OPT status advice..

[Vedic 0]

Hello,

I have a concern regarding my opt status. I am currently working on OPT extension and its valid till March 2014. I am planning on getting my sponsorship through my fiancee who is a US citizen.

I recently, unfortunately, got caught in the grand larceny, a Felony case.

I am going to get married to my fiancee in October and hoping to get my EAD before my OPT expires. I want to know if option # 1 or option # 4 (which are possible outcomes) could jeopardize my OPT status and will deport me. Will, me getting married to a US citizen, help my case a little bit and not deport me? Will I have to sign a waiver form? how likely it is that it could get denied as well?

Please shed some light if some of you have some information in this topic.

These are some options that my lawyer that I could hope for. And we believe we could try for option # 4 but option # 1 is most probable one.

Option #1:

Misdemeanor Petit Larceny with 180 days, all suspended. This would be the standard disposition of the case for any similarly situated U.S. citizen. It is my understanding that this would disqualify him from the petty offense exception, assuming he was eligible for that.

Option #2:

Misdemeanor Petit Larceny with 175 days, all suspended.

Option #3:

Misdemeanor Trespassing with 180 days, most suspended but with some active jail time (probably 5 days or so). I have advised Vikram to undertake community service in advance of the court date in the hope that we could get something like this without the jail time in exchange, but we would need to be prepared.

Option #4:

Misdemeanor Trespassing with 175 days, most suspended but with some active jail time (possibly 5-15 days).

I look forward to hearing from you.

Thank you,

Regards,

Vedic

[CC90 90]

Grand larceny is generally considered a Crime Involving Moral Turpitude (CIMT) [depending on what exactly happened] that will likely serve as a rather large hurdle in getting a green card through marriage.

It won't really matter which option you take; none will make the situation any better. For immigration purposes, it's the act that counts--not the disposition. ICE will take interest in you if you end up in jail, and that would be attention you would want to avoid.

I don't think your OPT will be immediately jeopardized, but you would best get some good legal advise before adjusting status.

Generally, you get a 1 crime pass IF the MAXIMUM penalty for your crime does not exceed 1 year in prison AND you do not serve more than 6 months.

That means if, hypothetically, the maximum penalty for grand larceny is 5 years in prison, and you only get 7 days, you do NOT get an exception and you will have major problems coming to the US in the future at all in the near future. Generally, your marriage to a US citizen does not really help in this circumstance.

[Vedic 0]

Thank you for the response.

I am sorry for the late response, I did not realize you responded and it did not send me any notification.

I spoke with my lawyer. He had suggested me to do about 200 community service hours. So far I have finished about 100 hrs and I am certain before my date in Aug, I will be able to finish 100 more hours. He believes that it might reduce my sentense and give me something under 180 days, suspended jail time with Misdemeanor tresspassing charge. I also spoke with an Immigration lawyer who deals with criminal cases, and he said as long as my charge is under 180 days suspended, then it would not affect my immigration status as much. And even after applying for green card if it gets rejected then I will be able to go for "Waiver" form and put some papers with good behavior with good moral and may be get my green card approved then.

And since it takes about 2-3 yrs to process with my green card, I will be able to stay in US and continue doing my job.

My lawyer believes that he will be able to fight for option # 4 (above) but with no active jail time. So that will be Misdemeanor trespassing with less than 180 days suspended jail time.

Can you please provide some help in this?

Is there any suggestion you have for me in order to proceed for my green card process. I am planning on applying for my green card before OCtober 2013.

Thank you very much.

[Boiler 45,318]

For immigration purposes they usually look at what the maximum sentence could be, not what it it was pleaded down to.

You should have the Immigration and Criminal Lawyer working in hand to determine the best outcome.