Does a DUI affect I-485 AOS Green card

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tarzan16

Registered Users (C)
HI,
I recently got arrested for a DUI and my court date is on 6th june 07 but my concern is that I have applied for I-485 AOS marriage based in sep 06 and will be getting an interview pretty soon coz I was checking the processing dates and it is current for my case. So I'm scared that would they find about it and cancel my interview or even ifnthey call me will there be any problem with DUI? I have read quiet a lot of threads mentioning that they went to india to get their passport stamped for H-1 or had to mention their arrests in form DS-156 and attach all the court papers but my case is that I ahev already applied fore my green card since sep last year and its almost time for my interview and I got this DUI, so my case is not even decided yet but I'm sure I will be convicted coz my BAC was .23, but I will not have ant court papers when I get my interview to atleast tell them that I have paid all the fines and done the community service and all the punishments. What should I do????? I'm very scared and don't see any hope . If there is anybody outhere who has or had been in a similar situation please help me out. Plz Plz Plz.
 
I can't speak from personal experience since I am a teetotaler who believes that alcohol defies intelligence. DUI/DWI are taken very seriously by USCIS as they should be. At your I-485 interview you will be asked under oath if you have ever been arrested. You will have to mention this incident. After that, it will be USCIS's call to grant/deny/delay your AOS application.

tarzan16 said:
If there is anybody outhere who has or had been in a similar situation please help me out. Plz Plz Plz.
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Thanks Tripple citizen,
O.K. So I will have to take an oath and I'll definitely not lie about my arrest but my question is, since I just got that DUI and my court date is next month what if I get my interview before my court date? Then I will not have doccument to present to USCIS regarding the court case. I mean its one thing that you got a DUI in the past and then you paid all the fines and took all the penalties and then you can show it to them that I'm clear now but in my case I dont have anything to show them right now so basicaly what I want to ask is since all my I-485 paperwork and fingerprinting was done last year before this DUI happened, will there be any problem at this interview? And does being spouse of an US citizen matters?? And just in case if my green card interview does not come till the next month and I go to my court date first and I take whatever penalties I have to, I'll still be in the middle of my sentence doing my community service and probation, will that affect my case or does it not matter. By the way I would just mention that this is my first offence of any kind and I had a clean record till date and I'm a medical professional, still not liscenced to practice here though, but will be taking my tests pretty soon, if that could proove to the uscis that I'm not a criminal, just a mistake happened which I'll never commit again. Plz reply anyone who has the answers to my dilema, Stressed out.........
 
If the DUI case is still pending when you get your I-485 interview, I am pretty sure the officer will delay final adjudication of your AOS. You will probably be given instructions to mail the case documents once it is finalised. If the DUI case is complete by your I-485 interview, then it all depends on whther you were found guilty or not. If guilty, then the sentence handed down will matter. In either case, you need an experienced lawyer.
 
Issues are:

1. DUI arrest happened
2. FP already done, so no way that FBI database will trigger anything
3. When asked under oath at USCIS, please say yes. If you are tempted to say no, you will probably get away with it, TILL the time comes to fill in another form and another FP... e.g. Citizenship
4. If you were arrested but not convicted / acquitted yet, USCIS will have to delay (reschedule) interview
5. Once conviction happens, then the position of the law is as follows (a DUI is considered a crime involving moral turpitude. CIMT is a bar to receiving a GC, if (a) the maximum possible sentence for the crime convicted of is 365 days or more in county jail AND (b) the actual sentence awarded is more than 180 days in county jail
6. The combination described in 5 is very unlikely to happen in a first offence DUI, and you are likely to be approved without fuss
7. Naturally, you need a good attorney in the DUI case to keep any sentencing as small as possible irrespective of whether you have an immigration related problem or not. Whether you have an attorney or not in the USCIS case is unlikely to change the course of events there. Matter of peace of mind.

My considered, non-legal opinion, (for which I am not legally qualified, too) of whether you will get your GC is: you will. Not having to receive lectures on your 'intelligence-defying' actions from concerned citizens is anothe matter altogether :)
 
DWI didn't affect my case AT ALL!

To everyone who is worried about how DWI will effect their immigration adjustment based on marriage here is the answer: IT WILL HAVE NO EFFECT!!!!
I found out about it yesterday, when we told officer that I've just got a DWI, so I had to answer YES to the question about the arrests, the lady looked at me smiling and said that she doesn't care about the ALCOHOL related DWI. She approved my application and we were out of there in 15mins.
To recap:
1. I answered "yes" to the question about arrests.
2. Officer smiled and asked what happened.
3. I said it was a DWI a month before the interview(after the biometrics).
4. She smiled and told me that she doens't care about it and wondered whether I have any kind of documentation at all, otherwise she will quickly look it up in the computer.
5. I said I have a copy of the arrest
6. She said it was sufficient enough and moved on with interview.
7. I've smiled and told her that a stone fell of my shoulders as I was extremely worried(thanks to lawyers and forums) that it might have an affect on my application.
8. Officer smiled again and said that it would only be true if it was a DRUG related DWI.

OK, to everyone who spreads the panic CUT IT OUT... how much useless crap I've read online about this.

BOTTOMLINE: DWI HAS ABSOLUTELY NO EFFECT ON THE STATUS ADJUSTMENT - OFFICERS DON'T EVEN CARE.
 
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