suspended licence please do reply

[shankar2002]

hi
i was arrested for driving on a suspended licence and released
on bail. i was not aware that my licence was suspended(parking ticket not paid i believe) will it affect my greencard i am filing for my 485 now it is supposed to be a misdemenor i think

 

[frodo]

The same happened to a friend in Illinios in the mid-nineties. He had an unpaid tickect in Florida that he had forgotten. So when he was pulled over in Illinois for speeding, he was arrested, handcuffed, and taken to the nearest ATM to withdraw money for his bail. He had no problem getting his GC. However this is what he did as per a lawyer's advice.

In Illinois you can either plead guilty when presented before the judge and then be sentenced. Or you can opt for a jury trial. If you opt for a jury trial, judges typically dismiss the case as it is too expensive for the state to go after you for a traffic violation as small as this. Since this judge was know to do that, my friend asked for a jury trial, and his case was dismissed.