Applying for AOS with juvenile record

[MJhawk 0]

Has or is anyone applying for AOS while having a juvenile record? I have a juvenile record when I was 16 and now I'm 26 I was told I should hire a lawyer but I'm just wondering why?? I called around and got a few quotes and its around 1800-5000. I just don't understand what a lawyer can do about it that I can't. I have the court records and I was a juvenile. If anyone has any advice please help thanks :-)

[C0881 2]

I (beneficiary) don't have a juvenile record but my husband (petitioner) has a criminal record. We filed K1 3 years ago by ourselves and we never heard any decision back from USCIS. Nor any RFE from USCIS. Now I am adjusting status from visitor visa after getting married to him during my previous visit. We hired an immigration attorney to make sure paperwork are done properly because of my husband's background. Also, if USCIS really delayed our application, the attorney can take actions for us..and if our case is denied, the attorney can appeal for us. Paperwork is complicated for applicants or petitioners with criminal record. We didn't want the K1 thing to happen again this time therefore we'd rather spend more money to have the work done professionally.

Most private attorneys want 1800-5000 (i agree with you). We didn't have that much either. So we went to the International Institute of Metro Detroit which is a non-profit organization and provides low cost immigration services. If you search "International Institute" on google, you will get a list of such organizations from different states. Choose one that is close to your location contact them. They usually have stationed attorneys there. Ours offered us free phone consultation for almost 30 mins the first time we called him. The organization only charged us 650 to file the paperwork. That already included 2 free in-person consultations.

Has or is anyone applying for AOS while having a juvenile record? I have a juvenile record when I was 16 and now I'm 26 I was told I should hire a lawyer but I'm just wondering why?? I called around and got a few quotes and its around 1800-5000. I just don't understand what a lawyer can do about it that I can't. I have the court records and I was a juvenile. If anyone has any advice please help thanks :-)

[MJhawk 0]

wow thank you so much, I will definetely take a look at that now. :-)

[nats6624 0]

I (beneficiary) don't have a juvenile record but my husband (petitioner) has a criminal record. We filed K1 3 years ago by ourselves and we never heard any decision back from USCIS. Nor any RFE from USCIS. Now I am adjusting status from visitor visa after getting married to him during my previous visit. We hired an immigration attorney to make sure paperwork are done properly because of my husband's background. Also, if USCIS really delayed our application, the attorney can take actions for us..and if our case is denied, the attorney can appeal for us. Paperwork is complicated for applicants or petitioners with criminal record. We didn't want the K1 thing to happen again this time therefore we'd rather spend more money to have the work done professionally.

Most private attorneys want 1800-5000 (i agree with you). We didn't have that much either. So we went to the International Institute of Metro Detroit which is a non-profit organization and provides low cost immigration services. If you search "International Institute" on google, you will get a list of such organizations from different states. Choose one that is close to your location contact them. They usually have stationed attorneys there. Ours offered us free phone consultation for almost 30 mins the first time we called him. The organization only charged us 650 to file the paperwork. That already included 2 free in-person consultations.

Has or is anyone applying for AOS while having a juvenile record? I have a juvenile record when I was 16 and now I'm 26 I was told I should hire a lawyer but I'm just wondering why?? I called around and got a few quotes and its around 1800-5000. I just don't understand what a lawyer can do about it that I can't. I have the court records and I was a juvenile. If anyone has any advice please help thanks :-)

don't juvenile records get erased after you become an adult? My husband has 2 reckless driving things on his record (although the charges were ridiculous it was prescribed medication) so i hope that doesn't hurt our chances.

[loyaboya 0]

My husband had a DUI on his record and the interviewer didn't really ask us about it. He only asked had my husband ever been arrested, he said yes, then the interviewer looked in our file to see the criminal record report that we'd provided. That was it. He definitely didn't make a big deal about it (maybe because it's been long resolved). Oh he did make a joke about how hubby got it before he met me so now I must be keeping him straight

[payxibka 10,045]

Has or is anyone applying for AOS while having a juvenile record? I have a juvenile record when I was 16 and now I'm 26 I was told I should hire a lawyer but I'm just wondering why?? I called around and got a few quotes and its around 1800-5000. I just don't understand what a lawyer can do about it that I can't. I have the court records and I was a juvenile. If anyone has any advice please help thanks :-)

When applying for AOS from inside the USA... Maybe I am wrong but I am unaware that any police reports are furnished at anytime in the process...

Edited November 17, 2009 by payxibka

[hudons 0]

You are required to submit evidence and explanation of a criminal record with I-485.

There is a sheet with lots of yes/no questions on. If you answer yes to any of the questions then you should furnish your application with details of any convictions - traffic tickets under $60 do not count.

[MJhawk 0]

I have all the court records but should I hire a lawyer. I'm confident in doing the paperwork myself and I don't know how much more a lawyer can do but make sure the papers are correctly filled out. The charge was for possession of narcotics (very small amount) when I was 16 which is 10 years ago.

I don't have a adult criminal record.

Edited November 17, 2009 by MJhawk

[Leah 1]

You are required to submit evidence and explanation of a criminal record with I-485.

There is a sheet with lots of yes/no questions on. If you answer yes to any of the questions then you should furnish your application with details of any convictions - traffic tickets under $60 do not count.

Hiring a lawyer is just a waste of money. You were a kid when it happens. It was erased already since you become an adult.

[Leah 1]

You are required to submit evidence and explanation of a criminal record with I-485.

There is a sheet with lots of yes/no questions on. If you answer yes to any of the questions then you should furnish your application with details of any convictions - traffic tickets under $60 do not count.

Hiring a lawyer is just a waste of money. You were a kid when it happens. It was erased already since you become an adult.

oh wait I forgot...it depends on how serious the crime was.You can talk to a lawyer for free consultation.

Edited November 17, 2009 by Leah

[hudons 0]

Maybe have a consultation?

If you're confident putting the paperwork together and you have all the documentation then I don't think there's much else a lawyer can do for you unless something goes wrong later in your case. You can always hire a lawyer if things start to go wrong later down the line.

I see plenty of people in these forums are successful with records. Just make sure your spouse is aware of the charge in case they ask at interview.

This, however, is just my opinion.

[NArocks 13]

MJ are you the petiontioner?

Just FYI I as the petitioner was never asked in any stage about my criminla record. however as stated if it was a violent crime etc I would suggest you consulat with an IMMIGRATION attorney

[dirtyweebesom 8]

What happens if the *petitioner* was arrested for a crime, had a trial by jury, and was found innocent? My husband got arrested for "Assault of a Police Officer" (but he was innocent, I promise!), but he has yet to expunge the record of his arrest from his file. I'm not even sure if he will expunge it, as it's so expensive and these days it's hardly worth the effort because it's so easy to find out anything about anyone even if the record has been wiped clean.

I was just wondering if this will cause a problem for the background checks, or for the interview? Does anyone know? Should my husband bring some proof of the innocent verdict to the interview?

[loyaboya 0]

What happens if the *petitioner* was arrested for a crime, had a trial by jury, and was found innocent? My husband got arrested for "Assault of a Police Officer" (but he was innocent, I promise!), but he has yet to expunge the record of his arrest from his file. I'm not even sure if he will expunge it, as it's so expensive and these days it's hardly worth the effort because it's so easy to find out anything about anyone even if the record has been wiped clean.

I was just wondering if this will cause a problem for the background checks, or for the interview? Does anyone know? Should my husband bring some proof of the innocent verdict to the interview?

Have you guys gotten his criminal record check yet? Get it and see what it says. It probably summarizes that he was arrested and the verdict was that he was innocent. We sent in a certified copy of hubby's criminal record check with the application package and then got another one for the interview (which we actually didn't even need).

[dirtyweebesom 8]

Thanks for that, Loyaboya. Hmmmm, now I wish that we had done what you did i.e. sent in a copy of my husband's criminal record. I considered doing it, but seeing as it was never specifically required I never bothered.

Could you please tell me how you go about getting a copy of a criminal record? I looked online and found a company called "US Search" (http://www.dmv.org/criminal-records.php). Did you use something like this? And, if so, how did you get a certified copy?