OK. A long time ago, I was arrested outside the U.S after being suspected of breaking a hotel window (a drunken individual falsely blamed me). I was investigated at the local police station and released without a charge due to insufficient evidence. No court appearance required.
I answered ‘No’ to the question on arrests when filing for a non-immigrant temporary work visa because at the time of filing I believed I was detained for questioning. I have since concluded that it was probably considered an arrest under US law because prior to my interview at the local police station I was detained and not free to leave.
I am now in a position to file i-485 (Green Card App) and I don’t know what to do. How do I answer Part 3, Question 1 “Have you ever been arrested, cited, charged, indicted, convicted, fined, or imprisoned for breaking or violating a law?”. Having answered ‘No’ on past non-immigrant Visa forms with a similar question concerns me because I fear the Consulate Official will mark me down on my Good Moral Behavior and potentially deny my application.
I suppose technically I have been arrested and the US has a right to know about this….but argh, it puts me in the same general category as a convicted criminal by answering Yes. Are they really interested in hearing about something I didn’t do? Is there a clear cut legal clause somewhere out there that infers only cases that have made it to court should be declared? My situation is less serious then a traffic offense since I didn’t even commit the crime yet traffic violators seems to be exempt from answering Yes on this broad brush question.
I can understand if I was arrested on suspicion of murder or something serious then the US would need to know about this but for something minor like a broken 3’ by 3’ window? I’m not so sure if it’s even worth the officials time to review the case.
Your advice please.
I answered ‘No’ to the question on arrests when filing for a non-immigrant temporary work visa because at the time of filing I believed I was detained for questioning. I have since concluded that it was probably considered an arrest under US law because prior to my interview at the local police station I was detained and not free to leave.
I am now in a position to file i-485 (Green Card App) and I don’t know what to do. How do I answer Part 3, Question 1 “Have you ever been arrested, cited, charged, indicted, convicted, fined, or imprisoned for breaking or violating a law?”. Having answered ‘No’ on past non-immigrant Visa forms with a similar question concerns me because I fear the Consulate Official will mark me down on my Good Moral Behavior and potentially deny my application.
I suppose technically I have been arrested and the US has a right to know about this….but argh, it puts me in the same general category as a convicted criminal by answering Yes. Are they really interested in hearing about something I didn’t do? Is there a clear cut legal clause somewhere out there that infers only cases that have made it to court should be declared? My situation is less serious then a traffic offense since I didn’t even commit the crime yet traffic violators seems to be exempt from answering Yes on this broad brush question.
I can understand if I was arrested on suspicion of murder or something serious then the US would need to know about this but for something minor like a broken 3’ by 3’ window? I’m not so sure if it’s even worth the officials time to review the case.
Your advice please.