Criminal Record Clarification: 1. No Court Record 2. Police Report and 3. Disorderly Conduct

[JoeandArend 2]

Three questions in regards to criminal records:

 

1. When I was a minor I received a shoplifting charge that was thrown out by the court. The court was not willing to write a statement that no such charge exists, but they did certify my juvenile record which only has a speeding ticket and they said that would "speak for itself", do you foresee this being an issue or should I just explain that in a summary document supplementing the court records explaining no charge existed so they certified all of the records that they DO have? 

 

2. Is it required to submit BOTH police reports and certified court records? Do the police reports need to be certified as well? As of right now I only have certified court records, not police reports. 

 

3. I got a Disorderly Conduct charge which resulted in a ticket back in 2013. The circumstances explain that I was doing an act that served no public reason, etc. and at the end the records explicitly state "public urination". Now the officer only charged me with a disorderly conduct and not a public indecency so that I would not have to register as a sexual offender, etc.... Do you foresee this being a huge issue with my application since it does say public urination? 

 

Thanks for all the help - hoping to send out my packet by the end of the week and want to make sure everything is in order. 

[Devint 47]

43 minutes ago, JoeandArend said:

Three questions in regards to criminal records:

 

1. When I was a minor I received a shoplifting charge that was thrown out by the court. The court was not willing to write a statement that no such charge exists, but they did certify my juvenile record which only has a speeding ticket and they said that would "speak for itself", do you foresee this being an issue or should I just explain that in a summary document supplementing the court records explaining no charge existed so they certified all of the records that they DO have? 

 

2. Is it required to submit BOTH police reports and certified court records? Do the police reports need to be certified as well? As of right now I only have certified court records, not police reports. 

 

3. I got a Disorderly Conduct charge which resulted in a ticket back in 2013. The circumstances explain that I was doing an act that served no public reason, etc. and at the end the records explicitly state "public urination". Now the officer only charged me with a disorderly conduct and not a public indecency so that I would not have to register as a sexual offender, etc.... Do you foresee this being a huge issue with my application since it does say public urination? 

 

Thanks for all the help - hoping to send out my packet by the end of the week and want to make sure everything is in order. 

I'll try to.keep this short. I have a canadian young offender record also. I went to my first interview with my police report stating they were all young offender. I was found inadmissible based on this document alone. I appealed to legalnet and had the inadmissible decision overturned. My point is: you need to get every piece of paper you can from the actual courts saying they are young offender. Also, check to see if they fall under the umbrella of 'crimes of moral turpitude'. If they do, they will likely deny you. If this is the case, my suggestion would be to file a waiver of inadmissibility concurrently , to save many months of time. The consulate takes these matters seriously (unfortunately I didn't and it cost me over a year of my life fighting it). It may be wise to consult an attorney also. Good luck, its a hell of a path and the onus is on you to prove your case.

[JoeandArend 2]

5 minutes ago, Devint said:

I'll try to.keep this short. I have a canadian young offender record also. I went to my first interview with my police report stating they were all young offender. I was found inadmissible based on this document alone. I appealed to legalnet and had the inadmissible decision overturned. My point is: you need to get every piece of paper you can from the actual courts saying they are young offender. Also, check to see if they fall under the umbrella of 'crimes of moral turpitude'. If they do, they will likely deny you. If this is the case, my suggestion would be to file a waiver of inadmissibility concurrently , to save many months of time. The consulate takes these matters seriously (unfortunately I didn't and it cost me over a year of my life fighting it). It may be wise to consult an attorney also. Good luck, its a hell of a path and the onus is on you to prove your case.

Sorry I should have been more clear, I am the petitioner and US Citizen, not the beneficiary/foreign fiance. My foreign fiance's record is thankfully clean. 

[Devint 47]

14 minutes ago, JoeandArend said:

Sorry I should have been more clear, I am the petitioner and US Citizen, not the beneficiary/foreign fiance. My foreign fiance's record is thankfully clean. 

Oh. Then I cant help. I guess still get everything you can. Good luck to you guys.

[igoyougoduke 1,662]

36 minutes ago, JoeandArend said:

Sorry I should have been more clear, I am the petitioner and US Citizen, not the beneficiary/foreign fiance. My foreign fiance's record is thankfully clean. 

your issues are not hers. so shouldnt be an issue 

[JoeandArend 2]

4 minutes ago, James120383 said:

your issues are not hers. so shouldnt be an issue 

I guess i should have been even more clearer, my apologies! I am the petitioner and this is for the I-129F original submission. I am asking to ensure that I don't get a RFE/don't accidentally forget to include something

[Greenbaum 12,259]

5 hours ago, JoeandArend said:

I guess i should have been even more clearer, my apologies! I am the petitioner and this is for the I-129F original submission. I am asking to ensure that I don't get a RFE/don't accidentally forget to include something

If you were ever arrested or convicted of any of the specified crimes, you must submit certified copies of all court and police records showing the charges and disposition for every arrest or conviction. You must do so even if your records were sealed, expunged, or otherwise cleared, and regardless of whether anyone, including a judge, law enforcement officer, or attorney, informed you that you no longer have a criminal record. If you can't get records or you are unable to get a letter verifying this fact, then you need to include this in a letter and explain the facts yourself. Don't assume because something what may have been expunged or sealed or destroyed can still be in the FBI files and not including any such record could cause you additional explanations (RFE) or you could receive a NOID.

 

Let's understand the difference between an expungement and a set-aside, as well as how each is discoverable in a background check. An expungement of an arrest record or conviction is (depending on state law) either sealed or destroyed. A "sealed" record still exists, but it's shielded from prying eyes. A "destroyed" record is physically destroyed - it's gone. Some states call expungement a "set aside." They are the same. Either way, expunged records are kept from the eyes of anyone searching records (banks, employers, etc.). The problem with immigration is that it's federal. Some arrest/conviction records find their way into federal databases, such as the FBI. Some records, not all. Federal agencies do not follow state expungement actions, unless ordered to by a state court. Sometimes it just takes a notice of expungement - a physical form handed to the feds - to clear a federal database. Once cleared from the feds, the record is gone. That's the true nature of expungement ("to remove"). A good lawyer will walk the paperwork from the state to the feds and do a follow-up review to make sure the record is gone.