Criminal record

[TUC 40]

I am US Citizen Petitioner for my Mexican Citizen Beneficiary. I am working on submitting my criminal history. I have one old charge for underaged drinking which i have gathered all the certified documents for. I only have one other arrest. This is where my problem is….

 

I was arrested in Mexico 2 years ago for drinking in public. I went to the place in Playa Del carmen where I was arrested to try to obtain the certified documents. The women working there said they do not keep records after 6 moths on arrests. Ok fine. I then asked if she could give me a letter stating that they have no record for my arrest, to which she refused and said they don’t do that. What should I do now? Submit a letter explaining my situation? I really have no other way of obtains my record unless you guys have other suggestions.

 

I don’t want to not say anything because i know that it will probably come up on a government background check. Should i just write a letter sating my situation and hope that is good enough? I don’t want them to say i lied about my record.

 

it was a very small sketchy jail in a very corrupt town. They made me and my friends pay about $200US in cash each to get out. I do remember them writing all our info and taking finger prints and photos so it must be on record somewhere.

[MeghanK 629]

Have you read the details for obtaining Mexican police certificates here https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/Visa-Reciprocity-and-Civil-Documents-by-Country/Mexico.html (scroll down to the police certs tab)

 

I believe this is typically for the immigrant to utilize (it's been a hot minute since I used the reciprocity pages) but these routes might help uncover documentation and/or uncover clean record docs for you as the USC too. The results at worst might be helpful to include with a detailed letter about the whole situation, if you want more proof that you've exhausted all means. Heck, maybe the docs you need might even be found. 

 

I'm sure you already know this, but no matter what, be fully truthful, even if you only submit a letter detailing your situation. On our immigration journey there were required documents (not criminal records related though) that we needed for a unique situation that we could not obtain for similar reasons (i.e. records not kept for more than a year) and we submitted our own letter detailing the steps we took to try to find the documents that we were never able to obtain. No one ever asked us anything about it after that.

 

I hope this helps, but hopefully others have input too. Good luck, don't stress, telling the whole truth goes a long way when it comes to immigration.  

 

 

[TUC 40]

19 hours ago, MeghanK said:

Have you read the details for obtaining Mexican police certificates here https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/Visa-Reciprocity-and-Civil-Documents-by-Country/Mexico.html (scroll down to the police certs tab)

 

I believe this is typically for the immigrant to utilize (it's been a hot minute since I used the reciprocity pages) but these routes might help uncover documentation and/or uncover clean record docs for you as the USC too. The results at worst might be helpful to include with a detailed letter about the whole situation, if you want more proof that you've exhausted all means. Heck, maybe the docs you need might even be found. 

 

I'm sure you already know this, but no matter what, be fully truthful, even if you only submit a letter detailing your situation. On our immigration journey there were required documents (not criminal records related though) that we needed for a unique situation that we could not obtain for similar reasons (i.e. records not kept for more than a year) and we submitted our own letter detailing the steps we took to try to find the documents that we were never able to obtain. No one ever asked us anything about it after that.

 

I hope this helps, but hopefully others have input too. Good luck, don't stress, telling the whole truth goes a long way when it comes to immigration.  

 

 

Yea i thought maybe the Mexican police certificate would be an option but that seems to only be for Mexican citizens…I’m not sure what to do. I feel like if i just tell them what happened and that I couldn’t get the documents they could run their own backround check on me and find it. And if they don’t find it then it doesn’t seem like it would be a big deal. I just don’t want to get an RFE for not submitting proper documentation.

[MeghanK 629]

42 minutes ago, Tbritt8 said:

Yea i thought maybe the Mexican police certificate would be an option but that seems to only be for Mexican citizens…I’m not sure what to do. I feel like if i just tell them what happened and that I couldn’t get the documents they could run their own backround check on me and find it. And if they don’t find it then it doesn’t seem like it would be a big deal. I just don’t want to get an RFE for not submitting proper documentation.

Ah, frick! Well in the bigger picture I really don't think you have anything to worry about. The offense is nothing alone that would affect the immigration journey, for something this minor they more likely care that you disclose it and your fiance is aware of what happened. I'd be willing to bet that arrest doesn't even show up on the background check they do based on how you described it.

 

I genuinely think a well-written and detailed explanation will be okay. Have your fiance sign that letter as well which will showcase she is aware of it. USCIS does a lot to make people unhappy but I highly doubt they will deny your opportunity to pursue legal immigration for a document that can't be obtained. I also doubt it's the first time they've seen this type of situation. 

[Chancy 6,241]

On 5/31/2022 at 5:04 PM, Tbritt8 said:

I don’t want to not say anything because i know that it will probably come up on a government background check. Should i just write a letter sating my situation and hope that is good enough? I don’t want them to say i lied about my record.

 

The I-129F instructions require that you disclose all arrests, charges, or convictions.  You may submit evidence of your good-faith efforts to retrieve your records from Mexico and hope that will be enough.

 

Alternatively, you may want to consider going to Mexico, marrying your fiance, and starting the spouse visa process instead.  You won't need to provide details of your criminal history when submitting the I-130 petition.

 

[TUC 40]

17 hours ago, Chancy said:

 

The I-129F instructions require that you disclose all arrests, charges, or convictions.  You may submit evidence of your good-faith efforts to retrieve your records from Mexico and hope that will be enough.

 

Alternatively, you may want to consider going to Mexico, marrying your fiance, and starting the spouse visa process instead.  You won't need to provide details of your criminal history when submitting the I-130 petition.

 

Yea that’s what i am going to do. I have typed up a letter briefly explaining my arrest. And then explained my attempt to obtain my records. I attached my location record to show i was at the building for over an hour since there if really no other way to prove i was there. I also attached the name, address, and contact info of the location where the arrest occurred, and where the hold all their records. Hopefully this will suffice.