Arrested But Not Charged Question

[Jason and May 79]

My wife was arrested for an expired resident card while working in Amman, Jordan. She was not charged with a crime. There was no court action. She did have to stay in jail until she paid her resident card up to date or left the country. She decided to go back to her country. 

We obtained her No Criminal Record Certificate. We were unsuccessful in obtaining any reports associated with the incident. She is DQ and received her interview letter. 

 

Will the IO require additional records at the interview, or is the NCRC sufficient? 

Any thoughts, experiences, or advice is welcome. 

TIA

[pushbrk 12,882]

1 hour ago, Jason and May said:

My wife was arrested for an expired resident card while working in Amman, Jordan. She was not charged with a crime. There was no court action. She did have to stay in jail until she paid her resident card up to date or left the country. She decided to go back to her country. 

We obtained her No Criminal Record Certificate. We were unsuccessful in obtaining any reports associated with the incident. She is DQ and received her interview letter. 

 

Will the IO require additional records at the interview, or is the NCRC sufficient? 

Any thoughts, experiences, or advice is welcome. 

TIA

There aren't any additional records to request.

[Jason and May 79]

1 minute ago, pushbrk said:

There aren't any additional records to request.

Hopefully that is the case. Thank you for answering. 

 

I’ve been reading some things and saw some old posts that said because they answered on the DS260 that they were arrested, they were required to submit either a police report or evidence that a police report or record of the arrest is not available. I saw (an older) post in here that said they got a 221g for additional evidence for this. So between my wife getting nervous and me seeing that, it made me start wondering and I thought I should ask. 

[pushbrk 12,882]

9 minutes ago, Jason and May said:

Hopefully that is the case. Thank you for answering. 

 

I’ve been reading some things and saw some old posts that said because they answered on the DS260 that they were arrested, they were required to submit either a police report or evidence that a police report or record of the arrest is not available. I saw (an older) post in here that said they got a 221g for additional evidence for this. So between my wife getting nervous and me seeing that, it made me start wondering and I thought I should ask. 

At worst, you will need confirmation that nothing more is available.  You'll just have to wait and see, unless you can get that confirmation before the interview.

[Jason and May 79]

15 minutes ago, pushbrk said:

At worst, you will need confirmation that nothing more is available.  You'll just have to wait and see, unless you can get that confirmation before the interview.

Thank you. 

 

When she did her NCRC she asked them to assist with the police report, and they told her the Amman police will not issue that. So she’s going to go back to the Jordanian Consulate in Manila and ask them write a short statement to that effect and sign it for her interview. 

 

I think it’s a good idea to just be prepared. Hopefully they will do that for her. 

 

Thanks again for helping! 

[Edward and Jaycel 165]

21 hours ago, Jason and May said:

Thank you. 

 

When she did her NCRC she asked them to assist with the police report, and they told her the Amman police will not issue that. So she’s going to go back to the Jordanian Consulate in Manila and ask them write a short statement to that effect and sign it for her interview. 

 

I think it’s a good idea to just be prepared. Hopefully they will do that for her. 

 

Thanks again for helping! 

 

Any supporting documentation she can have with her at the interview is a great idea. My fiancee has a "Late Registered" PSA birth certificate so she took the time to go back to her province to get her LCR certificate and her baptisimal certificate to have on hand at the interview as supporting docs. We read that most times the Visa Officer won't make a big deal out of it if it's not too long of a gap before her birth was registered but we wanted to take no chances and are bringing the supporting documentation just in case.

[Jason and May 79]

17 minutes ago, Edward and Jaycel said:

 

Any supporting documentation she can have with her at the interview is a great idea. My fiancee has a "Late Registered" PSA birth certificate so she took the time to go back to her province to get her LCR certificate and her baptisimal certificate to have on hand at the interview as supporting docs. We read that most times the Visa Officer won't make a big deal out of it if it's not too long of a gap before her birth was registered but we wanted to take no chances and are bringing the supporting documentation just in case.

Thank you for answering. 

I found the rule for documents after pushbrk answered this for me. It was bothering me, and I was ruminating on it.

The rule is: 
 

"If you’re applying from abroad, you must submit to the National Visa Center (NVC) certified court and prison records for each conviction — even if you were later pardoned or granted amnesty or some other act of clemency. (You are not required to provide records for an arrest that did not lead to a conviction.)

The records must reflect the following information:

• The full and complete circumstances of the crime for which you were convicted
• The final outcome of your case, including the sentence or other penalty/fine" 

The thread I found where the person had an RFE was an RFE from USCIS for their beneficiary who had been arrested for and convicted of shoplifting as a minor. I'm assuming they were applying for AoS from within the U.S., because the rules go on to indicate that if you are applying from within the United States, you are required to submit to USCIS all relevant documents, including police reports, even if the offense occurred as a juvenile and/or was expunged from your record. And if a police report or court records are unavailable, you must submit evidence that they are unavailable. 

So, I think this might be why I haven't heard of people reporting back these 221g issues at interviews for police reports for arrests without charges and court action. And all these other Pilipinas who had overstays as OFWs but just submitted PCCs and NCRCs. But after my wife started worrying, I started thinking about it, and then I was searching around and saw that thread and started wondering and getting a bit anxious myself. 

I'm still encouraging her to go to the Jordanian Consulate and ask for assistance with obtaining a police report or a short statement that one is unavailable. As you stated, I'd rather be overprepared than underprepared, just in case. 

 

[Edward and Jaycel 165]

11 minutes ago, Jason and May said:

Thank you for answering. 

I found the rule for documents after pushbrk answered this for me. It was bothering me, and I was ruminating on it.

The rule is: 
 

 

"If you’re applying from abroad, you must submit to the National Visa Center (NVC) certified court and prison records for each conviction — even if you were later pardoned or granted amnesty or some other act of clemency. (You are not required to provide records for an arrest that did not lead to a conviction.)

The records must reflect the following information:

• The full and complete circumstances of the crime for which you were convicted
• The final outcome of your case, including the sentence or other penalty/fine" 

The thread I found where the person had an RFE was an RFE from USCIS for their beneficiary who had been arrested for and convicted of shoplifting as a minor. I'm assuming they were applying for AoS from within the U.S., because the rules go on to indicate that if you are applying from within the United States, you are required to submit to USCIS all relevant documents, including police reports, even if the offense occurred as a juvenile and/or was expunged from your record. And if a police report or court records are unavailable, you must submit evidence that they are unavailable. 

So, I think this might be why I haven't heard of people reporting back these 221g issues at interviews for police reports for arrests without charges and court action. And all these other Pilipinas who had overstays as OFWs but just submitted PCCs and NCRCs. But after my wife started worrying, I started thinking about it, and then I was searching around and saw that thread and started wondering and getting a bit anxious myself. 

I'm still encouraging her to go to the Jordanian Consulate and ask for assistance with obtaining a police report or a short statement that one is unavailable. As you stated, I'd rather be overprepared than underprepared, just in case. 

 

 

Exactly.... You don't want to be running around under the pressure of a 221g trying to get this information. Better to have it and not need it as the old saying goes

[Steven2134 2]

sounds to me like an arrest for a fine-able offence rather than a criminal charge...something that can happen sometimes in USA in some jurisdictions on traffic offences...ie, you get released after paying a fine...no court, if ever a document is "unavailable" all you have to do is submit an written explanation as to why its unavailable, but maybe they will still just request a common "police certificate" from that country which should show nothing

[Jason and May 79]

Update: My wife had her interivew 09/23/24. The consular officer (window 68) didn't even ask if she had ever been arrested or committed a crime, let alone about her DS-260. He only asked how long she worked in Jordan, looked at her Jordan NCRC, and moved on. 

He did, however, reject her Qatar PCC because the physical document indicated it was expired. And he refused to listen to her reasoning that the State Department's Traveldocs site guides everyone with the information that PCCs expire after 2 years unless they are from a country of former residence and you have not returned there since the PCC was issued. Hers was issued 13 months ago and she hasn't left the Philippines since it was issued. He flatly refused it and gave her a 221g for an updated copy. Lots of discretion for the consular officers. She was at that window with 5 others. 3 got 221gs.