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yoyoma

K-1 and Class A Misdemeanor charge.

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Filed: Lift. Cond. (pnd) Country: Peru
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The instructions on the I-129F says that IMBRA relevant crimes needs to be reported "even if your records were sealed or otherwise cleared or if anyone, including a judge, law enforcement officer, or attorney, told you that you no longer have a record."

You really need to talk to a lawyer about this.

This is incorrect. Being arrested does not mean you committed a crime. Being convicted means you committed a crime. Anyone can be arrested and charged with anything a police officers feels like. That does not indicate you did it. You must be convicted of the crime.

He doesn't need a lawyer or need to do anything at all. A dismissed case means he committed no crime.

You should read the rest of my post. Deferred Adjudication (DA) is not the same thing as "dismissed". It's a plea agreement, where the defendant agrees to plead either guilty or no contest in return for probation. If they complete their probation, then the charges are dismissed, and it isn't entered into their criminal record as a conviction. He wasn't simply arrested and then the charges were dismissed. He was arrested, entered a plea of no contest, found guilty, and punished.

The problem is that the federal government HAS viewed a DA as a conviction. See the New York Bar report that I linked to. USCIS has deported people for having a DA on their records. Look specifically at the wording in the USCIS instructions "otherwise cleared". His conviction was pending until he completed his probation, and then it was "cleared". The IMBRA also requires the reporting of convictions which have been expunged. I don't see how this any different, and apparently neither does USCIS.

If the assault was not one of the types described under the IMBRA then the whole question is moot - it doesn't have to be reported on the I-129F.

This strikes me as by far the most reasonable and well-informed post on the thread. If the guy pleaded no lo contendere to a crime falling under the IMBRA requirements before his record was cleared, he should be very careful about simply ignoring his history and acting like nothing happened. I know everyone is anti-lawyer, but this is a special circumstance, is it not?

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Filed: K-1 Visa Country: Vietnam
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I just spoke to my sister whom is a lawyer. She told me that I don't have to check mark on the conviction. Since my case was dismissed after I completed the requirement. She told me to file a expunge record at the court house. But, she said the arrest record will be in my file for life.

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Filed: Lift. Cond. (apr) Country: China
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I just spoke to my sister whom is a lawyer. She told me that I don't have to check mark on the conviction. Since my case was dismissed after I completed the requirement. She told me to file a expunge record at the court house. But, she said the arrest record will be in my file for life.

lol, your sister is a lawyer? what are you doing here??

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Filed: K-1 Visa Country: Philippines
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I just spoke to my sister whom is a lawyer. She told me that I don't have to check mark on the conviction. Since my case was dismissed after I completed the requirement. She told me to file a expunge record at the court house. But, she said the arrest record will be in my file for life.

If you have it expunged it won't be in your file for life... the purpose of having a record expunged is to erase it. However some offenses cannot be expunged (e.g. domestic abuse) so you really need to consult a lawyer on this. If you are eligible for expungement it should be a relatively quick & inexpensive process (if your sister is really a lawyer ask her about this).

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Filed: K-1 Visa Country: Vietnam
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I just spoke to my sister whom is a lawyer. She told me that I don't have to check mark on the conviction. Since my case was dismissed after I completed the requirement. She told me to file a expunge record at the court house. But, she said the arrest record will be in my file for life.

If you have it expunged it won't be in your file for life... the purpose of having a record expunged is to erase it. However some offenses cannot be expunged (e.g. domestic abuse) so you really need to consult a lawyer on this. If you are eligible for expungement it should be a relatively quick & inexpensive process (if your sister is really a lawyer ask her about this).

Yeah, she's in process of getting paper together. So, I can file for myself.

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Filed: K-1 Visa Country: Vietnam
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I just spoke to my sister whom is a lawyer. She told me that I don't have to check mark on the conviction. Since my case was dismissed after I completed the requirement. She told me to file a expunge record at the court house. But, she said the arrest record will be in my file for life.

Is your sister an immigration lawyer? If not, get a second opinion.

http://www.arctec.com/imbra.html

I was convicted of attempted manslaughter in 1999, but I took “deferred adjudication”, which the judge and my criminal lawyer assured me would result in my record being wiped clean in 5 years. Now I have a clean record. Do I have to disclose this conviction?

Yes, you do. Deferred adjudications are treated as convictions under U.S. immigration law.

Ok, granted that your assault charge is not nearly as serious as attempted manslaughter, the general guidelines about deferred adjudications still applies.

I'd talk to an immigration lawyer.

BTW, I was wrong when I said you'd need a waiver. A waiver is apparently required only if you've had a previous visa petition denied under the act. If you've never submitted a petition before then you just need to be prepared to explain your case to USCIS sufficiently and see if they'll accept it. If they deny it, then you'll need a waiver to apply again.

12/15/2009 - K1 Visa Interview - APPROVED!

12/29/2009 - Married in Oakland, CA!

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Filed: K-1 Visa Country: Vietnam
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I just spoke to my sister whom is a lawyer. She told me that I don't have to check mark on the conviction. Since my case was dismissed after I completed the requirement. She told me to file a expunge record at the court house. But, she said the arrest record will be in my file for life.

Is your sister an immigration lawyer? If not, get a second opinion.

http://www.arctec.com/imbra.html

I was convicted of attempted manslaughter in 1999, but I took “deferred adjudication”, which the judge and my criminal lawyer assured me would result in my record being wiped clean in 5 years. Now I have a clean record. Do I have to disclose this conviction?

Yes, you do. Deferred adjudications are treated as convictions under U.S. immigration law.

Ok, granted that your assault charge is not nearly as serious as attempted manslaughter, the general guidelines about deferred adjudications still applies.

I'd talk to an immigration lawyer.

BTW, I was wrong when I said you'd need a waiver. A waiver is apparently required only if you've had a previous visa petition denied under the act. If you've never submitted a petition before then you just need to be prepared to explain your case to USCIS sufficiently and see if they'll accept it. If they deny it, then you'll need a waiver to apply again.

You are right, after my sister read over that statement. She told me to disclosed. So I don't have to deal with it later. I guess I have to be truthful with them.

Edited by yoyoma
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I just spoke to my sister whom is a lawyer. She told me that I don't have to check mark on the conviction. Since my case was dismissed after I completed the requirement. She told me to file a expunge record at the court house. But, she said the arrest record will be in my file for life.

Is your sister an immigration lawyer? If not, get a second opinion.

http://www.arctec.com/imbra.html

I was convicted of attempted manslaughter in 1999, but I took “deferred adjudication”, which the judge and my criminal lawyer assured me would result in my record being wiped clean in 5 years. Now I have a clean record. Do I have to disclose this conviction?

Yes, you do. Deferred adjudications are treated as convictions under U.S. immigration law.

Ok, granted that your assault charge is not nearly as serious as attempted manslaughter, the general guidelines about deferred adjudications still applies.

I'd talk to an immigration lawyer.

BTW, I was wrong when I said you'd need a waiver. A waiver is apparently required only if you've had a previous visa petition denied under the act. If you've never submitted a petition before then you just need to be prepared to explain your case to USCIS sufficiently and see if they'll accept it. If they deny it, then you'll need a waiver to apply again.

You are right, after my sister read over that statement. She told me to disclosed. So I don't have to deal with it later. I guess I have to be truthful with them.

Unless is was an arrest for domestic assault, you don't need to disclose it. Your sister wss right the first time. I already explained this. I have been through this myself. Having a case dismissed is not deferred adjudication.

BTW, I had a lawyer prepare my K-1 too.

Edited by Ed+Cindy

------- ROC ---------------

06.29.2011 Mailed I-751

09.22.2011 RFE

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Filed: K-1 Visa Country: Vietnam
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I just spoke to my sister whom is a lawyer. She told me that I don't have to check mark on the conviction. Since my case was dismissed after I completed the requirement. She told me to file a expunge record at the court house. But, she said the arrest record will be in my file for life.

Is your sister an immigration lawyer? If not, get a second opinion.

http://www.arctec.com/imbra.html

I was convicted of attempted manslaughter in 1999, but I took “deferred adjudication”, which the judge and my criminal lawyer assured me would result in my record being wiped clean in 5 years. Now I have a clean record. Do I have to disclose this conviction?

Yes, you do. Deferred adjudications are treated as convictions under U.S. immigration law.

Ok, granted that your assault charge is not nearly as serious as attempted manslaughter, the general guidelines about deferred adjudications still applies.

I'd talk to an immigration lawyer.

BTW, I was wrong when I said you'd need a waiver. A waiver is apparently required only if you've had a previous visa petition denied under the act. If you've never submitted a petition before then you just need to be prepared to explain your case to USCIS sufficiently and see if they'll accept it. If they deny it, then you'll need a waiver to apply again.

You are right, after my sister read over that statement. She told me to disclosed. So I don't have to deal with it later. I guess I have to be truthful with them.

Unless is was an arrest for domestic assault, you don't need to disclose it. Your sister wss right the first time. I already explained this. I have been through this myself. Having a case dismissed is not deferred adjudication.

BTW, I had a lawyer prepare my K-1 too.

You need to go back and read what he wrote in his second post in this thread:

I pleaded no contest and put on defer adjudication. I completed and the case was dismissed but the record still show that I was arrested for assault.

He never said what kind of assault it was, and I repeated twice that only specific types of assault need to be reported, including domestic violence and sexual assault.

12/15/2009 - K1 Visa Interview - APPROVED!

12/29/2009 - Married in Oakland, CA!

08/18/2010 - AOS Interview - APPROVED!

05/01/2013 - Removal of Conditions - APPROVED!

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My ex-gf cheated on me and I was mad and I slap her. Damn after almost 20 yrs still come back haunted me.

I understand now. You should have mentioned this at the start of this thread.

I suspect you will have problems with the petition, but maybe not. You probably want to talk to a lawyer (not your sister) who knows more about immigration.

An arrest WILL show up on the background check (even if case dismissed). I know because my arrest showed up for another FBI check when I requested my record for my New Zealand residency application. USCIS will see the arrest and I don't know how they will handle it since is seems like a domestic assault charge.

Also, an expunged file will probably not be removed from federal records. I'm not 100% sure, but I think an FBI check will still show them.

Good luck with this.

Edited by Ed+Cindy

------- ROC ---------------

06.29.2011 Mailed I-751

09.22.2011 RFE

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Filed: K-1 Visa Country: Vietnam
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I got all my unofficial document regarding to my case. I have to go down to courthouse to get the official one. I think I need the complaint document ( police report) and my defer adjudication affidavit. I thinks this is done, until I have I have other question I'll post it later. Thanks guy for giving me all the advises.

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Filed: K-1 Visa Country: Vietnam
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So do you guy think I should gave up to do it by myself? And hire a immigrant lawyer to handle this case.

Are you willing to spend the time, do the research, and get it right? If so, there's no reason you can't do it yourself. Read the I-129F instructions carefully. Spend some time in the IMBRA forum here.

The biggest difference between your case and most other cases is that you have to include CERTIFIED COPIES of the court and police documents related to your assault case when you file the I-129F. These documents will be included with your package when it goes to NVC. At that point, DOS is going to do a thorough background check on you. When your documents ultimately arrive at the foreign consulate they're going to contact your fiancee and make sure she's aware of your history. That's the main purpose of IMBRA - to make sure prospective foreign brides know if their USC sponsors have a history of violent crime, or repeated drug or alcohol convictions.

IMBRA also has special provisions for marriage brokers, like online dating websites. They are required to collect information from USC members about crimes that fall within the IMBRA, and they're supposed to provide that information to foreign members so that they can decide whether or not to communicate with a USC member. If you didn't meet your fiancee through a dating service then these additional rules won't apply to you.

Your case may take a little longer than average, but you can still succeed. Best of luck to you! :)

Edit: I said before that you should contact an immigration lawyer. That was mainly to help you determine if you should disclose your conviction. Now that you've decided (I believe rightfully so) that you should disclose it, you can probably take it from there without an attorney, if you feel confident you can handle it.

Edited by JimVaPhuong

12/15/2009 - K1 Visa Interview - APPROVED!

12/29/2009 - Married in Oakland, CA!

08/18/2010 - AOS Interview - APPROVED!

05/01/2013 - Removal of Conditions - APPROVED!

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Filed: K-1 Visa Country: Vietnam
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JimVaPhuong, thank you for the advise. I can wait, but I can't accept reject letter because I was not truthful about it. I told my fiance about my assault case 17 yrs. ago and she understand. That way she's not freaking out when they ask about my assault case.

Edited by yoyoma
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