I have a question about CIMT - crimes involving moral turpitude
About me:
I came here Illegally in 1992, but in 1995 my step-father petition for me under the I-130, but nothing happened to the petition. With my step-father petitioning for me, I understand I was grandfathered under the 245i. In 2001 I married a US born citizen which I love and have kids together. In March 2004 I purchase a stolen laptop from someone that stole it from some body else. I was arrested for possession of stolen property, I was only arrested for bookings. I went to court and plea "no contest". I did not serve jail time for the crime, but I was put on community service for 5 days, fines and was put on probation for 3 years. So I paid the fines, I finished the community service, and I am off probation. Now this happened in California, where I have read that Possession of Stolen Property is not a CIMT. I since have moved to Texas, where Possession of Stolen property is known to be a CIMT. My wife will be going to counseling for the "Extreme Hardship Waiver" to see if I can get this waived.
Question:
1) Do I have to go back to California, if our petition for Extreme Hardship is denied?
2) Will I be put on removal procedures?
3) What are the changes of the waiver to get approved?
4) Can anyone refer me to a good immigration lawyer in California? What is the charge for a lawyer to represent me in an Immigration court just for a waiver?
5) Do I have to move to California, or providing INS with a California address is enough, such as from a family member?
6) Would it matter if the crime happened in California, but now applying for a green card here in Texas? I know California is in the 9th Circuit and Texas is in the 5th Circuit.
I will be willing to drive to California if it comes down to it!
I have not committed any other crimes or have been arrested for anything else. I hire a lawyer to process my paperwork for green-card through marriage, but I don't feel that she is aggressive enough to fight for me, she tells me that I "might have to move to California" meaning just get an address from a family member if my waiver gets denied, so that means I have to go to court hearing out there in California. If I have to move to California I will loose my job here in Texas and my wife will loose hers too. We have two kids, one in School and other one is a toddler. Please help me out. I hope this is enough information.
About me:
I came here Illegally in 1992, but in 1995 my step-father petition for me under the I-130, but nothing happened to the petition. With my step-father petitioning for me, I understand I was grandfathered under the 245i. In 2001 I married a US born citizen which I love and have kids together. In March 2004 I purchase a stolen laptop from someone that stole it from some body else. I was arrested for possession of stolen property, I was only arrested for bookings. I went to court and plea "no contest". I did not serve jail time for the crime, but I was put on community service for 5 days, fines and was put on probation for 3 years. So I paid the fines, I finished the community service, and I am off probation. Now this happened in California, where I have read that Possession of Stolen Property is not a CIMT. I since have moved to Texas, where Possession of Stolen property is known to be a CIMT. My wife will be going to counseling for the "Extreme Hardship Waiver" to see if I can get this waived.
Question:
1) Do I have to go back to California, if our petition for Extreme Hardship is denied?
2) Will I be put on removal procedures?
3) What are the changes of the waiver to get approved?
4) Can anyone refer me to a good immigration lawyer in California? What is the charge for a lawyer to represent me in an Immigration court just for a waiver?
5) Do I have to move to California, or providing INS with a California address is enough, such as from a family member?
6) Would it matter if the crime happened in California, but now applying for a green card here in Texas? I know California is in the 9th Circuit and Texas is in the 5th Circuit.
I will be willing to drive to California if it comes down to it!
I have not committed any other crimes or have been arrested for anything else. I hire a lawyer to process my paperwork for green-card through marriage, but I don't feel that she is aggressive enough to fight for me, she tells me that I "might have to move to California" meaning just get an address from a family member if my waiver gets denied, so that means I have to go to court hearing out there in California. If I have to move to California I will loose my job here in Texas and my wife will loose hers too. We have two kids, one in School and other one is a toddler. Please help me out. I hope this is enough information.
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