DUI Diversion & Applying for US Citizenship

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tekball

Registered Users (C)
I was arrested for DUI last May and I have an interview this coming September for my Citizenship. I was under the legal limit as I blew .07% (.08% is the limit) so I did not go to jail and my liscense was not suspended. I could not afford to fight it so I pleaded "No contest" and now doing Diversion program. I was given 4 weeks of class that will end before September and the DUI will be dismissed as soon as I completed all 4 classes. It's my first DUI offense and I won't be convicted as long as I finish the Diversion program.


Will this deny my application?
 
This is a tricky one. You were pulled over for a DUI, but per law, you were not over the limit therefore not convicted (yet). But since you were pulled over and "booked" by police and charged, you'll have to get ready to defend yourself to the Immigration Officer (IO) at the interview.

The IO could use the 5 year limit "Good Moral Character" against your case because whether you were convicted or not, you do have a record of DUI and you did "drive under the influence". You can be 0.02 or 0.05, you still drove "under the influence".

If I had to bet on it, then I would say that the IO will deny your application because the incident is so recent and the fact that all documents stated that you were pulled over for DUI. DUI dismissed or not, a police record is out there (accessible) that you were once pulled over in suspicion of drunk driving. You better hope that you get an amazing IO on his/hers happy days for your application to be approved.

I would emotionally get ready to apply again after May 2011.

I am not a lawyer.
 
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In your immigration form you will need to provide details of this incident, pleading "no contest' to a DUI. Even if the DUI is "dismissed" you are supposed to declare "ALL" such incidents. I highly doubt if you can get citizenship before 5 years of a clean record from the date of the incident.


tekball said:
I was arrested for DUI last May and I have an interview this coming September for my Citizenship. I was under the legal limit as I blew .07% (.08% is the limit) so I did not go to jail and my liscense was not suspended. I could not afford to fight it so I pleaded "No contest" and now doing Diversion program. I was given 4 weeks of class that will end before September and the DUI will be dismissed as soon as I completed all 4 classes. It's my first DUI offense and I won't be convicted as long as I finish the Diversion program.


Will this deny my application?
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"No Contest" is a guilty conviction in the eyes of USCIS, even though it is not an admission of guilt. You should have fought it.

But anyway it is too late for that. See a lawyer and find out what your options are. The facts on your side show that you were under the limit; it may be worth a try to apply.
 
Sorry to say, but it sounds very much like you did yourself a big disservice by not fighting the charges. As others have mentioned, "no contest" is considered a guilty plea by USCIS, and you're unlikely to be able to be naturalized with a DUI conviction inside the 5yr CIMT period.

Consult a good immigration lawyer experienced in these matters, before you go for interview.
 
For sure, you need a good immigration lawyer but I have heard of GC approval cases which are clear DUI cases. But this is only hear-say and cannot be taken as legal advice.

Use that info at your own risk !

I am not sure if it will be rejected if less than 5 years' time limit but I may be wrong... :( :( :confused:
 
High 5 said:
were you involved in an accident, where & how did the arrest took place.
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No there was no accident. I was originally pulled over for "failure to yield" but the officer noticed that my eyes were bloodshot and so he asked me if I had anything to drink that night and I said yes. I thought I did good with the sobriety test but he failed me so he took me down to the station and had me blew and thats when I passed. He still cited me for DUI although my liscense is not suspended.

I spoke to a DUI evaluator and said that once I'm done with my Diversion classes case will be dismissed and I will not be convicted of DUI. Also, he mentioned that it will show "Diversion" on my record not DUI as its being diverted from a DUI.
Boatbod, you had mentioned this on one of the DUI threads: "Generally speaking if your conviction carries a fine over $500 or 1 year or more jail time/suspended sentence, you can expect problems"

My Answer: I did not do any jail time as i am not convicted and so far my fines ran up to $400 dollars due to the diversion program.
I will definitely call a lawyer. I have another month to go.. Can I cancel my interview and wait for 5 years? Do I have to start all over and pay the fees again? God, this is such a tragedy for me.
 
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tekball said:
Can I cancel my interview and wait for 5 years? Do I have to start all over and pay the fees again? God, this is such a tragedy for me.
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If I were you, I would not cancel. If you attend and IO feels ok with proper and clear explanation, IO might award your citizenship. If not it is going to be denied in which case you can wait and appy again.

If you cancel still you cannot do much except you are going to say that you cancelled because of this? even if you don't say you cancelled because of this your history will prove it when you apply again.

If you are sure that diversion program will end before your interview get a record from police and state what happened to IO and put it in such a way that you don't know what to do and what his/her suggestion will be at the time of interview. It all depends how you put your words.

It's tough I can understand and I have not got anything like that so I might be wrong too.
 
I just ran my Criminal background check and I got nothing. I am definitely calling a lawyer today. I'm starting my Diversion class this Saturday and I have to do this 4 consecutive Saturdays in order to pass and case will be dismissed so it should be done before my Naturalization interview.I have gone to the Victims impact panel unit class and that was interesting. I have all documentations (receipts,police report was not bad at all,court papers) that will show that I'ved done my part to dismissed the case.

I explained to my evaluator my situation and told him I have an interview coming up. He stated that Diversion is not a DUI as long as I go to all 4 classes. It will also show "Diversion" instead of DUI on my criminal background. He said tell the IO and show all my paperwork.

As of now, I still plan on going to my interview although I will consult an immigration lawyer and He/she can have a better understanding of what I need to do...
 
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tekball said:
My Answer: I did not do any jail time as i am not convicted and so far my fines ran up to $400 dollars due to the diversion program.
I will definitely call a lawyer. I have another month to go.. Can I cancel my interview and wait for 5 years? Do I have to start all over and pay the fees again? God, this is such a tragedy for me.
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The other problem is that USCIS views alternate sentencing programs in a similar light to admitting guilt. I'm not overly familiar with that aspect of immigration law, but suffice it to say, the cards are rather stacked against anybody with a blemish on their record. You probably want to make sure any lawyer you retain is intimately familiar with these particular areas of immigration law. Not all of them are, and it pays to call around until you find someone who really knows what they are talking about.
 
Interview Update

Ok had my interview last Thursday... I waited for half an hour until they called my name. The IO took me to his room and started asking me for my info. Then he asked me if I have been arrested before and I said yes for DUI and explained to him that though I was arrested, I passed the BAC and never got my liscense suspended. I also went to Diversion class and passed everything. Then he asked me for 5 civic questions which I answered everything correctly. Then he told me that all I need is a copy from the court proving that I am not on some type of probation for the DUI arrest. He gave me some instructions and so I went to court and got a letter stating that I have completed all DUI diversion class and not on probation of any sort. I'm mailing it out today and he gave me 30 days to complete and send the letter.

In other words, I wasnt denied on the spot. I still have chances of being denied if I don't turn this letter in 30 days. Anyway, I'll update this once I get a response back from INS hopefully saying that Im approved.
 
From reading what you have written it is highly likely you will be approved. Please do update when you receive the letter from IO, because this will be one of the very few cases where a no contest to a DUI within the 5 year period led to a successful outcome.

tekball said:
Ok had my interview last Thursday... I waited for half an hour until they called my name. The IO took me to his room and started asking me for my info. Then he asked me if I have been arrested before and I said yes for DUI and explained to him that though I was arrested, I passed the BAC and never got my liscense suspended. I also went to Diversion class and passed everything. Then he asked me for 5 civic questions which I answered everything correctly. Then he told me that all I need is a copy from the court proving that I am not on some type of probation for the DUI arrest. He gave me some instructions and so I went to court and got a letter stating that I have completed all DUI diversion class and not on probation of any sort. I'm mailing it out today and he gave me 30 days to complete and send the letter.

In other words, I wasnt denied on the spot. I still have chances of being denied if I don't turn this letter in 30 days. Anyway, I'll update this once I get a response back from INS hopefully saying that Im approved.
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