Dropped controlled substance charges for juvenile record

[Bob tommy 0]

Hello,

 

My wife is a dutch citizen and I am a US citizen. We are currently thinking about moving to the US. The issue is that when she was a juvenile she was charged with possession of weed. She was never actually arrested. A police officer suspected her of having some on her, did not find any, took her information and was told to report to a police station with a parent. This is while they were living in Germany. The officer at the station told her they dont really have any evidence so the charges would be dropped. The officer also said they never put anything into the system. She recieved a letter in the mail later that charges had been dropped for "Law of trafficing of controlled substances". I am not sure if the letter still exists. I have seen it and it is only one sentance saying that the charges were dropped and no details about the case at all. There is nothing on her police record and it is clean. She also never admitted guilt for this charge. I know we must report all interactions with police so I want to know our chances. I am wondering if it is still possible to get her a greencard or if this will make her inadmissable. I am also worried if they ask for court proceeding and whatnot like mentioned in other posts that I will not have any documents besides possible the letter mentioned above to provide because this was a very "off the radar" event. 

Edited June 20, 2023 by Bob tommy

[pushbrk 12,883]

1 hour ago, Bob tommy said:

Hello,

 

My wife is a dutch citizen and I am a US citizen. We are currently thinking about moving to the US. The issue is that when she was a juvenile she was charged with possession of weed. She was never actually arrested. A police officer suspected her of having some on her, did not find any, took her information and was told to report to a police station with a parent. This is while they were living in Germany. The officer at the station told her they dont really have any evidence so the charges would be dropped. The officer also said they never put anything into the system. She recieved a letter in the mail later that charges had been dropped for "Law of trafficing of controlled substances". I am not sure if the letter still exists. I have seen it and it is only one sentance saying that the charges were dropped and no details about the case at all. There is nothing on her police record and it is clean. She also never admitted guilt for this charge. I know we must report all interactions with police so I want to know our chances. I am wondering if it is still possible to get her a greencard or if this will make her inadmissable. I am also worried if they ask for court proceeding and whatnot like mentioned in other posts that I will not have any documents besides possible the letter mentioned above to provide because this was a very "off the radar" event. 

For peace of mind, I would get the appropriate police report needed at NVC stage. (the actual required report) You can get that now.  If it's clean, it's clean.  If it's not, it's not.  Get it again later so it is current.

[randomstairs 303]

1 hour ago, Bob tommy said:

Hello,

 

My wife is a dutch citizen and I am a US citizen. We are currently thinking about moving to the US. The issue is that when she was a juvenile she was charged with possession of weed. She was never actually arrested. A police officer suspected her of having some on her, did not find any, took her information and was told to report to a police station with a parent. This is while they were living in Germany. The officer at the station told her they dont really have any evidence so the charges would be dropped. The officer also said they never put anything into the system. She recieved a letter in the mail later that charges had been dropped for "Law of trafficing of controlled substances". I am not sure if the letter still exists. I have seen it and it is only one sentance saying that the charges were dropped and no details about the case at all. There is nothing on her police record and it is clean. She also never admitted guilt for this charge. I know we must report all interactions with police so I want to know our chances. I am wondering if it is still possible to get her a greencard or if this will make her inadmissable. I am also worried if they ask for court proceeding and whatnot like mentioned in other posts that I will not have any documents besides possible the letter mentioned above to provide because this was a very "off the radar" event. 

Try to get the police report and the letter from the department that charged her. If they don't have it, ask them if they can produce a statement that the records don't exist. 

[Bob tommy 0]

27 minutes ago, randomstairs said:

Try to get the police report and the letter from the department that charged her. If they don't have it, ask them if they can produce a statement that the records don't exist. 

Do you think it would still be possible to get a visa?

57 minutes ago, pushbrk said:

For peace of mind, I would get the appropriate police report needed at NVC stage. (the actual required report) You can get that now.  If it's clean, it's clean.  If it's not, it's not.  Get it again later so it is current.

Which scenario would it be more difficult to get a visa?

[Redro 4,611]

1 hour ago, Bob tommy said:

Do you think it would still be possible to get a visa?

Which scenario would it be more difficult to get a visa?

As she was not convicted of the crime and she was a minor she should be fine. 

 

This is what USCIS has to say about arrests and convictions:

(A) Conviction of certain crimes.-

(i) In general.-Except as provided in clause (ii), any alien convicted of, or who admits having committed, or who admits committing acts which constitute the essential elements of-

(I) a crime involving moral turpitude (other than a purely political offense) or an attempt or conspiracy to commit such a crime, or

(II) a violation of (or a conspiracy or attempt to violate) any law or regulation of a State, the United States, or a foreign country relating to a controlled substance (as defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802)), is inadmissible.

(ii) Exception.-Clause (i)(I) shall not apply to an alien who committed only one crime if-

(I) the crime was committed when the alien was under 18 years of age, and the crime was committed (and the alien released from any confinement to a prison or correctional institution imposed for the crime) more than 5 years before the date of application for a visa or other documentation and the date of application for admission to the United States, or

(II) the maximum penalty possible for the crime of which the alien was convicted (or which the alien admits having committed or of which the acts that the alien admits having committed constituted the essential elements) did not exceed imprisonment for one year and, if the alien was convicted of such crime, the alien was not sentenced to a term of imprisonment in excess of 6 months (regardless of the extent to which the sentence was ultimately executed).

 

 

But, I would try to get the paperwork for NVC stage. After you submit your I-130 it will take about 12 months before the petition is approved and you will have to submit police background checks:

If you are 16 years of age or older, you must obtain a photocopy of a police certificate from all countries you have lived in using below criteria:

If you ...	AND you...	THEN submit a police certificate from...
Are 16 years old or older	Lived in your country of nationality for more than 6 months at any time in your life	Your country of nationality
Are 16 years old or older	Have lived in your country of current residence (if different from nationality) for more than 6 months	Your country of current residence
Have ever lived in another country for 12 months or more	Were 16 years or older at the time you lived there	The country where you used to live.
Were arrested for any reason, regardless of how long you lived in that city or country, and no matter what age you were		The city and/or country where you were arrested.

Note: Present and former residents of the United States do NOT need to submit any U.S. police certificates.

Important: Police certificates expire after two years, unless the certificate was issued from your country of previous residence and you have not returned there since the police certificate was issued.

 

 

Edited June 21, 2023 by Redro

[pushbrk 12,883]

2 hours ago, Bob tommy said:

Do you think it would still be possible to get a visa?

Which scenario would it be more difficult to get a visa?

Those are not different scenarios.  I recommended getting the report, so you'll know if it's there or not.

 

[Bob tommy 0]

6 hours ago, pushbrk said:

Those are not different scenarios.  I recommended getting the report, so you'll know if it's there or not.

 

Like I said there is no mention of if it in her police records which we checked. 

[BLC 112]

3 hours ago, Bob tommy said:

Like I said there is no mention of if it in her police records which we checked. 

I think you have your answer then 

[Bob tommy 0]

1 hour ago, BLC said:

I think you have your answer then 

So there shouldn’t be any problems even though we must disclose an incident that there is no documentation for?

[Redro 4,611]

34 minutes ago, Bob tommy said:

So there shouldn’t be any problems even though we must disclose an incident that there is no documentation for?

Correct. 

[LucindaLou 43]

Quote

Like I said there is no mention of if it in her police records which we checked. 

Did you check the German and the Dutch record? If it happened in Germany the record would be there after all

[Bob tommy 0]

2 minutes ago, LucindaLou said:

Did you check the German and the Dutch record? If it happened in Germany the record would be there after all

Yes it’s the German record that we checked since that’s where she spent most of her life and where the incident happened. 

[LucindaLou 43]

Quote

Yes it’s the German record that we checked since that’s where she spent most of her life and where the incident happened. 

If the Staatsanwaltschaft (District Attorney) drops a case, you are informed by a letter that the matter was dropped, but not entirely sure if there is anything left on the persons record. I guess you no longer have a case file or anything, else I would suggest writing to the court it came through.

[pushbrk 12,883]

14 hours ago, Bob tommy said:

Like I said there is no mention of if it in her police records which we checked. 

I just typed this in another response, because words mean things.  "Read carefully, interpret literally, and respond accurately."  Maybe I wasn't clear.  I meant for you to obtain the official police report you will actually need at NVC stage, not check her police records.  It's not the same thing.

 

Find instructions here.   https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/Visa-Reciprocity-and-Civil-Documents-by-Country.html

 

[Bob tommy 0]

2 minutes ago, pushbrk said:

I just typed this in another response, because words mean things.  "Read carefully, interpret literally, and respond accurately."  Maybe I wasn't clear.  I meant for you to obtain the official police report you will actually need at NVC stage, not check her police records.  It's not the same thing.

 

Find instructions here.   https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/Visa-Reciprocity-and-Civil-Documents-by-Country.html

 

I apologize for the confusion I must have been using the phrases interchangeably. I clicked on the link you provided, selected Germany, and chose police court and prison records. The document listed is the one which we looked at and has no records.