Hi –
I am from India and am here in the GA on H1B status to work in the Software field. Its been 6 months since i came here and recentley my life took an unfortunate turn. I was arrested for DUI at around 6 in the evening and was taken to court at 8.30 next day morning. The accident happend at a place less than 1 mile distnce from my home and I was going at not more than 30 miles/hour. The rental car was totalled and NO BODY WAS HURT. The breath test gave .200 . The cop did ask me if i wanted to get a blood test done and I told him it was not neccessary. I pleaded guilty in the court and requested for a permit to drive from home to work. The court suspended my license and asked me to do the following.
1) Pay $600 fine - with court charges it became 916.
2) Probation for 12 months with $41 monthly Probaton fee per month
3) 40 Hours of Community Service
4)Attend Risk Reduction Program
5)Attend Evaluation and Treatment Program
6) Attend Victim Impact Panel
THEY DID NOT GIVE ME JAIL SENTENCE of 24 to 48 hours which I beleive is the usual practice here.
As I requested they also gave me an affidavit that lets me get a permit to drive
I am really scared !!!!!! Also regret my descision to drink to solve problms. I have promised myself never to drink again. Also they told me that If I complete all the items listed above then the will remove probation. I am planning to complete them in about 2 to 3 months.
I have a couple of questions/doubts and it would be really helpful if you could help me out.
1)How will this incdient affect my job oppurtunites in the US. I know a couple of companies do back ground check. Will my DUI show up?. If it does what are the chances of me getting rejected for DUI reasons.
2)How will my H1B get affected. I.e. If I want to extend my my visa after 2 years? (Current H1B is valid for only 3 yrs and it can be extended for another 3 years)
3)What are my chances of getting a Green Card?
4)Is there any possiblity of fighting a legal battle with the help of an attorney against my DUI. If I do so what are my chances of getting my name cleared from the records as in getting it expunged
I was married 10 months ago and even my wife is working in the US. Her company is applying for her Green Card in the next couple of months.
1)Will my DUI affect her Green Card?
GUYS IF YOU KNOW OF ANY ANSWERS TO MY QUESTIONS THEN PLEASEEE POST A REPLY