Criminal record in citizenship interview experiences?

[marknir 12]

Hi Everyone

Can anyone share any experiences about what to expect in my N400 interview as I have a Misdemeanor from 1992 in the UK.

I have always been open about it and have all the paperwork, just never been asked about it at any stage in the process.

 

Thanks

[Starkilla09 366]

Chances are you’ll be fine. Your misdemeanor occurred more than 5 years ago, so for starters that can’t be used against you when it comes to demonstrating good moral character requirement. Good thing you mentioned it on prior immigration petitions and got approved that goes to show you were not inadmissible based on it. What you have to do now when asked (which will definitely come up) is to explain what happened and have your paperwork to show the outcome of the charges whether they were dropped, fines payed etc. Good luck!

[janicecf 73]

39 minutes ago, marknir said:

Hi Everyone

Can anyone share any experiences about what to expect in my N400 interview as I have a Misdemeanor from 1992 in the UK.

I have always been open about it and have all the paperwork, just never been asked about it at any stage in the process.

 

Thanks

Hi,

My husband had a misdemeanor. Years before he filed his N400 and actually spent 24 hours in jail. All he had to do is request all the documents pertaining to his misdemeanor that every thing was clear, charges dropped, paid the fines, and he also requested a certified letter from the Judge saying that he's on the clear. Just be honest on your application regarding this matter. They asked him about his misdemeanor at his interview, just to confirm that he went to jail and that's it. Good Luck!

[marknir 12]

On 10/26/2017 at 8:02 PM, Starkilla09 said:

Chances are you’ll be fine. Your misdemeanor occurred more than 5 years ago, so for starters that can’t be used against you when it comes to demonstrating good moral character requirement. Good thing you mentioned it on prior immigration petitions and got approved that goes to show you were not inadmissible based on it. What you have to do now when asked (which will definitely come up) is to explain what happened and have your paperwork to show the outcome of the charges whether they were dropped, fines payed etc. Good luck!

Thanks for your answer. In the UK convictions are automatically "spent" after 7 years ( I think) and I had to get copies when submitting the K1 application. As the offence 12 years before that, I had a long wait for the records to be searched manually lol.  Luckily I kept them the fine was only 10 pounds but they don't give anything to prove it was paid, I would of course have been arrested so I will just have to go with that.

[Going through 5,671]

With 1 misdemeanor you should be ok.  Mine was a CIMT charge so I was worried about it as well---even though USCIS knew about it in my AOS filing and ROC filing.

 

Chances are, at the end of your interview they will say the case has to go under Supervisor review, but that's normal since almost all applicants with criminal backgrounds have to be under Supervisor review, no matter how long ago----if you get a really nice IO, ask him/her if they can get the Supervisor to sign off on it right away, as I did.

 

You can read my interview experience with a criminal charge/CIMT here----the first thing the IO did after swearing me in was bring up my criminal charges, and then brought it up twice again: 

 

[marknir 12]

1 hour ago, Going through said:

With 1 misdemeanor you should be ok.  Mine was a CIMT charge so I was worried about it as well---even though USCIS knew about it in my AOS filing and ROC filing.

 

Chances are, at the end of your interview they will say the case has to go under Supervisor review, but that's normal since almost all applicants with criminal backgrounds have to be under Supervisor review, no matter how long ago----if you get a really nice IO, ask him/her if they can get the Supervisor to sign off on it right away, as I did.

 

You can read my interview experience with a criminal charge/CIMT here----the first thing the IO did after swearing me in was bring up my criminal charges, and then brought it up twice again: 

 

Thank you for sharing your experience. Hopefully I won't have any problems.

[mhis82 13]

My N400 interview is coming up on nov,27 with misdemeanor conviction. DV Assault and battery 4 (Not CIMT ) which I am still on probation. I have been PR for 8 years and this is my only conviction. The conviction was lowered down to Harassment ( Physical Contact ) no injury punished by 90 days in jail class B misdemeanor.

This incident happen before I applied for N400, so I did not apply for N400 while I was on probation. I will keep all update if IO will deny my case or just wait for my probation to be over and later approve me. 100% sure that I will not be approved while on probation, but everything is up in the air.

 

 

 

 

[Going through 5,671]

3 hours ago, mhis82 said:

My N400 interview is coming up on nov,27 with misdemeanor conviction. DV Assault and battery 4 (Not CIMT ) which I am still on probation. I have been PR for 8 years and this is my only conviction. The conviction was lowered down to Harassment ( Physical Contact ) no injury punished by 90 days in jail class B misdemeanor.

This incident happen before I applied for N400, so I did not apply for N400 while I was on probation. I will keep all update if IO will deny my case or just wait for my probation to be over and later approve me. 100% sure that I will not be approved while on probation, but everything is up in the air.

 

 

 

 

I'm confused---you said that you "did not apply for the N400 while on probation"...but then in the next sentence you said "or just wait for my probation to be over"...just asking for clarity's sake if you applied for the N400 while on probation or afterwards?

 

Unfortunately, you may be facing a denial because of the open probation....when is it over?  If your probation is over soon after your interview (like within the same month), you MAY get recommended for approval and put under Supervisor processing...if your probation is still ongoing for a while, could be a different story.  :/ 

[mhis82 13]

My probation will be over in feb 2018, and my interview is nov 27 217. 

I applied for N400 way before this incident happen. I do not believe they will deny me , because minor misdomenor which is not CIMT. But again all up in the air.

 

[Going through 5,671]

48 minutes ago, mhis82 said:

My probation will be over in feb 2018, and my interview is nov 27 217. 

I applied for N400 way before this incident happen. I do not believe they will deny me , because minor misdomenor which is not CIMT. But again all up in the air.

 

 Whether it's a CIMT or not is irrelevant...the crux of the matter is that your probation is still ongoing---that would be the basis for the denial (should a denial occur), not the actual type of charge itself.  According to USCIS's own policy handbook on adjudicating cases, they may not approve N400 applicants who are still presently on probation.  In other words, because the charge was not a CIMT doesn't save you in any way---because the probationary period is still open.

 

What *might* help you is that, as you say, the incident occurred *after* you applied for the N400...and that the close of your probation is less than 3 months after your interview date.  Just make sure to bring the court certified disposition to the interview as well as any proof of good-faith in working towards completing your probation to strengthen your case.  Best of luck!

Edited October 29, 2017 by Going through

[mhis82 13]

12 hours ago, Going through said:

 Whether it's a CIMT or not is irrelevant...the crux of the matter is that your probation is still ongoing---that would be the basis for the denial (should a denial occur), not the actual type of charge itself.  According to USCIS's own policy handbook on adjudicating cases, they may not approve N400 applicants who are still presently on probation.  In other words, because the charge was not a CIMT doesn't save you in any way---because the probationary period is still open.

 

What *might* help you is that, as you say, the incident occurred *after* you applied for the N400...and that the close of your probation is less than 3 months after your interview date.  Just make sure to bring the court certified disposition to the interview as well as any proof of good-faith in working towards completing your probation to strengthen your case.  Best of luck!

My goal to post is to educate others of my experience so someone might benefit. This is the only crime I have committed in entire 8 years of been PR. Collage educated, paid taxes, home owner, stable job, community involvement, etc. Lets see what IO decided.

In my mind I am 50/50. I am ready to get denied and then reapply later, or he might just say lets wait for your probation to be over and approve you.

 

"An officer may not approve a naturalization application while the applicant is on probation, parole, or under a suspended sentence. ^[27] See 8 CFR 316.10(c)(1). However, an applicant who has satisfactorily completed probation, parole, or a suspended sentence during the relevant statutory period is not automatically precluded from establishing GMC. The fact that an applicant was on probation, parole, or under a suspended sentence during the statutory period, however, may affect the overall GMC determination".

 

It doesn't say officer will deny applicant because he is on probation. There are positive then negative in my application so lets see what happens.