DUI Folks ..Log your concerns here

[A-man]

DUI Experts need help

I got arrested for DUI(0.11 BAC) this July 2007 in Bay Area(Mountain View). I have a month time for DMV hearing & Court Hearing. I planning to contest and it looks like the lawyer charge is from 4000$.

Do anybody in Bay Area know of any good DUI lawyer you guys used for any of your situation and suceeded?

Many Thanks

 

[tekball]

Applying for Citizenship + DUI Diversion

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% I could ot afford to fight it so I pleaded "No contest" and now doing Diversion program. It's my first DUI and my Police report does not look too bad as I was polite and not appeared to be drunk. (I wasn't drunk)

I know I have to tell them this on the day of my interview but will this affect my application for Citizenship?

Also, I have papers to prove that I'm doing whatever it takes as Im taking alcohol classes and haven't drink eversince.

 

[gcard2001]

Canada Immigration With Dui

Folks,
So How does a DUI in USA affect the PR for Canada?
Does the DUI show up in the Police clearance certificate?
Any one know? thanks.

 

[milindis]

Anyone got their Visa stamped Recently??

this is an interesting memo from Rice. I wonder if they are also following the same procedure for who are already in US and applying for visa extension or change of status. Is there anyone else whose visa extension or change of status has affected due to DUI? I know in the case of AOS, there's no escape, as you'll be asked to submit I-693 (medical examination) as well as submit court records; at that point your case will get forwarded to local office for an interview by IO; which some people have apparently cleared.

Hi Guys,
I am planning to visit India in Oct. I still haven;t seen any post about anyone getting their Visa stamped after this memo came out. Please guys, post your expirience about your visa stamping in India. (The memo says people who might be scrutinized will be guys with a DUI conviction in the last 3 years or someone who has 2 DUI convictions). Anyone with such a case and went to india recently please give us an Idea. I want to know how much extra time this process is goign to take after you go for the first interview. As per the forum, recently it only took 3,4 days for the finger printing process. But with this added procedure, it might take longer. I hope it does not go back to the 3 month period wait.

Also have anyone gone to Mexico to get their Visa stamped after DUI/DWI?

Cheeers!!

 

[OptimusPrime]

totally screwed up

I just had my CP interview in Mexico last week and due to the DWI, my visa was denied, under section 212(a)(1)(A)(iii), talks about health/mental disorder.

They told me I need to file a Waiver (Form I-601), but I'm not sure that will apply to me since I am employment based, and not family based where you must show extreme hardship.

I am wondering if I can return to the US with H1. My current H1 is valid until 2009, but my I-797 original approval notice was kept by the immigrant officer at the consulate.

I have talked to 2 lawyers, one tells me I can try and get H1 stamped on my passport with a photocopy then try to re-enter to the US and change to AOS, another one tells me H1 will also be denied.

At this point I really don't know what to do. It's the worst day of my life.

 

[h14life]

details

I just had my CP interview in Mexico last week and due to the DWI, my visa was denied, under section 212(a)(1)(A)(iii), talks about health/mental disorder.

At this point I really don't know what to do. It's the worst day of my life.

Sorry to hear that your visa was denied. Can you elaborate further on your experience?

1) How many DUI's have you had and when exactly were you convicted?
2) Did you have to undergo any mental/health examination by the doctor/panel?
3) Did they provide any supporting document or any explicit basis of denial?

I hope if you hire a really good lawyer, things might be in your favor. Perhaps if you can get a 2nd opinion through a doctor to get mental/health examination and challenge the consulate officer(s). Just my thoughts.

 

[OptimusPrime]

Sorry to hear that your visa was denied. Can you elaborate further on your experience?

1) How many DUI's have you had and when exactly were you convicted?
2) Did you have to undergo any mental/health examination by the doctor/panel?
3) Did they provide any supporting document or any explicit basis of denial?

I hope if you hire a really good lawyer, things might be in your favor. Perhaps if you can get a 2nd opinion through a doctor to get mental/health examination and challenge the consulate officer(s). Just my thoughts.

1. Just 1 DWI, from 2006.
2. Yes, when I went to do the medical exam that is required for Consular Processing, they asked me if I had been arrested. I was honest all the way and said Yes and was sent to a psychologist the same day.
3. They gave me a paper that said that i was found ineligible under section 212(a)(1)(A)(iii) of the INA which talks about mental/health disorder.

According the 2nd lawyer I talked to, even the waiver that they asked me to file will not help since I don't have a qualifying family member or relative (parent, spouse or child) that is a us citizen or permanent resident. I would think that the president of the AILA would be one hell of a lawyer...

 

[milindis]

Sorry to here that

1. Just 1 DWI, from 2006.
2. Yes, when I went to do the medical exam that is required for Consular Processing, they asked me if I had been arrested. I was honest all the way and said Yes and was sent to a psychologist the same day.
3. They gave me a paper that said that i was found ineligible under section 212(a)(1)(A)(iii) of the INA which talks about mental/health disorder.

According the 2nd lawyer I talked to, even the waiver that they asked me to file will not help since I don't have a qualifying family member or relative (parent, spouse or child) that is a us citizen or permanent resident. I would think that the president of the AILA would be one hell of a lawyer...

I am sorry to hear this. I hope there will be someway that things will work out for you. What did the psychologist ask you or what tests did he take to decide that you were found to have mental/health disorder? This is procedure is really wierd. Will any letters from any prominant person from USA you know, help you case?

 

[one2look4]

Notice of Denial application for PR

Letter from USCIS recieved Aug 3/07

"On May 15, 2007 you were requestd to submit original certified copies of the Court Disposition, Indictment/Information, Judgement and Sentence for all of your arrest. You were given 30 days to respond. On May 30,2007 you mailed a record serch information from California; the court did not certify this document. You also failed to submit the requested documentation for your November 3, 2001 DUI or drug charges.

There is no appeal to this decision"

Marriage I485 filed Feb 09/07
AOS interview successful May 15/07 except Name check awaiting
May 30/07 sent RFE for uncertified court records shows no arrest to USCIS
Three months pass, and couple of Infopass appointment nothing was assured
my case will not be abandon b/c or name check pending
Aug 3/07 never recieve any warning of deficient RFE they issue AOS denial.


Note: Can not refile b/c wife is now unemploy and will not meet financial qualification. Second never was charge with DUI by D.A. but was detained
for suspicion of DUI with BAC .04% below legal limits. Being frank with examiner is a killer.

Questions
should I file WOM to reconsider or file for motion to reopen AOS and pay the $595 fee?

thanks if any one has been denied AoS and filed WOM.

 

[h14life]

psychologist order

I am sorry to hear this. I hope there will be someway that things will work out for you. What did the psychologist ask you or what tests did he take to decide that you were found to have mental/health disorder? This is procedure is really wierd. Will any letters from any prominant person from USA you know, help you case?

this is rather bizarre. i'm sure folks who have gotten dui in US and went through I-693 medical examination can may be share their experience. has anyone found ineligible by the USCIS doctor at the time of medical examination? when i did my 693 examination, my doctor didn't make any remark on "alcoholism" nor did they ask anything about my arrest. they just ask how often you drink, smoke, etc. He in fact checked on "No apparent disease or defect" : http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/I-693.pdf
- 1 dui/dwi shouldn't make a person ineligible. Where did you get your medical examination done? in US? is it different from I-693 form?

 

[MadeOneMistake]

Troubling developments

OptimusPrime,
Your case is indeed very troubling. From your other posts, I fugured out that you had a court case pending and you had a hearing date in september. Its very hard to even think that someone will give you a green card with a court case pending. Hence I am surprised that you opted for counsular processing. Now you are in no man's zone. You have to come for the court hearing and you really cant come back because your immigrant visa petition has been denied and I am almost sure that they wont stamp your H1b again because your non-immigrant intent is finsihed for bad because you have applied for a GC already and have been denied. Anyway -
1) Did they cancel your(strike out) your H1b in your passport?
2) Contact court and tell them that you cant come back because of what hapened to you? They must do something to bring you back to justice. You must do it anyway, incase you find any other way to come back later down the line. If you dont appear in court for your case, you will be declared an absconding offender and that seals for you US future right then and there..
3) What was your conversation with the dude who did your medical and mental evalution? I know you are having a hard time but still please share this information for other's good.
4) Unfortunately you cant appeal the decisions made at a consulate.


Lessons for others -
1) Never apply for counsular processing if you have a past offense.. specially if your court case is pending.
2) If you have a case, get all answers and keep persisting on forums if you dont get them. Just dont wish that problem will go away.

 

[MadeOneMistake]

Details please!

one2look4,
Though you have given a lot of information, but I guess you need to share more..
1) What were the documents requested at the time of interview?
2) You must be knowing now what you lacked? what was it?

1. It is necessary to have the court certified documents. You can still get the same search as certified if they dont have any court docs because you case never went to court.
2)Do you have a police report?
3) Can you get a document from DA that you were arrested but not prosecuted?

Since you application is marriage based and you are here, you must appeal the decision. Ofcourse you must get all the docs previously asked for and submit those with the appeal. Looks like, they have added a huge hastle in your life and you will have to spend money, but dont worry, you will get it for sure.

 

[desi_guy_ca]

I am also in a similar situation. Arrested for DUI on Aug 5th ..... BAC level 0.7. Stayed for 5 hrs in Jail. The court date is set for Sept 25th. I called up the DA's office, my case has not been sent to the DA's office yet. I have/had travel plans to get my H1-B(from F1) stamped from NewDelhi when I go in Aug end. My case is definitely not closed as this happened 3 days ago. What are your suggestions .... should I go to India and get my Visa Stamped ? Should/Can I talk(beg/reguest) to the DA to quash the charges so there's no criminal record ? Please help

 

[OptimusPrime]

Keep in mind that I opted for Consular Processing about 2-3 years ago when co-workers recommended it was faster than AOS AND at that time I did not have any offense.

I knew I shouldn't leave the country without settling the dwi case, so my attorney got me a plea bargain; got 2 more days in jail, no probation and no fines and suspended license for 6 months. This happened 1 week prior to leaving for CP, where at that time, people from here had posted their experiences and said that a DWI wouldn't be an issue at the consular interview. It's definitely the new regulations/memo from June.

1) my H1 was never stamped in the passport, but they took the original H1 I-797 approval notice. I wonder, if I am still allowed to work from abroad?
2) Like I said, the dwi case was settled prior from leaving the country.
3) questions were like, do i do drugs? do i drink? last time you drove while drunk? ever been in rehab?

Prior to leaving, I had asked my attorney if I could switch to AOS and he said that it will delay my process for more than a year and that if I could go to the CP interview, I should go because the visa number was already available for me, and that a dwi should not be a problem. Of course now he knows about my situation and he can't do much since he is not experienced on this and all he did was recommend other attorneys. How great.

Worst experience ever.

Anyone knows the answer to this question?

assuming my company allows me to work from abroad, can I still work with my H1 that expires in a couple of years? or do the consulate notifies somewhere to cancel my h1? how does that work?

OptimusPrime,
Your case is indeed very troubling. From your other posts, I fugured out that you had a court case pending and you had a hearing date in september. Its very hard to even think that someone will give you a green card with a court case pending. Hence I am surprised that you opted for counsular processing. Now you are in no man's zone. You have to come for the court hearing and you really cant come back because your immigrant visa petition has been denied and I am almost sure that they wont stamp your H1b again because your non-immigrant intent is finsihed for bad because you have applied for a GC already and have been denied. Anyway -
1) Did they cancel your(strike out) your H1b in your passport?
2) Contact court and tell them that you cant come back because of what hapened to you? They must do something to bring you back to justice. You must do it anyway, incase you find any other way to come back later down the line. If you dont appear in court for your case, you will be declared an absconding offender and that seals for you US future right then and there..
3) What was your conversation with the dude who did your medical and mental evalution? I know you are having a hard time but still please share this information for other's good.
4) Unfortunately you cant appeal the decisions made at a consulate.


Lessons for others -
1) Never apply for counsular processing if you have a past offense.. specially if your court case is pending.
2) If you have a case, get all answers and keep persisting on forums if you dont get them. Just dont wish that problem will go away.

 

[h14life]

to stamp or not to stamp!

I am also in a similar situation. Arrested for DUI on Aug 5th ..... BAC level 0.7. Stayed for 5 hrs in Jail. The court date is set for Sept 25th. I called up the DA's office, my case has not been sent to the DA's office yet. I have/had travel plans to get my H1-B(from F1) stamped from NewDelhi when I go in Aug end. My case is definitely not closed as this happened 3 days ago. What are your suggestions .... should I go to India and get my Visa Stamped ? Should/Can I talk(beg/reguest) to the DA to quash the charges so there's no criminal record ? Please help

DESI_GUY

1) Is it absolutely important that you leave US for stamping? is there an emergency?
2) even if you go to india; you WILL have to mark "YES" on DS-156 for the question that asks if you were arrested; regardless of outcome of the case.
3) Having said that, there's a good chance they will deny your visa since the criminal case hasn't been brought to justice; which means you will not have any court certified papers to show at the time of stamping. when you request a visa stamp, it's absolutely necessary that case has been closed and you provide court certified docs.
4) Reading Rice's memo, a new step is placed in the procedure, i.e. to get mental health evaluation for those who have 1 DUI in the past 3 years and those who have more than 1 in the past 7 or 10 years (not sure about the #s). Who knows how long it takes for this extra step? We haven't heard from anyone in this forum who has gone through mental health evaluation while they are abroad.

My opinion - hang in there; wait for the court date. If you can get the DA to drop the charges well and good. But don't leave the country until the clase has been closed and you have the court certified papers stating your charges and outcome. Keep in mind; regardless of the outcome, you will have to mark "YES" on DS 156; technically you WERE ARRESTED.

 

[milindis]

Really Tensed

DESI_GUY

1) Is it absolutely important that you leave US for stamping? is there an emergency?
2) even if you go to india; you WILL have to mark "YES" on DS-156 for the question that asks if you were arrested; regardless of outcome of the case.
3) Having said that, there's a good chance they will deny your visa since the criminal case hasn't been brought to justice; which means you will not have any court certified papers to show at the time of stamping. when you request a visa stamp, it's absolutely necessary that case has been closed and you provide court certified docs.
4) Reading Rice's memo, a new step is placed in the procedure, i.e. to get mental health evaluation for those who have 1 DUI in the past 3 years and those who have more than 1 in the past 7 or 10 years (not sure about the #s). Who knows how long it takes for this extra step? We haven't heard from anyone in this forum who has gone through mental health evaluation while they are abroad.

My opinion - hang in there; wait for the court date. If you can get the DA to drop the charges well and good. But don't leave the country until the clase has been closed and you have the court certified papers stating your charges and outcome. Keep in mind; regardless of the outcome, you will have to mark "YES" on DS 156; technically you WERE ARRESTED.

I too am planning to go to India or mexico in oct for my h1b stamping. My case is over, I got 3months licenses suspension and I have to do 12 hrs of IDRC classes. (http://www.nj-dmv-dwi.com/parts/IDRC.html).Thses classes are similar to the mental disorder evaluation mentioned in the memo. I am wondering if they pass me here after the evaluation and I could take a letter from these guys, will that help me in the evaluation during the h1b stamping. I have all the documents mentioned in this link. Court Disposition letter (Certified), police report, fines reciepts. Just waiting for the classes to be done soon. If anyone has got the visa after this new Memo was implemeneted, pleaseeeeeeeeeee advice.

Thanks.

 

[one2look4]

Never Charged but assume convicted

one2look4,
Though you have given a lot of information, but I guess you need to share more..
1) What were the documents requested at the time of interview?
----supply a police record stating you weren't charge
2) You must be knowing now what you lacked? what was it?
--- I did not supply a certified copy on no court records
but I the RFE stated certified for all or any convictions
1. It is necessary to have the court certified documents. You can still get the same search as certified if they dont have any court docs because you case never went to court.
Working on that but
2)Do you have a police report? I have sent for police arrest record but all other records are destroyed such as never being charged
3) Can you get a document from DA that you were arrested but not prosecuted? Same thing all records destroy.

Since you application is marriage based and you are here, you must appeal the decision. Ofcourse you must get all the docs previously asked for and submit those with the appeal. Looks like, they have added a huge hastle in your life and you will have to spend money, but dont worry, you will get it for sure.

Thanks man...I have been talking to attorney what to do (been really bum up about this but will have to soldier on)

The incident happen in 2001, I have call the police department and all they have is an arrest record and all record destroyed after 3 years.
I call the D.A office same thing.
The court can not issue a certified of disposition b/c charges were never file.
All I can get is certified court record or no records b/c I have never been convicted of a misdemeanor or crime but USCIS is assuming this as RFE.

So I got to prove to them I have never been charge. Atty are advising me to refile my AOS. Reopening may be hard b/c USCIS marriage base filing their
decision are discretionary.

Does any one know how hard it is to reopen a I485 denial?

 

[sosbuddha]

please respond

I too am planning to go to India or mexico in oct for my h1b stamping. My case is over, I got 3months licenses suspension and I have to do 12 hrs of IDRC classes. (http://www.nj-dmv-dwi.com/parts/IDRC.html).Thses classes are similar to the mental disorder evaluation mentioned in the memo. I am wondering if they pass me here after the evaluation and I could take a letter from these guys, will that help me in the evaluation during the h1b stamping. I have all the documents mentioned in this link. Court Disposition letter (Certified), police report, fines reciepts. Just waiting for the classes to be done soon. If anyone has got the visa after this new Memo was implemeneted, pleaseeeeeeeeeee advice.

Thanks.

Hey Milindis,

I have the same situaton as you. I am really getting confused with all teh AOS cases and see that there are very few H1-B stamping cases off late in these message boards. Please check your private messages as I have left you one ...so that we can talk.. I am planing on going for h1-b stampin in oct aswell..to the chennai consulate..please respond when u get a chance to..
thnk u

 

[delmar]

Similar situation here. Had interview at Detroit office Mon Aug 6. Interview lasted 5 minutes; adjudicator said everything was fine to approve the case but no visas were available so my passport could not be stamped. He said sometime after FY08 begins (10/1/07) the welcome letter would be sent out and card production would be ordered. I did not receive a letter and was out in 5 minutes, as stated.

 

[milindis]

The Medical Test

Hi All,
I finally got in touch with one person who has gone to India for the H1b stamping after the new memo came out. This is what he has to say:

I had to undergo 3 tests....serum alcohol,liver funtion test and some gamma function test...Guess swhat i failed the serum alcohol testr(which is weird coz I hadnt touched alcohol for 2 days before the test) doc has asked me to do it again...hopefully it ll be okay this time...another test is by a psychiatrist...thats just conversational(atleast it was for me)...plesase give it 2-3 weeks...also like i said ... get an appointment in ur city..DO NOT take alternative posts....its a pain...

Hope he gets his visa stamped...I will keep you guys updated.

Thanks.