DWI And arrest

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kzs13364

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Hi All,

My 485 was pending in TSC from 1 1/2 years.We gave FP on 10th of november and same day i met an accident(No injuries) and police charged me under DWI and reckless driving.
Is it effect to my greencard process?
do we need to inform to INS abt this?
please give me some valuble information abt this.

thanks in advance
 
Originally posted by kzs13364
Hi All,

My 485 was pending in TSC from 1 1/2 years.We gave FP on 10th of november and same day i met an accident(No injuries) and police charged me under DWI and reckless driving.
Is it effect to my greencard process?
do we need to inform to INS abt this?
please give me some valuble information abt this.

thanks in advance
Click to expand...

Sorry to hear about it. Did the policeman ask you to blow for BAC ? Why did he charge for reckless driving (too fast i.e., > 15 mph over speed limit or drag racing ... ?). Also, were you arrested ? When is the court date ? What state is it in ?

It would be wise to talk to both a traffic lawyer and an immigration lawyer. The traffic lawyer could help reduce the charges.

I won't volunteer any info to INS but work with a lawyer to reduce the charges.
 
Man !!! you are in Jeopardy, if you got arrested !!!

Anyhow don't worry, nothing to inform to any one. Get rid of that ticket and attend the DMV Class clear the points.

Atleast you have some good record in DMV next time don't do it.

All the best

:)
 
I was arrested for DWi(Police asked me to blow and BAC is 0.12)
before to blow itself i told them that i drunk 2 1/2 beers.Iam going on 35 spped and the speedlimit on the road is 35.
It's a very curvy road .The cop report says"Vehicle 1 was travelling North on Alston when it's front was struck by the front of vec 2(My car) which was travelling south on alston and had crossed the double yellow line into vehicle 1's lane of travel ,driver 1 stated that vehicle 2 crossed the center lane and sruck her head on .Driver 2 stated that he had been drinking beer and was sorry"

and after cop comes they took me to BAC test and they asked all the info abt me and asked me to pay 1000$ bail.

they didn't take any Finger prints.

Thanks
 
Arrests may have to be informed to INS

According to certain attorneys, dire situations need to be informed to INS, the most dire situation being that of an ARREST. As others have advised in this thread, you may opt to stay mum, but there is a good probability that your case may be transferred to a local-office for interview at which time you will be asked this question about your arrest.

Now, many may take offense to my possible leaning towards informing INS, but it is what is technically right thing to do. When you filed your I-485 papers, you may have asserted on oath about having an arrest-free record in the United States. That has now become tenuous. Therefore, you may need to discuss this with your attorney to see if you need to submit an I-485 amendment.

For the sake of privacy, I do not want to discuss about the case of another forum participant who had to submit an I-485 amendment after an arrest was effected on the derivative spouse, after the attorney advised to do so. All I can say about this case is that it was not for a DUI, but for another punishable offense. Sorry, I cannot discuss further about this particular case other than to positively state that this person had to inform INS by filing an I-485 amendment as per the attorney's directions.

Arrest information can easily be verified by INS and any wilful withholding of information may backfire on you as a possible attempt to defraud.

Please do talk to your immigration attorney to discuss the ramifications. Especially ask him/her whether you need to file an amendment to your I-485, due to this incident of DUI, which has made your earlier declarations regarding your arrest record tenuous.
 
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It's never OK ... it could make troubles all along ... even it might become a hurdle during the Citizenship application .......

Better refrain from it for a better future ...
 
more details please...

  • Which State do you belong to?
  • In your State, does DWI constitute a misdemeanor or felony charge?
  • Were you asked to come to the court?
  • Do you have a Criminal Attorney to represent? Please do not plead nolo contendre (no contest) as admission of guilt is sufficient for INS to initiate removal proceedings.
  • What is the actual sentence imposed and what is it you served? (Imposition is enough for INS and serving the sentence is immaterial)
 
Which State do you belong to?:NC

In your State, does DWI constitute a misdemeanor or felony charge?:misdemeanor

Were you asked to come to the court?:Yes

Do you have a Criminal Attorney to represent? .:"Yes"
Please do not plead nolo contendre (no contest) as admission of guilt is sufficient for INS to initiate removal proceedings:"Can u brief me abt this question"


What is the actual sentence imposed and what is it you served? (Imposition is enough for INS and serving the sentence is immaterial):"Can u brief me abt this question"
 
Originally posted by kzs13364
Please do not plead nolo contendre (no contest) as admission of guilt is sufficient for INS to initiate removal proceedings:"Can u brief me abt this question"
Click to expand...

According to the INS' IIRIRA 1996, almost everything is an offense for removal. In order for removal, there should be a "conviction." What is conviction in Immigration parlance is entirely different from the routine definition of a conviction as per State and Federal statutes. So, as per your state rules, DWI may not be a felony (as you said, it is a misdemeanor) and you may think you are safe. In fact, you are not. A misdemeanor according to a State statute can be construed as a felony according to the IIRIRA 1996 act. In many cases, an aggravated felony, which is what is needed to remove an alien depends on a sentence which is awarded for 365 days or more. However, for immigration purposes, the award of sentence is what is critical and has no relevance to whether you were actually put behind bars. Here, in this country, plea-bargain is the order of the day. You need to bargain with the DA (District Attorney) or the Criminal Prosecutor through your Defense Attorney for a plea of no-contest (nolo contendre), or to a crime that is less severe. For the citizens of this country, that is great. No problem. For Aliens and this includes even those of you who have got their GCs vulnerable for removal proceedings by INS. As per IIRIRA 1996, INS can go back retroactively to launch removal proceedings. As per this law, even should the Judge be kind enough to pardon your offense and put you to a simple one-day imprisonment or 364 days probation or some combination of both or even a total pardon, the very fact that you had pleaded no-contest, or had accepted the guilt or were adjudged to the guilt may be enough for INS to launch removal proceedings. You are free to corroborate this answer of mine with any of the leading immigration attorneys. There have been cases to prove my point and they were precisely DWI cases. Now, don't lose heart. You are from NC and Atlanta District Office's interpretation of an offense pertaining to DWI may be different. However, in Texas, DWI is a felony and you can read an interesting article here: http://www.twmlaw.com/resources/general31cont.htm

The bottom-line is this: Don't be fooled by your Criminal Defense Attorney who may not be realizing the consequences of representing an Alient whose AoS is at stake because of a no-contest plea. See, if you can contest the charges.

Originally posted by kzs13364
What is the actual sentence imposed and what is it you served? (Imposition is enough for INS and serving the sentence is immaterial):"Can u brief me abt this question" [/B]
Click to expand...

Technically, the Judge may impose a sentence of 366 days and you may have served either 1 or 0 days of it in a prison, by opting for some other lesser sentence. For Immigration purposes, you must again be aware of how seriously an alien's rights are curbed by this harsh IIRIRA 1996 act, which takes cognizance of the award of the sentence, even if 100% of it should not have been served by you. A mere imposition of a sentence is grounds for INS removal proceedings. Also, fines and probations do not count towards "conviction" for ordinary purposes, but is certainly applicable for immigration purposes.

The main point to be noted in your case is that:
  1. You were "arrested"
  2. You are governed by a Criminal Court of Law and as such the proceedings are Criminal proceedings
  3. A Conviction on this case MAY or MAY NOT jeopardize your AoS adjudication and being aware of this should not cause fear psychosis in you, but to be careful enough not to warrant a second conviction which is a sure ticket back home. At least a one-time conviction can be argued before the Immigration Judge. If you are lucky enough, INS may not take cognizance of your case, if the Criminal Proceedings and Convictions are not harsh on you and if you didn't plead guilty to the charges.
  4. You are the only one who knows the truth. If you think, your alcohol limit was within the safe range, you can argue your case. My main advice to you is to not fight this case as a Citizen would do by merely pleading a no-contest or accept guilt for bargain of a lesser sentence. Aliens do not have this privilege. Period. So, at least try to get this point across your Defense Attorney, who may not be aware of immigration implications.
    [/list=1]

    Don't worry about what could happen, when it has happened. Think about what you should be doing to safeguard yourself from adverse fallouts.

    You will certainly be in my prayers. God Bless.
 
Don't worry...

One final point: Whatever sentence is awarded, make sure it is less than 365 days, even if you were not supposed to serve it. That way, you will be much much safer as according to the Atlanta District Office Circular purveyed to all the US Attorneys and State Attorneys explicitly asked them to seek a sentence of 365 days or more for aliens so that they can be removed, whenever they prosecute aliens.

Since you belong to NC, you are governed by Atlanta District Office, if you were wondering why I was mentioning about Atlanta in the first instance.

So, you should derive some satisfaction out of this and stay calm. Make sure about the other points. Usually, I want to keep my mouth shut, because am not sure if you are deriving fear out of it or benefit out of it. If I were you, I will take the information to better equip myself. If anybody is feeling bad after I write something, I am doing a great disservice here.

Hope you derive some benefit out of what I write. Always please run by my opinion with your attorneys as I am NOT an attorney at law.
 
One of my friends is a client of Sheila Murthy. He mentioned to me that he was told by his attorney "whatever u do, do not get arrested for any reason what so ever, because this has serious implications for the GC process".

So I agree with poongunranar, in general. I do not have any legal background to comment on the detailed analysis he has presented.

Thanks.
 
Talk to your attorney about ARD

kzs13364

It’s not the end of the world.

Talk to your criminal attorney about ARD (Accelarated Rehabilitative Disposition) program or a similar program available in NC.

First time misdemeanor offenders may be eligible for such programs provided, one has not used the program before, no convictions within the past 7(?) years and there are no other serious offenses along with the misdemeanor.

This program will get you out of the conviction / jail but, apart from the $s @ 2K + Attorney charges, you may have to go through one or more of the following
- Probation / Parole @ 1 yr
- Suspended drivers lic up to 6 months
- Community service
- School attendance: Highway Safety / Alcohol
- Sanity, Drug, Alcohol abuse evaluation
- Remittance to folks / property affected
- Other conditions imposed by the judge
- Court administrative costs

If eligible and accepted, be good :) and take it easy. This will help the Parole officer and DA reduce the ARD duration and grant pardon, provided you have paid all the monies!

On successful completion of the program, have your criminal attorney expunge your records (make sure this is a part of the deal upfront for all representation, documentation and processing) from all concerned agencies.

Patience is key as the whole process may take upto 2 years or more!

As for informing the INS is concerned... with your arrest and bail situation. Sooner or later you will be FP'd and several agencies including FBI will have your records (FP or no FP) this in all probability will show up during the security check ... if the INS does any :).. Consulting your imm lawyer, you should probably send the info to INS after you have been placed into an ARD like program. This will not only communicate the offense but also that you have a process in place to atone for the offense. A misdemeanor does not necessarily mean deportation!

Also, get good references for your character from Priest, Professors, Employer and other credible people. Will be useful in filing your ARD application with the District Attorney.

Hope this helps.
Good luck for a good criminal attorney, a cooperative DA and a merciful judge!

By the way, if you are not convinced by now, drinking and driving is certainly not worth the aggravation and expense that you will go through.

Take it easy and have a safe and happy holiday season.
 
I am in a similar situation:- Had my interview on 8/13/03 and still waiting to hear back from the officer because of an arrest that I had in 93 in Georgia ( Driving with suspended driving license, speeding ). Did plead guilty to the charges ( misdeamenor ) and now I am paying for it....My RD date is May 2000 ( EB2). Brought the final court disposition that was requested by the officer on 8/15 and till today I am still waiting for his final decision...

Please advice !

Thanks
 
fdp021

How did the interview go? What did the interviewer say regarding your situation? How long was your imposed and served sentence?
 
The officer just asked me to bring the final court disposition and that he would le me know his final decision by mail...He also let me know that it shouldn't be a big problem, but I am still waiting after almost 4 months. The interview was short, about 30 minutes and straight to the point. I had my fingerprint taken, signed a form, and the officer for the most part was very professional...He asked for std stuff, employment letter,etc...
But still don't know what's going on...
 
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