Disorderly behavior-Implications on citizenship and travel abroad

[smitham]

Hello,
I am having my Green card since 5 yrs through employer in USA. I am eligible to apply for citizenship. I was involved in a minor shoplifting incident a year ago. The case filed was brought to local municipal court in NJ and it was downgraded to a petty disorderly behaviour ( 129-13) after guilty plea and I just had to pay a monetary penalty. I have NO prior criminal record.
1.What is the implication of this on my Citizenship application. Will I need an attorney?
2. I have not travelled to India since then and I need to do so soon. What are the chances of issues with immigration during reentry?

Please, somebody answer these Qs.
Thanks

 

[premo]

You don't have much to worry about unlike aggravated felony or CIMT or crime of violence. Your conviction qualified for petty offense exception where the maximum possible sentence is 6 months. I don't think you would have trouble at the POE upon return from a foreign trip. To show GMC for naturalization you need to have a clean record for 5 years (3 years if through marriage). You are statutorily eligible but it is up to the IO to determine discretionary eligibility, which a good immigration attorney who has experience seeing similar cases and specializes in removal cases should have a better idea about.

 

[boatbod]

I'm not sure I agree with premo's rosy outlook - the main problem being that USCIS does not determine CIMT based strictly upon your final court outcome. What seems to matter more is what charges were brought against you, whether there was *any* finding of guilt and how they map into immigration law.

You might want to read this article as it explains the matter further.

Note too, that anything bad which happens within the last 5 years is typically viewed far more severely than anything outside of the "good moral conduct" window.

I recommend you consult a qualified immigration lawyer before proceeding.

 

[N400Applier]

Hello,
I am having my Green card since 5 yrs through employer in USA. I am eligible to apply for citizenship. I was involved in a minor shoplifting incident a year ago. The case filed was brought to local municipal court in NJ and it was downgraded to a petty disorderly behaviour ( 129-13) after guilty plea and I just had to pay a monetary penalty. I have NO prior criminal record.
1.What is the implication of this on my Citizenship application. Will I need an attorney?
2. I have not travelled to India since then and I need to do so soon. What are the chances of issues with immigration during reentry?

Please, somebody answer these Qs.
Thanks

Yes boatbod is right. You will need a consultation with a lawyer BEFORE you apply.

 

[smitham]

Thanks
I read the article and based on that I should not have problem for reentry, but I might need an attorney reg.eligibility for citizenship.
But I am still skeptical about reentry. The original charge was for shoplifting, but after guilty plea and since there was no past history, it was brought down to disorderly behaviour, I was only asked to pay a $200 fine, no other sentences.

 

[boatbod]

Personally I think its unlikely you'll have problems with reentry at this point because USCIS probably don't yet know about your conviction. Obviously that will change once you apply for N-400, so you have a really compelling reason to consult an immigration lawyer experienced in this type of case prior to application.

 

[smitham]

Can someone please recommend a good attorney in NJarea who can help me out with my citizenship application with regard to the matter in original post?

 

[Citizentobehz]

For what I understand:

1) You will need to have at least 5 years of good moral record from the time of your disposition of your previous charge, to be qualified for applying the citizenship. Do remember this, USCIS is NOT limited to look only five years to determine if you are qualify to become a citizen. You can appeal USCIS decision if they deny your application.

2) As long as you are currently holding a valid LPR status, travel aboard shouldn't be any problem. From most recently court ruling, LPR returning from oversea travel within the time limit, it is technically "reentry" not "re-admission", therefore, ICE will have less of "administrative" power to deny your "re-entry". Unless there is pending Immigration related charges against you, even then, you will still have the rights to appear in front of immigration Judge to determine if your are deporatable and/or inadmissible. Unless you have over stayed oversea, or under some compeling reasons that you have abandend residency, ICE is unlikely (nor has the power) to "revoke" your LPR status.

BTW, I am not a lawyer, those are my own opinions. Anyone feel free to correct my knowledge here.

 

[smitham]

For what I understand:

1) You will need to have at least 5 years of good moral record from the time of your disposition of your previous charge, to be qualified for applying the citizenship. Do remember this, USCIS is NOT limited to look only five years to determine if you are qualify to become a citizen. You can appeal USCIS decision if they deny your application.


BTW, I am not a lawyer, those are my own opinions. Anyone feel free to correct my knowledge here.

thank you.
I gather from all responses applying now does not make sense.
do you mean to say that even having clean record for 5 yrs is also not good enough that they can look beyond 5 yrs?
and even after 5 clean yrs from now I have no guarantee of obtaining citizenship?
IF I apply and get denied what is the worst that can happen? there is no harm for my LPR status, right?

anyone who has knowledge about this matter, please respond. I appreciate any suggestions, thanks

 

[mario123]

thank you.
I gather from all responses applying now does not make sense.
do you mean to say that even having clean record for 5 yrs is also not good enough that they can look beyond 5 yrs?
and even after 5 clean yrs from now I have no guarantee of obtaining citizenship?
IF I apply and get denied what is the worst that can happen? there is no harm for my LPR status, right?

anyone who has knowledge about this matter, please respond. I appreciate any suggestions, thanks

Nothing is mentioned about 5 yrs. other than in the Naturalization guide which is only a "guideline". The questions in the GMC (Good Moral Character) section are pretty cut & dry:

Have you ever ...
Have you ever ...

ever = since the day you were born

..... and that definitely means your WHOLE life history (in the U.S.) will be under scrutiny by the FBI and USCIS.

 

[Citizentobehz]

thank you.
I gather from all responses applying now does not make sense.
do you mean to say that even having clean record for 5 yrs is also not good enough that they can look beyond 5 yrs?
and even after 5 clean yrs from now I have no guarantee of obtaining citizenship?
IF I apply and get denied what is the worst that can happen? there is no harm for my LPR status, right?

anyone who has knowledge about this matter, please respond. I appreciate any suggestions, thanks

THat is percisely why you need to consult a experienced immigration lawyer before you apply for citizenship. Although it is unlikely your past conviction would result the removal proceeding from USCIS. But, the chance is there! Whether USCIS could approve to judge that you are departable and/or inadmissible is an entirely different thing, but it could generate awhole lot of headache that for you to deal with for years. Longer times that you had between the conviction and your application, less chance that you would be put into removal process.

If your application gets denied, there should be a writtern reason(s) to why USCIS denied you application. You will have the rights to file an appeal. You maybe told that you could re-apply after satisfying certain condition(s). If those are the outcome, then your LPR status will not change. If USCIS felt that your past grants for a removal preceeding, then you will have to go through the immigration court to determine if your LPR would be revoked and ordered for deportation.

From what my knowledge so far, in your case (as you have described), the possibility is there, but probablity is small if you waited for several years before you apply for citizenship.