1992 possession

[chula 1]

I hope I'm putting this in the right location...

As we are getting closer to the embassy stage we are getting more nervous of our approval...

Back in 1992 my husband was caught with less than 2 grams of marijuana here in the US, he was under a tourist visa, he served 90 days in jail and then was voluntarily deported in Nov. 1993 he received a 10 year ban which has been more than served a bit over 8 years now.

We did put this on his DS-230 with a copy of the police report.

What if any are the rules to marijuana possession?

Should we be worried?

Thanks in advance, answers are appreciated

[ceadsearc 516]

What was his exact charge and conviction? And what was the maximum possible sentence (not what he got but what he could have gotten)?

[chula 1]

What was his exact charge and conviction? And what was the maximum possible sentence (not what he got but what he could have gotten)?

It was possession of marijuana. it was his first time so if I recall that was the maximum possible sentence.

[ceadsearc 516]

Forgot to ask - what state?

[chula 1]

The incident happened in Upstate New York.

He served his time and no parole was issued just the voluntary departure and the 10 year ban..

do you know where we can get an exact record of what happened back then?

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

He's inadmissible because of the controlled substance conviction. Assuming this was the only time he's ever been convicted of a controlled substance violation in any country, and since it involved simple possession of less than 30 grams of marijuana, he should be eligible for an I-601 waiver of this inadmissibility.

I strongly recommend you hire a good attorney who specializes in I-601 waivers. The approval rate for some types of I-601 waivers, such as simple overstay bans, is pretty good. The approval rate for drug convictions is much lower. You're going to need to convince the consulate that YOU will suffer hardship if your husband isn't allowed to return to the US, and that it's not possible for you to join him in Honduras. You shouldn't try to do this on your own.

[chula 1]

funny thing, not sure what it means however, I just remembered that when I went to the I-130 interview in Atl. GA. the officer that I had made me write a note stating that "I am aware of that my husband was voluntarily deported from this country and that his ban was over" and I asked her what is this for?, and she said "it's a waiver for him to be able to come back into the states"

???????????????????????????????

[ceadsearc 516]

I'm not sure exactly what that means but the ban he received on deportation is separate from his inadmissibility due to the drug charge. He doesn't need a waiver for that ban like he would if it was less than 10 years but he still needs the waiver Jim mentioned for the possession.

[amyandjorge 76]

Well... on wikipedia it says less than 30 grams of marijuana for personal use is exempt from needing the 601 waiver.

A (certified?) copy of his police record from the PD in NY and probably be able to prove that he has 'rehabilitated' or not continued commiting crime.

Also they could possibly put him on hold for a year and do random drug testing. From what I've read about other countries and admitting to prior drug usage.

And side note, it's pretty easy to make the claim for the waiver that you are putting yourself in serious danger by moving to Honduras to be with your husband, since they published the report that puts Honduras leading the world in the rate of homicide.

[ceadsearc 516]

Perhaps I am misunderstanding but it doesn't appear to me that it is exempt. It appears to me that this charge is eligible for a waiver, unlike other charges where the immigrant would be inadmissible and ineligible for a waiver.

http://www.uscis.gov/ilink/docView/SLB/HTML/SLB/0-0-0-1/0-0-0-29/0-0-0-2006/0-0-0-2424.html

[chula 1]

The thing here that I'm a bit confused, here is a bit more on the story, he never used the drug, he was young and dumb (22 yrs), lol, and his supposed friend back then, asked my husband if he can go buy this for his friend so my dear husband went, and got busted. He tried explaining this to the officers, but of course my husband was in the wrong to begin with. He served 90 days for this, and after he was released he was met by a immigration officer and went through the deportation proceedings. Which at this time, he got offered the voluntary departure and the 10 year ban, but unfortunately he does not remember them even saying anything in regards to the drug offense. (He did have all of his documents, however they got ruined in the Mitch hurricane).

***************************************

I got this question from a lawyers web site, that I'm not sure if I'm misreading let alone not sure if I understand it. (see below)

After age 18, have you been convicted of any drug crime other than a single offense of simple possession of marijuana less than 30 grams? Yes No

What is confusing me is the word (other) in this question, the way that I understand it, is: I would answer NO to this question and if that is the case then we probably would not need the waiver.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

INA 212(a)(2)(A):

(A) Conviction of certain crimes.-

(i) In general.-Except as provided in clause (ii), any alien convicted of, or who admits having committed, or who admits committing acts which constitute the essential elements of-

(I) a crime involving moral turpitude (other than a purely political offense) or an attempt or conspiracy to commit such a crime, or

(II)

a violation of (or a conspiracy or attempt to violate) any law or regulation of a State, the United States, or a foreign country relating to a controlled substance

(as defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802)),

is inadmissible

.

INA 212(a)(2)(F):

(F

)

Waiver authorized

.-For provision authorizing waiver of certain subparagraphs of this paragraph,

see subsection (h)

.

INA 212(h):

(h)

The Attorney General may, in his discretion, waive the application of

subparagraphs (A)(i)(I), (B), (D), and (E) of subsection (a)(2) and

subparagraph (A)(i)(II) of such subsection insofar as it relates to a single offense of simple possession of 30 grams or less of marijuana if

-

(1) (A) in the case of any immigrant it is established to the satisfaction of the Attorney General that-

(i) the alien is inadmissible only under subparagraph (D)(i) or (D)(ii) of such subsection or the activities for which the alien is inadmissible occurred more than 15 years before the date of the alien's application for a visa, admission, or adjustment of status.

(ii) the admission to the United States of such alien would not be contrary to the national welfare, safety, or security of the United States, and

(iii) the alien has been rehabilitated; or

(B)

in the case of an immigrant who is the spouse, parent, son, or daughter of a citizen of the United States or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence if it is established to the satisfaction of the Attorney General that the alien's denial of admission would result in extreme hardship to the United States citizen or lawfully resident spouse, parent, son, or daughter of such alien

;

The reason for the question on the lawyer's website is that any conviction for any other controlled substance, or multiple convictions, or a single conviction of more than 30 grams of marijuana, would make someone inadmissible and ineligible for a waiver. In a case like that there would be no point in even proceeding with the petition because the visa could not be approved.