Minor Misdemeanor - Disorderly Conduct

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Scarletandgrey

Registered Users (C)
Hello,

I received my green card in October of 1991 and permanently moved to the US in 1994. I have lived in Ohio all of those years except for the first which was in Michigan.

In April of 2005, I was arrested for public intoxication in Ohio and the charge was 2317.11 (B) Minor Misdemeanor Disorderly Conduct. I spent the night in a holding cell until bail was posted ($49). The next day in court (no lawyer), I plead guilty to the above charge and was fined $100, but the Judge suspended the fine. There was no probation or any other consequences (at least, thus far). The Judge said that my punishment was spending the night in jail. Other than this incident, I have never had any other problems with the law.

My questions to the knowledgeable people on this forum are: does this constitute as a Crime Involving Moral Turpitude (CIMT)? Would this impede in my process to obtain US citizenship? And should I hire an immigration lawyer to help me with this situation, if so, do you have any suggestions for Columbus Ohio?

I did a search on the forum and did not see a similar situation as mine, but I apologize if this issue has already been addressed. I would really appreciate all of your help.

Thank you.
 
You received your GC in 1991 but only moved to US in 1994??
A minor misdemeanor disorderly conduct conviction is not considered a CIMT. You'll need to disclose the conviction on N-400 application and bring certified court documents to the interview. Whether you want to hire a lawyer is up to you, but if your case is otherwise straight forward I don't see the need.
 
Bobsmyth said:
You received your GC in 1991 but only moved to US in 1994??
A minor misdemeanor disorderly conduct conviction is not considered a CIMT. You'll need to disclose the conviction on N-400 application and bring certified court documents to the interview. Whether you want to hire a lawyer is up to you, but if your case is otherwise straight forward I don't see the need.
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Thank you for your reply Bobsmyth.

I was only 11 in 1991 and too young to move to the US by myself. I applied for an extension of two years and visited again in 1993. Then I finally moved here in 1994. Back then, a person with a GC had a limit of one year to stay out of US instead of the current 6 months.

I already have two copies of the certified court documents. Should I send one copy with my N-400 application? Should I also send some sort of explanation letter? I really appreciate you taking the time to respond to my queries.

Thank you.
 
Enclose a copy of court document with application and bring original to interview. Write the conviction on application along with "public intoxication". You'll also be able to explain the conviction at interview. Keep the explanation simple and to the point.
The conviction falls within statutory period if you are filing based on 5 years of continuous residence as LPR.
 
Bobsmyth said:
The conviction falls within statutory period if you are filing based on 5 years of continuous residence as LPR.
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Would this prevent me from becoming a US citizen? Since then, I have gone back to college, finished my degree and never had another single drop of alcohol.
 
Scarletandgrey said:
Would this prevent me from becoming a US citizen? Since then, I have gone back to college, finished my degree and never had another single drop of alcohol.
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No, as it isn't a CIMT. If this is your only conviction it does not preclude you from naturalization.
 
Bobsmyth said:
No, as it isn't a CIMT. If this is your only conviction it does not preclude you from naturalization.
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That is good to hear. Thank you for your help, I truly appreciate all of your replies. Tomorrow, I will be getting my application ready and on Wednesday I will send it out. I will keep the forums updated throughout naturalization process. Thanks again for all of your help.
 
You'll be fine. It may be worthwhile bringing a copy of the statute that indicates that the maximum penalty is a $150.00 fine (or so it seems based on a quick internet search). This is obviously well under the limit of 1 year jail term for CIMT (though maybe it felt like a year that night depending on who else was in the slammer... lol).

Best of luck and don't sweat the minor offense.
 
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