will misdemanor B case lead to visa rejection

T

teddygirl

Registered Users (C)
hi all
i was recently arrested for shoplifting and was detained and went through the finger printing and realesed within 3hrs after paying the bond amount. im still waiting on my court dates, and hired a criminal defencse attorney.when i discussed the case with my lawyer, he said that my case falls under a misdemanor B offense. this is my first time offence, and had not prior criminal records.
im now on L2 dependent visa and need to renew my visa july'08. it is only my husband's company who takes care of our visa renewal. my question is,

--> will this arrest and shoplifting case hinder my visa renewal process and lead to rejection in visa??
--> since my husband's company takes care of our visa, is it really necessary that i tell the HR of his company as to what happend, while sending the necessary papers for visa renewal??
--> will the arrest be showing on my records, and will this lead to rejections in visa if i go to india for visa stamping??

please adivce. your replies are of utmost importance to me.

Thanks
 
teddygirl said:
hi all
i was recently arrested for shoplifting and was detained and went through the finger printing and realesed within 3hrs after paying the bond amount. im still waiting on my court dates, and hired a criminal defencse attorney.when i discussed the case with my lawyer, he said that my case falls under a misdemanor B offense. this is my first time offence, and had not prior criminal records.
im now on L2 dependent visa and need to renew my visa july'08. it is only my husband's company who takes care of our visa renewal. my question is,

--> will this arrest and shoplifting case hinder my visa renewal process and lead to rejection in visa??
--> since my husband's company takes care of our visa, is it really necessary that i tell the HR of his company as to what happend, while sending the necessary papers for visa renewal??
--> will the arrest be showing on my records, and will this lead to rejections in visa if i go to india for visa stamping??

please adivce. your replies are of utmost importance to me.

Thanks
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Am just really curious, why were u shoplifting?
 
Im pretty sure shoplifting (stealing) is listed as a CMT....this does have the potential to create problems. A one off consultation with an immigration attorney would be useful in your case. There may be people on this forum who may have experienced this themselves and so offer you further advice.
 
elcupacabras said:
Im pretty sure shoplifting (stealing) is listed as a CMT....this does have the potential to create problems. A one off consultation with an immigration attorney would be useful in your case. There may be people on this forum who may have experienced this themselves and so offer you further advice.
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so do u mean to say,, that i will not be able to get my visa renewed brcasue of this...i am going to do community service and have padi all the court fines. even though this is my first time offcense, still are there chances that i wil not get my visa renewed .?? please adivice....
 
You hired an attorney. I am not sure which state you reside in. Depending on the state you could get a deferred judgement (a kind of probation with no judgement for a period) and then get the case dismissed (it usually is).

If not in such a state, ask your attorney to negotiate a deal with the DA (actually the prosecutor) for a lesser offence, like disturbing the peace... which is not a CMT.

In either of the above cases:

a. You would not run the risk of deportation, even at the time of GC or citizenship
b. the arrest will show on your record and you must always answer Yes to the arrest question. You can explain either Case Dismissed or Disturbing the Peace, as the situation may turn out to be


By the letter of the law, you should not be barred from renewing your L2 status. However, a VISA in India is a matter of discretion by the officers there :( Normally you should have no problems, especially with spouse being in the US on L1, but do make sure you have your valid I-797 with renewed L2 before you leave the US.
 
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niladri30 said:
You hired an attorney. I am not sure which state you reside in. Depending on the state you could get a deferred judgement (a kind of probation with no judgement for a period) and then get the case dismissed (it usually is).

If not in such a state, ask your attorney to negotiate a deal with the DA (actually the prosecutor) for a lesser offence, like disturbing the peace... which is not a CMT.

In either of the above cases:

a. You would not run the risk of deportation, even at the time of GC or citizenship
b. the arrest will show on your record and you must always answer Yes to the arrest question. You can explain either Case Dismissed or Disturbing the Peace, as the situation may turn out to be


By the letter of the law, you should not be barred from renewing your L2 status. However, a VISA in India is a matter of discretion by the officers there :( Normally you should have no problems, especially with spouse being in the US on L1, but do make sure you have your valid I-797 with renewed L2 before you leave the US.
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thank you so much niladhri for your rely..im feeling a bit ok now.... while i appeared in the court , the judge told me not finding guilty and he placed me on deffered sentence. so does this mean that the case will be dismissed fi i stay proper during my probation, and i will nothave any trouble renewing my visa . so what should i be telling my husband's Hr when they ask me why i was arrested. do i tell them that i am guilty??
 
simsd said:
Did HR already ask you if you were arrested? Or did you tell them?
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no have not spoke to them.,..what im wating to know is, when i submit my renewal papers , i have to check in the quesstion which asks me wheather i was arrested. so at that time they are going to see the application and they will ask me at that time...so was wondering what should i tell them???
 
What you probably need to find out is if there is a record of your arrest and how far up the line it goes. City? County? State?

Ask the lawyer who represented you if it shows up on any records. If not, then you may not have to say anything. But ask your lawyer.
 
simsd said:
What you probably need to find out is if there is a record of your arrest and how far up the line it goes. City? County? State?

Ask the lawyer who represented you if it shows up on any records. If not, then you may not have to say anything. But ask your lawyer.
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yes there is record of arrest in the records. i also know that i have to declare that to any government agency when they ask. but what i wanted to know is, what should i be telling to the HR when i submit my papers. im on a diversion program, and if i stay clean during my probation the case will be dismissed at the end( that is what my lawyer told me).
should i tell the Hr that i was arrested for shoplifting and that i even though i pleaded guilty in the court, the jusdge put me on probation and found me not guilty??? what is that i should be telling the HR exactly when i say "yes" for teh arrest question in the extension form??? please advise.
 
Please understand very clearly that you are never required to disclose an arrest unless asked a direct question by a government agency authorized to ask it. Be also advised that most arrest records ARE public.

You are NOT required to disclose a CONVICTION to HR in case of employment application IF that conviction has been treated for RECORD CLEARANCE. In such a case, a search by an employer will not reveal the conviction. Employers COULD still find the arrest, but most do not want to know, since by law they CANNOT hold the ARREST against you (innocent people get arrested too). So, finding out about your arrest leaves them open to lawsuits by you if you don't get the job! :)

However, in the case of visa renewal through your husband's company lawyers, you would have to check the YES box for arrests, and since the lawyers' client is your husband's company, the law firm can certainly tell the company.

It does not materially affect your husband's employment so it might be OK. You might even try requesting the lawyers not to let the company know. Basically, this probably means the law firm will not make special mention of the situation to his employers. They would still keep a copy of the visa application, and someone at the company MIGHT see it. You have to chance that. Unlikely anyone has the guts to dismiss your husband based on your stupidity (sorry, I do not want to be moralistic at all, but I have been itching to to tell you: why DID you do it gurrl? what WERE you thinking!!! :)) Never mind, just a joke. They will not dismiss your husband because he may sue for wrongful dismissal. So, relax!

Edited later: BTW, no guarantees, but you have a good chance of case dismisal if you keep your nose clean from now on. In that case you would have an arrest and no conviction. Voila, you are innocent!

P.S. Please avoid referring to me by name (forum ID) in your posts. I do not take kindly to misspellings, which, to me, are careless, and hence, disrespectful.
 
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niladri30 said:
Please understand very clearly that you are never required to disclose an arrest unless asked a direct question by a government agency authorized to ask it. Be also advised that most arrest records ARE public.

You are NOT required to disclose a CONVICTION to HR in case of employment application IF that conviction has been treated for RECORD CLEARANCE. In such a case, a search by an employer will not reveal the conviction. Employers COULD still find the arrest, but most do not want to know, since by law they CANNOT hold the ARREST against you (innocent people get arrested too). So, finding out about your arrest leaves them open to lawsuits by you if you don't get the job! :)

However, in the case of visa renewal through your husband's company lawyers, you would have to check the YES box for arrests, and since the lawyers' client is your husband's company, the law firm can certainly tell the company.

It does not materially affect your husband's employment so it might be OK. You might even try requesting the lawyers not to let the company know. Basically, this probably means the law firm will not make special mention of the situation to his employers. They would still keep a copy of the visa application, and someone at the company MIGHT see it. You have to chance that. Unlikely anyone has the guts to dismiss your husband based on your stupidity (sorry, I do not want to be moralistic at all, but I have been itching to to tell you: why DID you do it gurrl? what WERE you thinking!!! :)) Never mind, just a joke. They will not dismiss your husband because he may sue for wrongful dismissal. So, relax!

Edited later: BTW, no guarantees, but you have a good chance of case dismisal if you keep your nose clean from now on. In that case you would have an arrest and no conviction. Voila, you are innocent!

P.S. Please avoid referring to me by name (forum ID) in your posts. I do not take kindly to misspellings, which, to me, are careless, and hence, disrespectful.
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first of all im so sorry... i really did not mean to mispell your name:-(.
i need your help by way of reply or suggestion. liek i mentioned earlier, i was arrested for shoplifitng and now on probation. im yet to see the probation officer and start with my community service hours.our visa will get expired some time in september. i thougt by that time i will fulfill my communtiy hours and after my case gets dismissed i will give all the doucmetns that are requiered forthe visa prupose.
but now couple of days back we got a mail from my husband;s ompany telling that they have applied for his new visa and have asked some supporting documents for the USCIS.
--> does that mean that they have already sumitted the application for the new visa( wthout checking in the "arrested" coloumn in my application) to the consulate???
--> i have not started my community service and class. but my criminal atorney said if anyoe asks i can tell i am "not convicted" until i get the case dismissed. (im not sure of it though).
--> what should i be doing now .what should i be telling my hubands company inorder to make changes in the new visa form. because if THEY submit without checking the "arrested" coloumn in my application, then it will be like hiding it form the government. what should be done to check that coloumn??

please adivce.im so confused and despertely in need of help. please
 
--> does that mean that they have already sumitted the application for the new visa( wthout checking in the "arrested" coloumn in my application) to the consulate???

===>>Probably. Have they applied for your H4 as well?

--> i have not started my community service and class. but my criminal atorney said if anyoe asks i can tell i am "not convicted" until i get the case dismissed. (im not sure of it though).

===>>You are not convicted yet. Your case may be dismissed without conviction still.

--> what should i be doing now .what should i be telling my hubands company inorder to make changes in the new visa form. because if THEY submit without checking the "arrested" coloumn in my application, then it will be like hiding it form the government. what should be done to check that coloumn??

===>> You can talk to an immigration attorney, have her/him inform husband's employers that she/he is representing ONLY you as you now have complex requirements of H4 to F1 conversion, or some such likely story, and take over your case by submitting a new Notice of Entry of Attorney or Representative. Attorneys can be changed on pending applications, although risk of slip-up by USCIS, hence sending communication to old attorney is there:(. That way, your attorney can handle the ammendement on the form, stating that the company lawyers submitted a routine application in good faith. This is just a suggestion. Don't know how difficult it is to implement.
 
am i in trouble in getting my visa??

thankyou so much for your immediate response. im here on L2 dependent visa. it semms that my husband's company is going to apply for his new L1 now. they have asked him forsome additonal emloyment documents but nothing for me.what i wnated to know is that,
--> will my passport copy and documents will also be submitted along with his or is that they will file his visa papers first and then get my visa by applying an extension on his petition??

--> once im done with my probation period and the CASE GETS DISMISSED with an early realease , wil that still be treated as a "conviction" in the immigration point of view and wil i be denied visa? because the company submits the visa papers at the consulate in india. im not sure how they wil treat this incident? have you come across any incident liek this in your ecpericence and they were given visa without any problem??

--> wil this affect my husband's employment . if the HR gets to know that i was arrested and case was dismissed, wil it be of anytrouble for my husband??

im very much confused and feel very ashmaed of this behaviour fo mine which has caused me unnecessary trouble. can you please help me with your replies.

Thanks
 
--> will my passport copy and documents will also be submitted along with his or is that they will file his visa papers first and then get my visa by applying an extension on his petition??

===>>I don't know. Your husband can ask and find out.

--> once im done with my probation period and the CASE GETS DISMISSED with an early realease , wil that still be treated as a "conviction" in the immigration point of view and wil i be denied visa? because the company submits the visa papers at the consulate in india. im not sure how they wil treat this incident? have you come across any incident liek this in your ecpericence and they were given visa without any problem??

===>> Dismissal is not a conviction. You are not convicted now either. Judgement has been deferred. If you have no conviction there will never be an issue about your visa. Even with convictions, depending on the crime there may not be issues... depending on the individual officer. Please search and read others' posts in these forums. I do not know anybody personally although several people have reported no problems with visa in these forums.

--> wil this affect my husband's employment . if the HR gets to know that i was arrested and case was dismissed, wil it be of anytrouble for my husband??

===>> This has been implicitly asked and explicitly answered before. I understand you are distressed, but asking the same question again will not get you a different answer.

Which state in the US are you in?
 
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