N400 with a petty theft offense

[Marycee]

Hi I have been in the country with a green card for 14y. I'm from Europe and I'm married with a us cotizen. I have a job and pay my taxes and committed a petty theft offense last week. Not sure why, did not scan 50 dollars worth of items and I'm very confused and remorseful to the point I do not sleep and lost so much weight ... my green card will expire in 2031. I hired a lawyer who wants me to do a diversion program, which would get my charges dismissed and then we would ask expungement so that would be off background checks, but I know it's still visible for immigration. I'm now afraid to travel out of the con try . I won't until the case is dismissed but I heard it would still be unsafe .. should I apply for citizenship once the case is dismissed , disclose the case wa it qualifies for the petty offense exception, or should I wait the 3 years to show my good moral. It's 3 y instead of the 5 since I'm married to a citizen. Would it be risky to do it next year or would you wait? Thank you for sharing your experiences as I'm truly losing sleep over this ..