LF recommendations for a lawyer in the US, husband has a statutory rape conviction

[Akari 1]

We were just married this month in the UK (marriage visa), he (24M) is a British citizen and I (30F) am a US citizen. He was convicted when he was 18 and has no other convictions or arrests from age 18 on. We want someone who has experience with immigrating with this type of conviction.

[Crazy Cat 41,985]

Extremely serious matter.  I would choose my attorney very carefully......good luck.

[Just Paul 4,595]

17 minutes ago, Akari said:

We want someone who has experience with immigrating with this type of conviction.

Look for attorneys with Adam Walsh Act (AWA) experience.

 

Have him obtain a copy of his FBI report.  This will help an attorney prepare.

 

You can file now.  It will take USCIS 6 months to a year just to read the petition.

[Akari 1]

7 minutes ago, Paul & Mary said:

Look for attorneys with Adam Walsh Act (AWA) experience.

 

Have him obtain a copy of his FBI report.  This will help an attorney prepare.

 

You can file now.  It will take USCIS 6 months to a year just to read the petition.

Does the AWA apply to us with me being the US citizen with no convictions or arrests? From looking at descriptions of this act it seems to apply only to the petitioner? I'm sure it couldn't hurt to have a lawyer who is familiar with this though, I'm just wondering.

 

Do you know where to go for this FBI report? Will that apply to him since he's a British citizen? We have gotten an ACRO report (UK criminal record) to see what shows on that and have a copy.

 

Is it not more beneficial to apply with an attorney attached to the petition in this case? We had been debating whether we should apply ourselves and get an attorney if needed, but decided it would probably be best to have an attorney right off the bat.

[Lemonslice 4,922]

Have you also considered moving there? Would probably be faster. 

[Just Paul 4,595]

5 minutes ago, Akari said:

Does the AWA apply to us with me being the US citizen with no convictions or arrests? From looking at descriptions of this act it seems to apply only to the petitioner? I'm sure it couldn't hurt to have a lawyer who is familiar with this though, I'm just wondering.

 

Do you know where to go for this FBI report? Will that apply to him since he's a British citizen? We have gotten an ACRO report (UK criminal record) to see what shows on that and have a copy.

 

Is it not more beneficial to apply with an attorney attached to the petition in this case? We had been debating whether we should apply ourselves and get an attorney if needed, but decided it would probably be best to have an attorney right off the bat.

Argh - I completely misread that.

 

AWA and FBI Report does not apply to him.  ARCO would be good to have.  

 

The Police report isn't even going to be looked at until the NVC stage.

 

Hopefully he has done some rehabilitation  and counseling to help with the case.   It is going to be more of an issue as the beneficiary.   Hope you have a good plan B

 

[Boiler 45,740]

I have not checked but assume it must be a CIMT.

 

No doubt details will matter.I agree with the need for a Lawyer familiar with Waivers

 

Short version is that this does not preclude immigration but does make the process longer and more expensive. 

 

Wondering if you qualify for DCF London, they are closing refular DCF down at the end of the month, well with everything happening they may have done so now but worth checking.

[Akari 1]

1 hour ago, Lemonslice said:

Have you also considered moving there? Would probably be faster. 

That's plan B. We really would much rather live in the US though.

[Akari 1]

1 hour ago, Paul & Mary said:

Argh - I completely misread that.

 

AWA and FBI Report does not apply to him.  ARCO would be good to have.  

 

The Police report isn't even going to be looked at until the NVC stage.

 

Hopefully he has done some rehabilitation  and counseling to help with the case.   It is going to be more of an issue as the beneficiary.   Hope you have a good plan B

 

No worries. Ah I see I didn't consider when it would be looked at.

 

Parts of his probation (he didn't receive any jail time) involved rehabilitation activities, we'll look into how we can get records of that.

 

Plan B will be for me to move to him in the UK instead - probably going to consider that a last resort option.

 

Thanks for your input!

[Akari 1]

1 hour ago, Boiler said:

I have not checked but assume it must be a CIMT.

 

No doubt details will matter.I agree with the need for a Lawyer familiar with Waivers

 

Short version is that this does not preclude immigration but does make the process longer and more expensive. 

 

Wondering if you qualify for DCF London, they are closing refular DCF down at the end of the month, well with everything happening they may have done so now but worth checking.

I am assuming so as well that's why we thought it would be best to have a lawyer. I'll definitely look for someone with experience with waivers.

 

I see, we did anticipate that it would after looking into things. Can't be helped I suppose.

 

Looks like that wouldn't apply to us, but thank you for bringing it up - would have been nice if we could have done that since the turn around time looks much shorter.

[pushbrk 12,999]

7 hours ago, Akari said:

I am assuming so as well that's why we thought it would be best to have a lawyer. I'll definitely look for someone with experience with waivers.

 

I see, we did anticipate that it would after looking into things. Can't be helped I suppose.

 

Looks like that wouldn't apply to us, but thank you for bringing it up - would have been nice if we could have done that since the turn around time looks much shorter.

Maybe post in the waivers forum.  I don't recall the names but there are people in that forum familiar with waiver lawyers.  Get a consultation BEFORE filing the I-130 and be fully informed.  You don't necessarily need the lawyer to handle the whole case.  Maybe just the waiver.  However, when you are fully informed, you may well decide to pursue plan B without attempting US immigration.

[Boiler 45,740]

Are you looking for a UK or a US based lawyer?

[pushbrk 12,999]

1 hour ago, Boiler said:

Are you looking for a UK or a US based lawyer?

She SHOULD BE looking for a lawyer with lots of experience with US Immigration Waivers.  Where they are "based" is probably not all that relevant.

[Boiler 45,740]

7 minutes ago, pushbrk said:

She SHOULD BE looking for a lawyer with lots of experience with US Immigration Waivers.  Where they are "based" is probably not all that relevant.

I take that as a given, and could mention either way.

 

A UK based one would likely know more about the particular charges and the consequences, however she is asking so maybe a US based one would be better, who could do the research.

[JFH 12,190]

*~*~*moved from “CR-1/IR-1 spouse visa process and procedures” to “waivers” as this is a very specific and complex issue*~*~*