Feloney before 2 yr AOS

[jonbet86 0]

Hello

I have a serious problem. My wife was arrested for 2 felonies before our AOS. She is a licensed to give injections for Botox and weight loss drugs in her country(Brazil) , but not here(US). She had a home biz and one of her clients was jealous and called the Dept of Health and the police. She was caught with various drugs and syringes only a licenced doctor should have. We have a 1 yr old son. I warned my spouse to stop the biz , but she refused. She is in the process of getting an attorney and I'm fighting for perm.custody of my son. There is is good chance she will be convicted . We are not talking now because she knows Im fighting for custody. I'm hiring a good attorney and hope to win sole custody. I know I need an attorney but this is going to be a long process until after the trial . All I'm worried about know is full custody. Do I have a good chance at full custody in the US? Will she be deported ,if convicted?

Thanks

[HeatDeath 430]

This is totally the wrong forum for this. We mostly do helping people with paperwork and procedures for normal (i.e. the police have not yet been called!) immigration petitions.

You need a lawyer.

Ideally an experienced immigration lawyer who works in the same firm with criminal defence and family lawyers.

Wow.

Edited June 30, 2011 by HeatDeath

[HeatDeath 430]

As to whether this will affect your wife's AOS, that will depend on whether it is interpreted by USCIS to be a crime of moral turpitude (i.e. does it indicate bad moral character?). An immigration lawyer should be able to give you a reasonably reliable answer on that. I don't know. Selling and/or using drugs is generally considered to be moral turpitude, but practicing medicine without a license might not be. I don't know for sure. Either way, a history of crimes of moral turpitude generally render a person ineligible to adjust status to a GC, and that would mean that there is a fairly reasonable (though by no means guaranteed) chance she'll be deported as part of or following her sentence.

If she's convicted and deported and/or incarcerated, I should think custody would naturally default to the other biological parent, barring any serious charges or incidents in your personal history.

I'm assuming you are the US citizen petitioner, BTW.

[HeatDeath 430]

Come to think of it, if she came here on a fiancee or spousal visa and has not yet adjusted status, and you two are divorcing, she is no longer eligible to adjust status on the basis of your marriage anyways. Unless she claims abuse and tries to do a VAWA petition.

You must absolutely not meet her anywhere without counsel present. And you are right - you DO need a lawyer, probably several.

[William33 110]

As to whether this will affect your wife's AOS, that will depend on whether it is interpreted by USCIS to be a crime of moral turpitude (i.e. does it indicate bad moral character?). An immigration lawyer should be able to give you a reasonably reliable answer on that. I don't know. Selling and/or using drugs is generally considered to be moral turpitude, but practicing medicine without a license might not be. I don't know for sure. Either way, a history of crimes of moral turpitude generally render a person ineligible to adjust status to a GC, and that would mean that there is a fairly reasonable (though by no means guaranteed) chance she'll be deported as part of or following her sentence.

If she's convicted and deported and/or incarcerated, I should think custody would naturally default to the other biological parent, barring any serious charges or incidents in your personal history.

I'm assuming you are the US citizen petitioner, BTW.

Not true. If an AOS applicant is convicted of multiple crimes, the AOS will be denied.

To the OP: You need to consult with an attorney immediately!

[HeatDeath 430]

Not true. If an AOS applicant is convicted of multiple crimes, the AOS will be denied.

To the OP: You need to consult with an attorney immediately!

I sorta thought that might be the case. I know you can still AOS if you have a criminal record of non-moral-turpitude crimes - traffic offences are the canonical example. I similarly know that drug offences are considered moral turpitude by default, even if they are victimless things like marijuana. I have no idea where white collar crime fits, let alone a weird one like practicing medicine without a license.

OP's situation, because of its intersection of criminal law, immigration law, and family law, is enormously complex. In his shoes, not only would I not take the word of anyone online for anything, I would probably want to make sure my lawyer was in close collaboration with several specialists. OP should not be making any choices based on anything we say here, except to get as much legal help as financially feasible, as fast as possible.