Is this a factor?

[photoguy 0]

Is entering a plea of deferred adjudication with a class b misdemeanor a disqualifying factor for renewing my wife's green card and applying for US citizenship? Does anyone know, or can refer me to a good immigration attorney who can help me with this?

Thanks for all your replies!

[photoguy 0]

As a background note, my wife was arrested in May of this year on charges of "employee theft $50-$500" while working at a major discount retailer. A dubious charge really because she wasn't stealing per say. Long story which I don't want to go into now since it has caused us great deal of emotional, mental and material hardship.

Anyway, we haven't gone to court yet and our attorney has a court day scheduled for October 17. He informs us that the plea of Deferred Adjudication might be the last resort, and he wants me to talk to an immigration attorney to see if a plea of Deferred Adjudication is going to keep my wife away from becoming a US citizen.

I don't know where else I can get advice from. Please help!

[antda 13]

Hi Fretfrek,

I'm sorry that this happened and caused a lot of hardship for your wife and your family. I do hope that with the help of a good criminal lawyer, that you will get this sorted out in court too.

As for the I-751, the instructions say:

"If you have ever been arrested or detained by any law enforcement officer for any reason, submit (any and/or all of these, as pertains to your situiation):

1) An original official statement by the arresting agency or applicable court order confirming that no charges ere filed.

2) An original or court-certified copy of the complete arrest record and/or disposition for each incident (dismissal order, conviction record or acquittal order)

3)An original or court-certified copy of your sentencing record for each incident, and evidence that you have completed your sentence, specifically: a)An original or certified copy of your probation or parole record or b)Evidence that you completed an alternative sentencing program, or rehabilitative program set aside, sealed, expiurged or otherwise removed from your record

4)An original or court-certified copy of the court order vacating, setting aside, sealing, expurging or otherwise removing the arrest or conviction

5)An original statement from the court that no record exists of your arrest or conviction."

Either way, for immigration purposes at the I-751 stage and at the N-400/Citizenship stage, you have to submit the above paperwork for this court related matter, and to tell the truth about it to immigration officials when asked on immigration forms and/or in-person interviews.

Hope this helps. Good luck on your court situation and in the rest of your immigration journey.

Ant

P.S. If you need information on a good immigration lawyer, feel free to PM me, and I'll give you more specific info as to the helpful immigration lawyer that I used for my immigration situation before at the AOS stage.

Edited September 23, 2008 by AntandD

[photoguy 0]

Hi Fretfrek,

I'm sorry that this happened and caused a lot of hardship for your wife and your family. I do hope that with the help of a good criminal lawyer, that you will get this sorted out in court too.

As for the I-751, the instructions say:

"If you have ever been arrested or detained by any law enforcement officer for any reason, submit (any and/or all of these, as pertains to your situiation):

1) An original official statement by the arresting agency or applicable court order confirming that no charges ere filed.

2) An original or court-certified copy of the complete arrest record and/or disposition for each incident (dismissal order, conviction record or acquittal order)

3)An original or court-certified copy of your sentencing record for each incident, and evidence that you have completed your sentence, specifically: a)An original or certified copy of your probation or parole record or b)Evidence that you completed an alternative sentencing program, or rehabilitative program set aside, sealed, expiurged or otherwise removed from your record

4)An original or court-certified copy of the court order vacating, setting aside, sealing, expurging or otherwise removing the arrest or conviction

5)An original statement from the court that no record exists of your arrest or conviction."

Either way, for immigration purposes at the I-751 stage and at the N-400/Citizenship stage, you have to submit the above paperwork for this court related matter, and to tell the truth about it to immigration officials when asked on immigration forms and/or in-person interviews.

Hope this helps. Good luck on your court situation and in the rest of your immigration journey.

Ant

P.S. If you need information on a good immigration lawyer, feel free to PM me, and I'll give you more specific info as to the helpful immigration lawyer that I used for my immigration situation before at the AOS stage.

Hi Ant,

Thanks for your sympathy and support. It would be incomprehensible for me as well as my wife to have the government deport her after waiting for over a year and a half for her to come to the US, spending a load of money and navigating through the maze of inept US immigration bureaucracy.

It seems that the criminal laws in the state of Texas are backwards. Here, you're guilty before you're proven innocent!

This website: http://blog.austindefense.com/tags/texas-d...d-adjudication/ explains what deferred adjudication is as far as the law goes in my state, but I'm not sure how this affects immigration. This might be the best course of action for us according to our criminal attorney.

Here's an excerpt from the above website explaining the process:

Deferred adjudication is a type of actual probation, for a Class B misdemeanor or higher charge, where the judge says (in legalese), “Based on your plea of No Contest or Guilty, I could find you guilty, but I’m not going to. I’m going to place you on probation, and if you jump through the hoops of probation, at the end of the case you will never be found guilty of the charge.”

To defer – to put off, or postpone. To adjudicate – in the criminal context it means to find you guilty. So when the judge places a defendant on deferred adjudication, he is postponing finding the person guilty, and will never find them guilty, if they successfully complete the terms of probation.

In Texas, that means a real, formal probation with a monthly visit to a probation officer, minimum community service hours, urinalysis for drugs and alcohol, fines, court costs and $62 per month probation fees.

Again, the major distinction here is that this is only for Class B and Class A misdemeanors, and felony charges in Texas. It’s not for Class C, that is, traffic ticket level offenses.

Deferred adjudications are not expungeable, but most are eligible for Motions of Non-Disclosure.

[antda 13]

Hi Fretfrek,

I agree, it doesn't seem fair that one is "guilty before you're proven innocent", regardless of the place, situation, or whatever else. After all, isn't the court system supposed to be fair and hear all sides of the situation and then make a fair decision accordingly? I never knew that deferred adjudication information before, so it's interesting to learn something like that, from a non-lawyer prespective here, even though it doesn't apply to many people.

Either way, I hope that you will get this sorted out and eventually resolved in the best way possible for your wife, and I'm sure with the help of a good criminal lawyer, you'll be able to get this done as soon.

Ant

P.S. I'll reply to your PM accordingly, in regards the the immigration lawyer recommendation......

Hi Ant,

Thanks for your sympathy and support. It would be incomprehensible for me as well as my wife to have the government deport her after waiting for over a year and a half for her to come to the US, spending a load of money and navigating through the maze of inept US immigration bureaucracy.

It seems that the criminal laws in the state of Texas are backwards. Here, you're guilty before you're proven innocent!

This website: http://blog.austindefense.com/tags/texas-d...d-adjudication/ explains what deferred adjudication is as far as the law goes in my state, but I'm not sure how this affects immigration. This might be the best course of action for us according to our criminal attorney.

Here's an excerpt from the above website explaining the process:

Deferred adjudication is a type of actual probation, for a Class B misdemeanor or higher charge, where the judge says (in legalese), "Based on your plea of No Contest or Guilty, I could find you guilty, but I'm not going to. I'm going to place you on probation, and if you jump through the hoops of probation, at the end of the case you will never be found guilty of the charge."

To defer – to put off, or postpone. To adjudicate – in the criminal context it means to find you guilty. So when the judge places a defendant on deferred adjudication, he is postponing finding the person guilty, and will never find them guilty, if they successfully complete the terms of probation.

In Texas, that means a real, formal probation with a monthly visit to a probation officer, minimum community service hours, urinalysis for drugs and alcohol, fines, court costs and $62 per month probation fees.

Again, the major distinction here is that this is only for Class B and Class A misdemeanors, and felony charges in Texas. It's not for Class C, that is, traffic ticket level offenses.

Deferred adjudications are not expungeable, but most are eligible for Motions of Non-Disclosure.

Edited September 25, 2008 by AntandD