Gambling conviction - need to travel

T

Texan409

New Member
Hello gurus,

* * I have been here since 1995. I got cited for misdemeanor *gambling in 1999 working at a gas station. I had to appear for photo and finger printed. Actually I sold a lottery ticket to an under cover cop on 8-liner machine. In Texas it is illegal to give cash, beer, cigs and lottery tickets on amusement machines. I was 19 at that time & my boss didn't tell me about the law. *I went to court & judge reduced it to disorderly conduct. I paid 150 fine. *Last year I got my green card. I mentioned my conviction on I-485 so USCIS knows about it. They took 2 years reviewing my case before granting me green card. They have all the court documents.

* *I have never been out of country since I came here. I would like to travel to my home country. Would I have problems at POE coming back? Since my finger prints will be a hit. What can I do to void any problems. My conviction is 12 years old. I will be traveling with my son, U.S citizen. Please reply.

*Also will this be a problem for citizenship 4 years down the road ?
 
Why don't you start by ordering for yourself your FBI file and see what's in there to begin with.
 
Basically what Praxx is saying is, when you get arrested and fingerprinted for any criminal activities, your fingerprints get transferred to FBI. Immigration authority at airport checks FBI database to clear your reentry.

One could request his/her own FBI Criminal Background Check (aka identification record) from FBI by following few steps mentioned here (w w w . fbi . gov / about-us / cjis / background-checks / background_checks) which would tell you what information may come up while you are entering back at the airport. You could take your case disposition/dismissal letter with you to show just in case if it comes up at the airport.

Also considering the fact that it happened in 1999 (11+ years ago), it may not have major effects for reentry but getting FBI Criminal Background check report would give you clear picture of what information may come up in their check.

Hope that helps,
Jay
 
This single misdemeanor "disorderly conduct" conviction and a fine of $150 back in 1999, BEFORE you got your greencard, will not pose a problem to re-entry or naturalization. IF the actual offense actually required a waiver (doubtful), you already got it.
 
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