Very Urgent issue- Court case- N-400 applicant

M

munnabhai02

Registered Users (C)
Hi all,
Please advice me.

I have an interview appointment for Citizenship June 24th, 2009 at Fairfax ,VA office.
I have a court case pending for which I need to go to court June 30th, 2009. The case is class 1 misdemeanor, hit and run charge and I will have an attorney to represent me. The charge does not involve any injuries. Only car damage less than $500.
Only because I left the scene before the cops arrived, they charged me. I came back to the scene of accident in 20 minutes.
My question is that shall I go ahead for interview June 24th or postpone it???
Also if I go ahead for interview, what are the chances that I will be asked to come back again.
Thank again for your help.
 
You'll need to disclose the charge at the interview and the IO will likely ask if its been paid. Some IOs will request proof of payment and delay adjudication of your case if the citation has not yet been paid. The choice is yours whether you want to chance it and hope the IO won't demand proof of payment, or you can request interview to be rescheduled, take care of the citation first, and then bring proof of payment to the rescheduled interview.
 
Hit and Run is a serious charge and MAY be a CIMT. Until this case is resolved your N400 application will remain pending. If you are indeed convicted of this offense there is a good chance your application will be denied. If this is your only issue you should be OK and can re-apply after 5 years.

I suggest the following:

1. Attend the interview and disclose this new development (It WILL come up during the interview)
2. Get a good criminal attorney AND an immigration attorney to avoid the CIMT charge and plead to something that is a lesser charge/traffic only

Good luck.

munnabhai02 said:
Hi all,
Please advice me.

I have an interview appointment for Citizenship June 24th, 2009 at Fairfax ,VA office.
I have a court case pending for which I need to go to court June 30th, 2009. The case is class 1 misdemeanor, hit and run charge and I will have an attorney to represent me. The charge does not involve any injuries. Only car damage less than $500.
Only because I left the scene before the cops arrived, they charged me. I came back to the scene of accident in 20 minutes.
My question is that shall I go ahead for interview June 24th or postpone it???
Also if I go ahead for interview, what are the chances that I will be asked to come back again.
Thank again for your help.
Click to expand...
 
munnabhai02 said:
Hi all,
The charge does not involve any injuries. Only car damage less than $500.
Click to expand...

Just keep in miond that this $ 500 has nothing to do with $ 500 fine criteria
that allows you not to provide documentation. The former is a civil matter
between you and the owner of the car damaged. The later $ 500 is
government imposed as criminal penalty
 
p4spooky said:
If you are indeed convicted of this offense there is a good chance your application will be denied.
Click to expand...

That's assuming that a misdemeanor hit and run is indeed a CIMT.

Considering that the 9th district court ruled last year a felony hit and run is not a CIMT in California, it would follow that a misdemeanor is not as well.
 
Bobsmyth said:
That's assuming that a misdemeanor hit and run is indeed a CIMT.

Considering that the 9th district court ruled last year a felony hit and run is not a CIMT in California, it would follow that a misdemeanor is not as well.
Click to expand...

I am not a lawyer, however OP is in VA so 9th circuit court rulings are not applicable. Also I clearly said it MAY be a CIMT depending on VA state laws. Bottomline - this is serious and has potential for bad consequences on a pending N400 case if not handled carefully with professional help.
 
p4spooky said:
I am not a lawyer, however OP is in VA so 9th circuit court rulings are not applicable. Also I clearly said it MAY be a CIMT depending on VA state laws. Bottomline - this is serious and has potential for bad consequences on a pending N400 case if not handled carefully with professional help.
Click to expand...



p4spooky said:
If you are indeed convicted of this offense there is a good chance your application will be denied. If this is your only issue you should be OK and can re-apply after 5 years.

I suggest the following:

1. Attend the interview and disclose this new development (It WILL come up during the interview)
2. Get a good criminal attorney AND an immigration attorney to avoid the CIMT charge and plead to something that is a lesser charge/traffic only
Click to expand...

Your previous post and advice makes the incorrect assumption that a misdemeanor hit and run in VA is a CIMT.

Misdemeanor hit and run in VA is not a CIMT.

Page 14:

http://www.nationalimmigrationproject.org/virginia%20materials/ch_6_DRIVING_OFFENSES.pdf
 
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Do the IOs really go all their way to find out which crimes are CIMT or not
by searching for state statute or precedent court rulings? or they just
judge you not to have GMC if they don't like what an applicant did?
 
WBH said:
Do the IOs really go all their way to find out which crimes are CIMT or not
by searching for state statute or precedent court rulings? or they just
judge you not to have GMC if they don't like what an applicant did?
Click to expand...

I suspect that work is left up to senior IOs to decide who can consult with USCIS counsel on these types of issues.
 
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Bobsmyth said:
I suspect that work is left up to senior IOs to decide who can consult with USCIS council on these types of issues.
Click to expand...

What is USCIS Council?

No matter what, USCIS is just one organization that serves both as prosecutor and as judge. In termilogy of civic test tersm, there is no
checks and balance. It may be hard for USCIS to be impartial.
 
WBH said:
Do the IOs really go all their way to find out which crimes are CIMT or not by searching for state statute or precedent court rulings? or they just judge you not to have GMC if they don't like what an applicant did?
Click to expand...

Although not directly related, this document from USCIS, called "Determinations of Good Moral Character in VAWA-Based Self-Petitions" contains an Attachment 1 with descriptions of what typical bars are to establishing GMC, and whether they can be waived and under what circumstances.

VAWA stands for the Violence Against Women Act and the main memorandum is about how IOs should review GMC standards for "battered women".
 
USCIS counsel meaning legal attorneys who provide USCIS officers with legal guidance on such matters.

http://www.uscis.gov/files/nativedocuments/chief_counsel.pdf


I find the whole USCIS appeals process a total scam. As an appellant, you are must pay the appeals fee no matter if the initial decision was flawed or not. I wonder if they keep any records of how many appeals are successful and how many initial decisions were incorrect.
 
Bobsmyth said:
I wonder if they keep any records of how many appeals are successful and how many initial decisions were incorrect.
Click to expand...


The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) is part of the Dept. of Justice and it alone has the jurisdiction to hear appeals of immigration decisions made by USCIS, USICE, or USCBP. However, BIA decisions can be appealed further in the federal courts and there are numerous instances of higher appeals courts over-turning BIA decisions.

AILA has published some position papers on the BIA and I am sure they have the research on successful appeals. I couldn't find anything readily accessible off a simple web search.
 
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WBH said:
Is it still part of Dept. of Justice when USCIS is under Dept of Homeland Security?
Click to expand...

Yes, the BIA is part of the Dept. of Justice. Just click on this link. It goes back to INS' history as part of the Dept. of Justice since 1940. When DHS was established, and then "stood-up", between 2002-03, INS' functions were spread out across three new agencies we now know as USCIS, USICE, and USCBP. But BIA stayed with the Dept. of Justice.
 
NewRunner said:
Yes, the BIA is part of the Dept. of Justice. Just click on this link. It goes back to INS' history as part of the Dept. of Justice since 1940. When DHS was established, and then "stood-up", between 2002-03, INS' functions were spread out across three new agencies we now know as USCIS, USICE, and USCBP. But BIA stayed with the Dept. of Justice.
Click to expand...

Can USCIS argue that they will not be bound by old rulings of BIA since
USCIS can say they are only responsible for DHS not DOJ
 
WBH said:
Can USCIS argue that they will not be bound by old rulings of BIA since USCIS can say they are only responsible for DHS not DOJ
Click to expand...

This is cut and paste from the introduction page of the BIA home page link I provided earlier. I am sure there are statutes that form the legal underpinning for the following statements from that site.

"The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA or Board) is the highest administrative body for interpreting and applying immigration laws. It is authorized up to 15 Board Members, including the Chairman and Vice Chairman who share responsibility for Board management. The Board is located at EOIR headquarters in Falls Church, Virginia. Generally, the Board does not conduct courtroom proceedings - it decides appeals by conducting a "paper review" of cases. On rare occasions, however, the Board does hear oral arguments of appealed cases, predominately at headquarters.

The Board has been given nationwide jurisdiction to hear appeals from certain decisions rendered by Immigration Judges and by District Directors of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in a wide variety of proceedings in which the Government of the United States is one party and the other party is either an alien, a citizen, or a business firm. In addition, the Board is responsible for the recognition of organizations and accreditation of representatives requesting permission to practice before DHS, the Immigration Courts, and the Board.

Decisions of the Board are binding on all DHS officers and Immigration Judges unless modified or overruled by the Attorney General or a Federal court. All Board decisions are subject to judicial review in the Federal courts..."

Hopes this clarifies the point about BIA's jurisdiction and authority.
 
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