I became a conditional green card holder in May of 2010 though my USC husband and got my permanent Greencard in the mail today 11/26/2012 i suppose to be able to file for citizenship in May of 2013 but I have got in trouble in 2011 and got a misdemeanor charge of embezzlement under $200. This is my first and only offence , I have been in school, maintained my job and have became a christian since this incident my question is should I go ahead and file for citizenship in 2013 or wait for a few more years? How likely are they to deny my application?
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good moral and citizenship
- Thread starter babyqpid
- Start date
I became a conditional green card holder in May of 2010 though my USC husband and got my permanent Greencard in the mail today 11/26/2012 i suppose to be able to file for citizenship in May of 2013 but I have got in trouble in 2011 and got a misdemeanor charge of embezzlement under $200. This is my first and only offence , I have been in school, maintained my job and have became a christian since this incident my question is should I go ahead and file for citizenship in 2013 or wait for a few more years? How likely are they to deny my application?
What was the legal outcome of that charge? Were you convicted of the embezzlement in court? Did you plead guilty to something and if yes, to what? What punishment, if any, was imposed?
Also, was this actually embezzlement (meaning stealing from the employer)?
Or did you mean something like shoplifting (meaning stealing from a store)?
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What was the legal outcome of that charge? Were you convicted of the embezzlement in court? Did you plead guilty to something and if yes, to what? What punishment, if any, was imposed?
Also, was this actually embezzlement (meaning stealing from the employer)?
Or did you mean something like shoplifting (meaning stealing from a store)?
it was stealing from an employer (kmart) i plead guilty and was given probation for 1 year ..... this is the full story : i worked as a pharmacy tech and there was a co worker of mine who stole thousands of dollars worth of stuff i knew about it and felt it was not my place to say anything anyways when they caught her on the camara it was clear to them that i knew what was goin on(even if i did not directly help her. I got a lawyer who adviced me to plead guilty to embezzlement under $200 cuz it would be a lesser charge then the accomplice charge, i was so scared of being deported that i did just that. i did not get any jail time just the probation but i spoke to another lawyer a few months ago and he told me that i should of fight that in court and say i was scared to tell on the young lady. anyways it is already done and i cant have it sealed or expunged because in Virginia once u plead guilty you cant do anything else but get a pardon from the governer which does nothing but say that the state has forgiven you which you have to wait 5 years to do
it was stealing from an employer (kmart) i plead guilty and was given probation for 1 year ..... this is the full story : i worked as a pharmacy tech and there was a co worker of mine who stole thousands of dollars worth of stuff i knew about it and felt it was not my place to say anything anyways when they caught her on the camara it was clear to them that i knew what was goin on(even if i did not directly help her. I got a lawyer who adviced me to plead guilty to embezzlement under $200 cuz it would be a lesser charge then the accomplice charge, i was so scared of being deported that i did just that. i did not get any jail time just the probation but i spoke to another lawyer a few months ago and he told me that i should of fight that in court and say i was scared to tell on the young lady. anyways it is already done and i cant have it sealed or expunged because in Virginia once u plead guilty you cant do anything else but get a pardon from the governer which does nothing but say that the state has forgiven you which you have to wait 5 years to do
OK, I see.
Any form of theft (even very minor, e.g. shoplifting for $5) is considered a crime of moral turpitude. Having a conviction for a crime of moral turpitude during the N-400 statutory period (3 years prior to filing N-400 for marriage-based applicants and 5 years prior to filing N-400 for non-marriage based applicants) make one statutory ineligible for naturalization during that period.
Thus you have to wait at least 3 years from the date of conviction (the date you pleaded guilty) before you can file N-400. If you file N-400 any earlier than that, you will be denied. This is a statutory bar, specifically defined by law, meaning the IO considering the N-400 has no discretion to approve your N-400 application if you file earlier than that.
After 3 years from the date of conviction, assuming you are still married to your USC husband at the time, you can file N-400 then and will most likely be approved (provided you have no other criminal issues and provided any penalties imposed as a result of your conviction are served out by then).
After 5 years from the date of conviction you may file N-400 regardless of the state of your marriage (e.g. even if you are divorced or separated from your USC husband by then).
Note that your embezzlement conviction may have made you technically deportable.
See http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/8/1227
"(2) Criminal offenses
(A) General crimes
(i) Crimes of moral turpitude Any alien who—
(I) is convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude committed within five years (or 10 years in the case of an alien provided lawful permanent resident status under section 1255 (j) of this title) after the date of admission, and
(II) is convicted of a crime for which a sentence of one year or longer may be imposed,
is deportable."
Whether or not the above applies to you depends on how soon after your admission to the U.S. the conviction in question took place, and what the maximal possible (not the actually imposed but maximal theoretically possible) sentence could have been for the offense to which you pleaded guilty (this depends on the specific state law related to this offense).
If you have not done so already, I suggest that you consult an immigration lawyer now to find out if your embezzlement conviction made you technically deportable.
Note that even if you are technically deportable, you N-400 application may (and probably will) be approved if you apply more than 3 years after convictions. In such situations the IO considering the N-400 application has a wide degree of discretion and is allowed to overlook minor past criminal or other issues even if they made the applicant technically deportable. E.g. this often happens with LPRs who mistakenly registered to vote, or even voted, before becoming U.S. citizens.
But, if the immigration lawyer determines that you are technically deportable, you might want to avoid traveling outside of the U.S. (particularly for longer than 6 months) before getting naturalized. It may also be a good idea in such a case to wait more than the 3 year minimum after the conviction before filing N-400, so you can establish a more solid track record of good moral character.