Criminal Record

[luisarm123 0]

Hey, I 'm just wondering if I'm filing for a Fiance visa for a girlfriend in Laos and i have a conviction in solicitation of prostitution (She was not a minor, a middle age woman) Will that greatly affect my process of filing it? And it's my first criminal offense (misdemeanor offense). That's the only offense I have ever committed throughout my whole life and it was 6 months ago.

[Pitaya 2,577]

~Moved from K1 Process to IMBRA Special Topics Forum~

~Inquiry about CMT~

[Lee&Ana 88]

It shouldn't be a problem.

[neoblast 138]

Hey, I 'm just wondering if I'm filing for a Fiance visa for a girlfriend in Laos and i have a conviction in solicitation of prostitution (She was not a minor, a middle age woman) Will that greatly affect my process of filing it? And it's my first criminal offense (misdemeanor offense). That's the only offense I have ever committed throughout my whole life and it was 6 months ago.

Short answer is a big fat MAYBE it all will depend on your plea. misdemeanor does not usually stop you from getting a visa unless you were sentenced to more than a year in prison even if you served less. Read this article

ANSWER- The first question, in determining the consequences of this, or any other criminal conviction, is whether it is a Crime Involving Moral Turpitude (CIMT). CIMT’s can result in a foreign national being denied entry into the U.S.; ineligible for a change or extension of nonimmigrant status; ineligible to adjust status to become a Permanent Resident; and can make the foreign national subject to removal from the U.S. even if they are otherwise in a legal status. Prostitution is a CIMT. Therefore it is highly likely that a USCIS adjudicator or an Immigration Judge would determine that Solicitation of a Prostitute is a CIMT.

However, CIMT’s are forgiven when they fall under the Petty Offense Exception. A CIMT falls under the Petty Offense Exception where the maximum punishment that can be given for the crime is one year or less and the foreign national is not sentenced to imprisonment for more than 6 months. Keep in mind that in some cases the Judge will issue a sentence of imprisonment for more than 6 months and then suspend the jail time. When this happens, even though the foreign national is imprisoned for less than 6 months, the sentence is for more than six months of imprisonment, and therefore the conviction does not fall within the Petty Offense Exception. On the other hand, if the foreign national is sentenced to no jail time, but is sentenced to more than six months of probation, and the maximum penalty is a year or less, the conviction falls within the Petty Offense Exception.

The Petty Offense Exception only applies where the foreign national has only one conviction for a CIMT. If the foreign national has been convicted for more than one CIMT’s the Petty Offense Exception does save them.

Generally speaking, Solicitation of Prostitution is a misdemeanor which usually means the maximum punishment is less than a year. As a result, a punishment of a fine and a period of probation with no jail time would generally fall within the Petty Offense Exception for CIMT’s. However, laws governing criminal convictions vary between states, so this may not be true everywhere.

Another exception for CIMT is where the foreign national was under 18 at the time they committed the crime. Ins such a case, the CIMT would be forgiven after 5 years from the date of the crime or the date they were released confinement, whichever was later. However, just like the Petty Offense Exception, this exception only applies where the foreign national has only been convicted of one CIMT.

Where a foreign national is convicted of a CIMT, and these exceptions are not available, there are waivers of the consequences of a criminal conviction. However, that topic will have to be covered in a future posting.

A criminal conviction, even one that is not a CIMT, can result in a longer wait to be eligible for naturalization to U.S. citizenship.

The laws governing the consequences of criminal convictions for non-citizens are very complicated. Therefore it is important for any non-citizen who is charged with a crime to hire a criminal law attorney and have their criminal law attorney consult with an experienced immigration law attorney before accepting any plea bargain.

http://immigrationanswerman.com/2009/06/22/i-have-been-charged-with-solicitation-of-a-prostitute-how-will-this-affect-my-immigration-status/

[TBoneTX 45,319]

The Amcit petitioner has the conviction. The above material applies to beneficiaries.

[luisarm123 0]

Oh, thank you so much! I thought because of my conviction that it will greatly affect me! I just have a question when I file for the visa. I know in the form it asks for "Check the box if you did any of the crimes above" since the crime i did (solicitation of prostitution) do I have to put Yes? If not, do i still need to provide the record of me being arrested and etc? Thank you for your replies. This really helps me. Even though, I'm young and I make mistakes but I think in order to mature you first must experience first-hand different predicaments. Anyways thank you all! And should I still get a lawyer, just to be on the safe side! Thanks!

[mariachrin 4]

Guys I have a question. I have a domestic violence charge on my record. It should have been dropped or whatever but I know they'll find it so I want to add it in my packet. My question is, is there a particular type of record they want? Because I called the criminal records bureau in the city where the conviction took place.. and they were asking me if I needed a "letter" of some sort or something else. Is there a particular document they want? Or does basically anything that show I have the charge on my record suffice?

[kitsonk 1]

Guys I have a question. I have a domestic violence charge on my record. It should have been dropped or whatever but I know they'll find it so I want to add it in my packet. My question is, is there a particular type of record they want? Because I called the criminal records bureau in the city where the conviction took place.. and they were asking me if I needed a "letter" of some sort or something else. Is there a particular document they want? Or does basically anything that show I have the charge on my record suffice?

You need to be able to answer the following question:

Have you ever been convicted by a court of law (civil or criminal) or court martialed by a military tribunal for any of the following crimes:

Domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse and neglect, dating violence, elder abuse or stalking?

If the answer is Yes, you should supply an explanation. Was it a conviction or just an arrest? You say charge, but what was the outcome? A nolle prosequi (they decided not to prosecute you) or did you plea to a charge (and had probation, etc.).

Outside of the explanation, at the stage of the I-129F, sending additional documents is unlikely to change the outcome, they are going to access your criminal record themselves and make a decision. The explanation should be straight and to the point (e.g. I was arrested for domestic violence on X due to my then wife calling the police due to a martial dispute. I was charged with Y and the outcome was Z. I successfully completed my probation on X). USCIS will contact you if the believe you are not eligible to be a sponsor (which if you had a conviction, it highly likely) and ask you for additional information. You may very well want to contact an immigration attorney to get advice.

For your own information you might want to get your FBI record. There are several FBI chanellers that can provide it to you in a day or two. That way you will know essentially what USCIS will see.

If they believe you might be ineligible to be a sponsor, they will request basically everything, including arrest records, charging documents, court transcripts, probation documentation, etc... Basically they have to believe you won't be a threat to your fiancée and they basically don't have to account to anyone if they decide you are, so they err heavily on the side of assuming you are a threat. This is why good immigration representation is almost necessary in these types of situations.

[mariachrin 4]

You need to be able to answer the following question:

If the answer is Yes, you should supply an explanation. Was it a conviction or just an arrest? You say charge, but what was the outcome? A nolle prosequi (they decided not to prosecute you) or did you plea to a charge (and had probation, etc.).

Outside of the explanation, at the stage of the I-129F, sending additional documents is unlikely to change the outcome, they are going to access your criminal record themselves and make a decision. The explanation should be straight and to the point (e.g. I was arrested for domestic violence on X due to my then wife calling the police due to a martial dispute. I was charged with Y and the outcome was Z. I successfully completed my probation on X). USCIS will contact you if the believe you are not eligible to be a sponsor (which if you had a conviction, it highly likely) and ask you for additional information. You may very well want to contact an immigration attorney to get advice.

For your own information you might want to get your FBI record. There are several FBI chanellers that can provide it to you in a day or two. That way you will know essentially what USCIS will see.

If they believe you might be ineligible to be a sponsor, they will request basically everything, including arrest records, charging documents, court transcripts, probation documentation, etc... Basically they have to believe you won't be a threat to your fiancée and they basically don't have to account to anyone if they decide you are, so they err heavily on the side of assuming you are a threat. This is why good immigration representation is almost necessary in these types of situations.

Hi. I sent out my package. The local city court gave me my disposition. It stated I pleaded not guilty and that the victim dropped charges, and that my case was brought down to a civil infraction. I tried to explain my side of the story (that my mother was abusive - this is true, they can look up her record - and I was defending myself), along with attaching the certified disposition. It will make me sad if I'm denied over this. :\ But hopefully the fact that she dropped charges and I plead not guilty it will be okay..?