had deliberately put off for many years).
Whill this case jeopardize my chances? What do you guys recommend I do?

Thanks in advance for the help.
Click to expand...



How long was this incident? If 5 years has elasped since the incident, then I see no problem in your ability to procure US citizenship. Find a reasonably priced lawyer and see what he thinks. Also, go to your local police precint and see if you can find a record of this incident, and see what the police wrote. I don't know any DA who will pursue a case which appear to be so trivial. However, I don't condone slapping women or men at all, there are people who get killed because a slap gets out of hand, and emotions led people to commit irrational acts. However, it seems as if you and your wife are fine people, because you have since stayed together and are not about to realize the fake American dream... :p I hope you no longer slap her... :rolleyes:
 
imhlpnd said:
Hello,

I have a quick question for the knowledgeable folks here.

After a lot many years of marriage without problems, recently my wife and I got into a fight and in the spur of the moment I slapped her and she called 911. Things cooled off in a few minutes, even before the police arrived, but it was too late for any corrective action at that time, even when my wife tried to send them back saying there was no issue. I was arrested, booked and then released immediately. I now have a misdemeanour offence (which I believe is a crimial offense) tagged on my name.

We are both GC holders for a long time and are now thinking of applying for US citizenship (which I had deliberately put off for many years).
Whill this case jeopardize my chances? What do you guys recommend I do?

Thanks in advance for the help.
Click to expand...

While Domestic Violence is a deportable offence your incident is not all that much but may appear lik that in the police report. Go down to the police precinct and get a copy of the report. Then consult a good attorney and have him accompany you with all paper work concerning this incident to the interview. I read some cases like this where the attorney went with the client to the interview and it was smooth sailing and the others where attorney was not present went haywire.

With attorney :
http://immigration-information.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3466&highlight=n400#post3466

Without attorney:
http://immigration-information.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1825
 
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