Domestic violence arrest and H1 revalidation

G

Gogol75

Registered Users (C)
I hope somebody on this forum can guide me.

Four years ago I was arrested in California on charges of domestic violence (a felony charge). My wife and I had a fight and she called the cops, and they arrested me. My wife bailed me out the next morning and the charges were later dropped. I never went to court as the charges were dropped. I was on H1B visa at the time.

Fast forward four years to today....
I am in India for a vacation and went to the US embassy to renew my H1 visa, and here's where my problems start. I made the blunder of answering the "Have you ever been arrested or convicted..." question on Form DS-156 to "No". During the visa interview, the office asked me if I was ever arrested because apparently my name was in the database and it flashed on his screen. I told him yes I was. He asked me why I have marked "No" to the question. I said that I misunderstood the question because my charges were dropped. Anyway he asked me to change my response to "Yes", which I did. I also told him I was arrested for domestic violence but the charges were later dropped and there was no conviction.

He then told me that they would take a full-set of my fingerprints, and send them to US for a complete check. They took my fingerprints, kept my visa application, returned me my passport and told me to wait for a month. They said that the embassy will get in touch with me after the verification is complete.

1. Is there any hope for me getting a visa?

2. Is there something I could do, like contacting my employer in the US, contacting my immigration lawyer in the US, hiring a lawyer to try and get my police or court records in the US?

Please help.
 
Yes, there is always hope of getting Visa BUT only after verification of your history. Only FBI can do this. So they send that request to their Washingtin DC head office. This Washington office in turn ask FBI to do the rest. So, once you are cleared, they will send response to Washington. Washington Office send response to Chennai Office. Chennai Office send mail to you. It's long story.

Please note, once any applicant get's any visa query, US Embassies JUST DON'T CARE ANY LAWYER ON THIS EARTH. Meaning, You need NOT waste your money. I know it's painful. But just I am suggesting not to waste your hard earned money by consulting lawyers etc. Time take it's own course of action.
 
Thanks Dcmetro and Lalita.

What is the purpose of this verification/scrutiny?

Would the fact that I was arrested on charges of domestic violence give the U.S. embassy enough reason to deny me a visa? I was arrested but not convicted as the D.A. did not take the case to court and dismissed the case.

Appreciate your feedback.
 
Grant of Visa after Domestic Violence Incident

Hello ,

This is my first posting in this forum . I think this is a great place to share experienc.

I will have a similar situation like Gogla 75 in future .

Please let us know if anyone of you or anyone else, whom you know has ever got visa stamped after a domestic violence incident and what was his/her experience.

DC metro - Did you get your visa after a domestic violence incident?

That will be some releif to all, who have questions of visa stamping.

Thanks
 
What happens at POE

Thanks DC metro for sharing your experience . Hopefully, going with your experience he should get the visa.

However, can you let us know what may happen at POE?
Since now a days everyone is fingerprited, and this will result in a HIT. The immigration officer may give him trouble at POE? I read somehwhere in another web site that if you have a case like this , one is taken for secondary inspection and they suggested that one should keep a copy of law ( reasons where an immigrant can be deportable and inadmissb)le and should have all records of court papers.

Does anyone have a experience at POE after the fingerprinting started? That would give people like us some relief.
 
Please update us

Gogal 75 ,

Please keep us updated with your situation in India . You will give hope to lot of people when you get visa .

I think with experience of other people ,you will get . Our best wishes are with you and your family.I had read somewhere in this forum that two people got the visa after a domestic violence incident.

All the Best
 
Still waiting

Athomas,

Its been 4 weeks since my fingerprinting.

The time varies in such situations but I'll wait patiently until 8 weeks.

Will keep you informed.
 
Thanks

Thanks for writing . Please keep us informed . I am praying for you . Where have you applied for visa? which state, bombay, delhi??
 
HI Dc Metro, Athomas and Googla 75

I was arrested for Leaving site of accident in early 2001. I pled guilty to charges and fined $1000 and 2 yrs probation but the pobation was suspended in some 10 months.

So I also will have the same problem as you all. I had filied the DS-156 in December by answering "NO" to the arrested/convicted question but later withdrew the application (mumbai consulate u send the application beforehand) and also postponed the trip, when I came to know that u shud never lie.

But I have to go to india later this year and am very worried. Pls advise, if my situation constitutes CIMT ? How do u know which crime is CIMT ?
 
Hi dcmetro,

Thanks for the info.

In my case for the charge of leaving site of accident, the jail term is 1 yr. Does that mean mine is under CIMT ?

I have court disposition records and all other things.

BTW I have seen ur posts on a lot of sites. will it be possible for u to give me ur email id/ phone number so that I can contact u on this. Mine email is titosash@yahoo.com

Thanks
 
happyanand,

Please do not leave US before verifying your case details with an immigration attorney.
Thanks
 
Did Gogol ever reply? What happened to him after FP. I just hate it when people just seek for information and do not get back to this forum and share their experiences.

Do they not owe it to the forum?
 
What is the waiting time in India ??.

Guys,
I am in a similar situation like Gogol. I had a 273.5 conviction which later got vacated and got a new conviction 242 PC. I am planninig to goto India for H1B stamping. What is the wait time for getting a Visa with this kind of situation ?.
I will keep posting my responses when I get some possible solutions for my problem.
 
Will Conviction changes be Considered !!.

Athomas said:
This may help you . see reply from simply.baccarat
http://www.immigrationportal.com/showthread.php?t=129144&page=11&highlight
Click to expand...

Thank you Thomas. Currently, my conviction is for PC 242 , which is a simple battery and not a CMT. However, my initial conviction was for PC 273.5, which was a CMT. My Initial criminal attorney has wrongly advised me to plead guilty for PC 273.5 . However,later I hired an expert immigration and criminal attorney who has helped my case reduced to PC 242. The FBI finger print results shows the Old Conviction. I am wondering, even if I goto Delhi, will the consulate understand these changes and will grant me a Visa. This is really scary. I haven't travelled for about 4 years now and I really feel uneasy and depressed about not being able to visit my family in India. Any ideas on me getting a H1-B visa and be able to travel internationally will be greatly appreciated ?. I have almost spent $30,000 on this whole episode and still don't see any relief to my situation. All these attorneys are just charging without even fully giving me the solution.
 
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