I have been a legal permanent resident of the US for 10 years, and an applying for my citizenship. However, at the age of 18 I was arrested for underage consumption of alcohol. In court, my lawyer had me placed in a diversion program, and after successfully completing it, my record was expunged. I have no other arrests or anything of the sort. I know the citizenship application says to list all offenses, even ones that were expunged as mine was. But I would like to know how seriously this hurts my chances of getting my citizenship. If it is serious, should I just list the offense anyway?
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Misdemeanor hurting chances of getting citizenship?
- Thread starter spinhead
- Start date
spinhead said:I have been a legal permanent resident of the US for 10 years, and an applying for my citizenship. However, at the age of 18 I was arrested for underage consumption of alcohol. In court, my lawyer had me placed in a diversion program, and after successfully completing it, my record was expunged. I have no other arrests or anything of the sort. I know the citizenship application says to list all offenses, even ones that were expunged as mine was. But I would like to know how seriously this hurts my chances of getting my citizenship. If it is serious, should I just list the offense anyway?
How long ago was it?
Are there any other crimes?
The expungement does not matter, it is still a crime for immigration purposes and MUST be reported.
spinhead said:It happened about two years ago, and I have not had any other arrests before or after, or any other criminal record.
The look back period for Good Moral Character for Naturalization is 5 years so you may have a problem there. You definitely should list the violation on your N-400. You probably can naturalize but you need to expect some questions regarding alcohol use and other matters regarding good moral character.
spinhead said:I have been a legal permanent resident of the US for 10 years, and an applying for my citizenship. However, at the age of 18 I was arrested for underage consumption of alcohol. In court, my lawyer had me placed in a diversion program, and after successfully completing it, my record was expunged. I have no other arrests or anything of the sort. I know the citizenship application says to list all offenses, even ones that were expunged as mine was. But I would like to know how seriously this hurts my chances of getting my citizenship. If it is serious, should I just list the offense anyway?
As long as the crime does not render you removable.