Immigration Service fingerprints of greencard holders at airport,Greencard rights are protected

And my advice (to those with arrest records) is to consult with an attorney prior to leaving the US. Arrests are okay (well too many of those will f you up as well), but convictions are a no-no, and you will get caught through US-VISIT.
 
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siva - you have to ask gcwait about his definition of 'petty offense'. Did he get a speeding ticket, a littering ticket or what was it? Or did he meant that he was arrested (and subsequently convicted) but got his gc under the petty offense exception.

Basically, any arrest WILL show up on US VISIT. It doesn't matter where you are arrested - state, county, sheriff and federal agencies all submit arrest prints to the NCIC. Certain crimes, like maybe public urination, are still misdemeanors but if you are not arrested (sometimes a cop will give you a ticket for these minor crimes), you'll be okay because it won't show up on US VISIT, which is linked to the NCIC database. The US has tens of thousands of police jurisdiction areas, and the only way for ICE/USCIS (or any other federal agency) to know about those arrests is if they make finger print queries to a central database (usually the NCIC which is maintained by the FBI) – with respect to GC and citizenship purposes, they don’t have the resources to check every single county and jurisdiction in the US, so basically you are okay if you have not been arrested.

So I hope the above will help answer your question.
 
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daniyatom,

So are you saying if you have no arrest record with FBI, you should be good to go?

Unfortunately for me, last time I entered the US which was first time on GC, I was pulled into secondary inspection due to a name match. Even though they told me that they have cleared the records, there is no guarantee that this won't happen again.

I have sent several finger prints to FBI when I was applying for Canadian PR that clearly had the stamp of "No Arrest Record". Not to mention, I have been finger printed numerous times by Immigration for NSEERS/Special Registration purposes.

My only hope with this US-VISIT program is they will get my identity right for once and stop sending me to Secondary Inspection every single time I enter the US, but we'll see if it will work like that.

Overall, I don't think there is a need to panic. We haven't heard of any LPRs denied entry due to their prior arrest records etc.


Stoned!
 
stonedant - well if you have been fprinted before (for PR purposes, security clearances) your name will already be in the databases, but unlike arrest records, those records will not be a problem. And, yes they do run name checks, but those are different from actual arrest/convictions records. So while you may not have any arrest records, you can still be hounded because of name checks but they have been doing name checks forever, even before the implementaion of US VISIT.

I am sure that they have deported some LPRs because of US VISIT. Think about this scenario - there will be some long term LPRs who have been here forever but who may have criminal records that predate the 1996 IIRIRA law - depending on their convictions, these guys will be shit out of luck if they travel.
 
Asc appointment notce

I need help about ASC appointment after entering USA with dv2009 and I got the welcome notice twice after I i recieved from the post ASC appointment, and I called them to know what happened they said I should go. It this normal?
 
ktie - next time, please create a new thread. your question is not related to the current thread :)

but yes, you should go to the ASC to get fingerprinted.
 
shoplifting and pre trial diversion programme

hi, i was caught shoplifting but never went to jail the olice officer told me that i would recieve a lettter from the prosecutor or frm the court , so a month later i got the letter from the prosecutor stating that i could be allowed to enter into a pre trial diversion programme which would be an alternative to the filing of charges so i was not finger printed, never had gone to the court there ws no arraifnment . to apply for the programmme i had gone to meet the probation officer now my concern is that one of the conditions of the programme is to admit the wrongdoing or acknowledge that if facts wre presented in court there would b likely hood of guilty verdict .but officially my charges are not filed into the court. what my concern is that i was not fingerprinted so can the immigration come to know of this incident and what is name check can they find me through that,plz reply i am really distressed i dont have a greencard
 
Megz - Are you currently a green card holder? If you are, chances are this will only be an issue when you apply for naturalization or if you renew your gc or if you apply for a reentry permit or if you apply for anything that requires biometrics. When you apply for the benefits listed above, you will need to divulge all arrests and this is notwithstanding the fact that you have not been fingerprinted for the shoplifting. lying is extremely risky as that's fraud and that could be a reason to exclude you from the US. Now, I really don't know what will happen when you travel - chances are, US VISIT will not flag you for additional questioning as you don't have an arrest record but you never know.

And if you not a gc holder, I would, if I were you, divulge this arrest when you apply for your GC. Because you have not been arrested, you might be able to get away if you don't divulge the arrest but that's very risky. Again, fraud will get you excluded from the US. I don't know what your arrest was for, and what the penalties are, but you may qualify for the petty offense exception and won't need any waivers...otherwise you would need a waiver...but talk to a lawyer about waivers.

Basically you have a choice. Because you were not finger printed, it is very unlikely that the NCIC database and other criminal databases will contain a record of your arrest - as such, you might be able to not divulge this arrest when you apply for immigration benefits as it is extremely unlikely that USCIS will come to know about your arrest; you will only have an arrest record if you are fingerprinted and photographed at the police station, and all records, whether it is state, local or county will be shared with the FBI who maintains the NCIC. BUT, there is always the possibility, however remote, that USCIS will discover this arrest and will initiate removal proceedings should you chose to lie about it. So, the question is whether you wanna risk it...is the risk worth the reward.

Good luck
 
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hey thanks daniyotam for your advice

no i am not a green card holder,my concern is that at immigration there are 3 types of security checks done namely fbi name check, fbi fingrprint check and most importantly IBIS name check,so though i was not fingerprinted didnt go to jail but the complaint for shopliftin was signed by the mall the officer just took my information and then later after month i recieved the letter from the prosecutor saying that before issuing a citation for theft 3 city would offer a pre trial diversion prograame which would be an alternative to filing of the charges with the court o i never went to the court, so my name is in the city`s police station its not even there at the state patrol which was checked by my lawyer.My concern is that can immigration find my name if they go through record of police station its actualy the name check which is bothering me and what is petty offence exception and what is waiver can u plz xplain,i understand theft 3 comes under misdeamanor with possible sentence of 1 year in jail but i am on probation which is for 11 months
 
megz - you should talk to a lawyer about waivers and to see if your crime is eligible under the petty offense exception.

but take heart that you were not finger printed...that will save you from a lot of hassle when you look for a job cos employers won't find that conviction unless they hire someone to look at the records of all counties, townships and states in the US.

USCIS is another story...I don't know if they are able to find out about this arrest. USCIS background checks are not like obtaining clearances where they will ask you to list the places that you have stayed during the last 10 years, and the govt will have to assign investigators to interview the ppl you know and to check the county, township and state records of the places you lived before. So, it is pointless to lie if it is the latter...the former is a different story but not worth it becos of the risks.

Talk to a lawyer...no one here can give you definite answers. A lawyer should be able to tell you whether you will need a waiver, whether you will qualify for the exception or confirm that you are SOL.
 
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returned after 6 moths outside of US through JFK POE and no hassle -no questions what so ever -fingerprints scaned on both hands and thumbss eparately -everything done in matter of mnutes -for the benefit of this forum I obsedved other officers and hanged around waiting for the luggage for about 20 minutes but I have see nothing unussual and nobody it seems had any problems or was sent out to secondary
 
green card

hello my question is , when i left the USA , i was newer asked for gc at the airport ,how would they know how long i stayed outside of the USA when they check my gc at the port of entry ? thank you all :)
 
dan1979 said:
hello my question is , when i left the USA , i was newer asked for gc at the airport ,how would they know how long i stayed outside of the USA when they check my gc at the port of entry ? thank you all :)
Click to expand...

The airline sent your information to DHS when you left the US.
 
dan1979 said:
hello my question is , when i left the USA , i was newer asked for gc at the airport ,how would they know how long i stayed outside of the USA when they check my gc at the port of entry ? thank you all :)
Click to expand...

I'm sure they asked for your passport. It's easy for USCIS or CBP to link your passport number to your GC, especially if you used the same passport during your GC process or to enter the US on a prior occasion.
 
In this day and age where security regulations are stricter than ever, with TSA hassles etc, one can rest assured that their information is being recorded whether their credentials are being checked or not.


Stoned!
 
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