Renewing green card- closed misdemeanor case

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rftj

Registered Users (C)
I am renewing my GC, I will have Biometrics on the 22nd of Novemeber, 2008. I have been reading and worrying on what would be the outcome. My case closed on the year of 2004, which was a misdemeanor. How would my closed misdemeanor case affect my application? Please, any comments would help. Thank you!

:confused:
 
You only have to worry if it is a deportable offense. Most misdemeanors are not, but there are a few that are.

By "closed" what do you mean? Dismissed? Expunged? Guilty?
 
Closed meaning, I was on probation (no jail time ever).. originally my case closed in 2003 but I tried talking to the judge to expunged (no record) my record and finally closed in 2004. So to make it short, there is no pending case against me. Thanks for your quick reply anyway. hope to hear from you.
 
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Also, this was my first offense and the last one. It happened when I was young and stupid. Does USCIS/Home Land Security check if it is first offense and it will under "petty offense?" Im married to a US Citizen and I don't know if thats gonna help a little. Thanks again!
 
It was a Theft misdemeanor. I was only on probation and paid restitution. It was a scam that I was involved. Like I said I was young and i trusted those fools and paid for it. I would be honest and let them decide... Any suggestions/comments??

FYI: My first offense and I dont have ANY pending changes against me.

Thanks!
 
If you were put on probation and made to pay restitution, that would be considered guilty for immigration purposes, unless it was a pre-trial probation with the restitution being a civil repayment.

It is probably safe to renew your green card because the criminal checks aren't as thorough as with applying for citizenship, and most misdemeanors aren't deportable offenses. And you probably don't have much of a choice but to go ahead and try to renew, because failing to renew your card will cause you other problems in life anyway. But you shouldn't rely on anonymous message boards for something so serious. If you are concerned about it you should see an immigration attorney with expertise in criminal issues for a one-time consultation regarding the specific details of your offense (get the court records to show the attorney). Whether it is deportable depends on the amount involved, the circumstances, the jurisdiction, the specific classification of the theft, etc. which is not something you should expect us to answer.
 
Thanks for your reply.

I did pay restitution to the person and 3 yrs probation. Would it still be a problem even though my case is closed for 4 yrs? The amount was $3,500 and I am so mad at myself for doing such a thing.

I was gonna apply for N400 but I read about it and my case, so I decided just to renew my GC.

Just hoping that I would go through, everyone makes mistakes when they're young and im just unfortunate to have this kind of mistake.

Do you think I have a chance?

Thanks!
 
rftj said:
Do you think I have a chance?
Click to expand...
Do you think you have a choice? Eventually life is going to get very tough if you don't renew your card.

Renewing the green card is less risky than naturalization ... they'll probably just flip through your file without paying any serious attention once they see "misdemeanor" ... they probably won't dig into the details to find out if it is a deportable misdemeanor. But if you want peace of mind and specific answers for your specific case, see a lawyer. Maybe you would even be OK for naturalization (but definitely see a second lawyer before attempting naturalization, because with natz they WILL go through every criminal conviction in detail).
 
Hey thanks again for your reply!

I am not in hurry to get naturalized... I am ok being a permanent resident for now. I have one more year until i clear my "5 yr clean moral turpitude" or at least that's what I have been reading. I just want to renew my card that's all with a little worry. I am saying I wouldn't my GC.. I am ready to go on the 22nd! I called the city where my case is... and I just need to get a certified disposition... I just wish I could afford a lawyer to help me get through this.

I just pray at night that things would be ok... and whoever is reading this pls do so and I would be doing the same thing for y'all. Thanks again!
 
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i just remembered... back in 2002 or 2003 i went to tijuana (mexico) and i didnt bring my GC. I was stopped at the checkpoint and had to wait 3-4 hours to get clear. at that time i was on probation (probation that i didnt have to report to any P.Os.) after 3-4 hours they let me go, with a fine... i was reading some stories or documents saying if youre 18 and over and dont have your GC in possession, you could get fined (which I did) and or misdemeanor... anyway, i was on probation and they checked my record (they got my State ID and Social Security Card) Like i was saying I had misdemeanor and on probation and they didn't even metioned anything about it... I was supposed to get detained right cuz I was outside the U.S.?? So now I am thinking that my situation should be o.k.... and its been 4 yrs passed my probation. what do you think?
 
We can't tell you for sure if your specific incident of theft is a deportable offense or not.

We're not talking about having the lawyer help you to process your green card renewal, it's only about getting an opinion from the lawyer and finding out the relevant statutes to check if your theft offense is a deportable one. You don't need to a pay a lawyer thousands of dollars to do that; a one-hour consultation for $200-$300 should be sufficient (this is assuming you have all the necessary documents related to the offense in your hand, so you can get it all done in one sitting).
 
whats is suspended sentence? pls explain with example. Thanks!

Pls go to this page:

http://www.criminalandimmigrationlaw.com/~crimwcom/CILU_5152000sent.php

"(2) The duration of probation does not count as a sentence to confinement for this purpose. Thus, if imposition of sentence is suspended, and the defendant is placed on probation for three years on condition of serving six months in county jail, that is a "sentence imposed" of only six months, not enough to cause a listed offense to be considered an aggravated felony. "

I was on probation for 3 yrs but no jail time sentence. Its a bit unclear...
 
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A suspended sentence is when they sentence you to X number of years or months of prison time, but they release you on probation and you don't actually have to serve the prison sentence unless you violate the probation.
 
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Oh ok. Then if you violate the probation then you would serve the time you are supposed to?

I do not recall any of these from the judge... just said felony down to misdemeanor, your first offense you are on probation...

I called an immigration firm yesterday. She said to me I dont have to worry about anything. I explained my situation. She said there are more serious crimes out there and mine is not the really serious. She also mentioned that there are those husbands beating up their wives and they renewed their cards once, twice or 3 times.

Im going to get my certified court disposition tomorrow. I wish i could expunge my case within a week since my bio is on saturday of next week. Any ideas?
 
If it is a suspended sentence you don't go to prison unless you do something to violate the probation. If you do that, you get hit with a sentence or fine for the offense committed during probation, plus the original suspended sentence becomes actual prison time.

Expungement doesn't help you for immigration purposes. USCIS (with the help of the FBI) has access to expunged records, and they count expunged convictions as real live convictions. It is the private sector employers who don't get to see expunged records when they do background checks; but USCIS and FBI see everything.
 
This is my personal opinion based on the case of my friend, and your lawyer will give you a clear advise. Anyway, here you go. As long as the sentence jail time is less than 1 year (regardless you actually got the jail time or probation) AND you have 5 "clean" years, then you should be fine as a 'petty crime exception'. Each case is different, so your lawyer should give you a better answer.
 
I finally got my disposition:

Burglary down to Grand Theft down to misdemeanor charged:

Conditional and Revocable Release. 36 months probation

Terms/Conditions:

1. Violate no law other than minor traffic.

2. Pay $110.00 to victim restitution fund

3. Serve 4 days in Jail (with credit for time served od 4 days)

4. Make restitution amount.

My probation started 4/3/01 expired 4/01/04

Is probation considered as being in jail?

Thanks!
 
Hey, were you able to get the card? was it apporved? I am in a similar situation and want to know what my outcome will be. thanks
 
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