Beneficiary Criminal Record -- Success Stories and Denials?

[anniemc 0]

Hello all and thanks in advance for the help!

I'm the petitioner and my fiance, the beneficiary, has one minor event in his criminal history that is sort of a grey area from the "moral turpitude" perspective. We're planning to contact a lawyer, but in the meantime I'd love to hear from the VJ community some examples of petitions that were denied as a result of criminal history on the part of the beneficiary and stories of those that were approved in spite of criminal history.

As background, the beneficiary received stolen goods many years ago. In his country, they do not distinguish between knowing whether the goods were stolen or not knowing. In regs that cover this for USCIS, this difference is important. This is why we are engaging a lawyer.

I've seen threads on here where people ask about traffic violations, marijuana charges, and DUIs. Any chance we can dig a little deeper?

[sparkles_ 456]

My ex had 3 charges....some were bad charges really in the eyes of USCIS. Fake ID/GC, tampering with gov't docs. as well as theft of moveable property below $500. Ice the cake with the fact he overstayed his visa by about 13yr LOL. I did his AOS myself, all I did was have him indicate his arrest record, request a letter of disposition from the district court it happened in and went for the interview. He was asked if he had the arrest/charge detail record from when he was released, and we said not at the moment but we can get it. We were sent off with an addressed envelope to mail the docs. back in, and he got his GC about 30 days later. They did ask at the interview what the charges were and I assumed they already knew but were looking for truthfulness to confirm that knowledge. This was in 2008 mind you, and the fake ID/GC charge was dropped but showed on the disposition as well as the docs; he was formally charged with the theft one only. Last question the officer asked was if he planned to have anymore similar legal problems in his future. Obviously no!

We did have a child then and the interview in general was less than 10min. Criminal stuff was not the focus and was only asked at the tail end of things. They were more interested in baby pics and showing the baby existed since I didn't bring my son with us.

So don't sweat it, but be very honest and ready to explain in detail. I think unless it is a felony you get a shot to explain at the interview. His was a misdemeanor charge if it helps. If you want to PM me I can answer specific stuff if I left anything out. Hope it helps.

Edited September 20, 2013 by beccabecca

[Ryan H 3,810]

I'd love to hear from the VJ community some examples of petitions that were denied as a result of criminal history on the part of the beneficiary and stories of those that were approved in spite of criminal history.

The beneficiary's criminal history is usually not relevant at the USCIS stage, it's the Embassy/Consulate phase where it becomes an issue. Your petition is unlikely to be denied on the basis of the beneficiary's criminal history.

[anniemc 0]

So don't sweat it, but be very honest and ready to explain in detail. I think unless it is a felony you get a shot to explain at the interview. His was a misdemeanor charge if it helps. If you want to PM me I can answer specific stuff if I left anything out. Hope it helps.

Thank you for sharing - you give me hope I'll let you know closer to the date if I have any specific questions.

The beneficiary's criminal history is usually not relevant at the USCIS stage, it's the Embassy/Consulate phase where it becomes an issue. Your petition is unlikely to be denied on the basis of the beneficiary's criminal history.

I see I did not specify in my original post, but this is exactly the stage that we are concerned about. We have our NOA2 so we are preparing for the next step. If you have any helpful stories, I'd love to hear them.

[sparkles_ 456]

Thank you for sharing - you give me hope I'll let you know closer to the date if I have any specific questions.

I see I did not specify in my original post, but this is exactly the stage that we are concerned about. We have our NOA2 so we are preparing for the next step. If you have any helpful stories, I'd love to hear them.

Good luck. Like I said just be honest and gather the records now (some places make it harder to get them, I got lucky). It also helps if the offense was a while back versus something say 6 months ago as the person has had a big time block pass with no more hang-ups. My ex's arrests were almost 2yr before filing and I personally think that helped a bit.

[Joui 6]

Funny that a criminal charge has more chances of being admitted vs an experimental marijuana use in the past.

[Dcesar 0]

Good Afternoon ,

I met my boyfriend 7 years ago as we dated in college.
We got engaged last month after dating for a year, he has been coming to visit me all this time with record in his passport of course.
I got deported in 2009 for trying to get into a club with a fake id, the record is now shown as a misdemeanor class 1 but of course its still showing.
I tried getting a tourist visa on February of this year and it got denied.
I want to know if my criminal history will be an issue for me to get the K1 approved?

I have no criminal history in Mexico (where I reside now)
I am a college graduate and so is he, we both make more than 100k a year income and we definitely have proof of our relationship, both family members aware and many many pictures, but we want to get married in the US so that he doesn't loose his job and of course to be around our families since my mom and sister live there and so does his entire family and friends.
Thank you so much for your attention!

My ex had 3 charges....some were bad charges really in the eyes of USCIS. Fake ID/GC, tampering with gov't docs. as well as theft of moveable property below $500. Ice the cake with the fact he overstayed his visa by about 13yr LOL. I did his AOS myself, all I did was have him indicate his arrest record, request a letter of disposition from the district court it happened in and went for the interview. He was asked if he had the arrest/charge detail record from when he was released, and we said not at the moment but we can get it. We were sent off with an addressed envelope to mail the docs. back in, and he got his GC about 30 days later. They did ask at the interview what the charges were and I assumed they already knew but were looking for truthfulness to confirm that knowledge. This was in 2008 mind you, and the fake ID/GC charge was dropped but showed on the disposition as well as the docs; he was formally charged with the theft one only. Last question the officer asked was if he planned to have anymore similar legal problems in his future. Obviously no!

We did have a child then and the interview in general was less than 10min. Criminal stuff was not the focus and was only asked at the tail end of things. They were more interested in baby pics and showing the baby existed since I didn't bring my son with us.

So don't sweat it, but be very honest and ready to explain in detail. I think unless it is a felony you get a shot to explain at the interview. His was a misdemeanor charge if it helps. If you want to PM me I can answer specific stuff if I left anything out. Hope it helps.

[karlo1987 1]

Funny that a criminal charge has more chances of being admitted vs an experimental marijuana use in the past.

What happened to your interview? I am facing the same situation.

Thanks!

[TBoneTX 44,679]

Karlo, welcome to the forum. This is an old thread, and the original poster hasn't logged on to the site in many months. Suggestions:

1) Look through the K-1 Process forum for relevant recent threads.

2) Start your own thread with your own details. People will be along to help you.

[Moderator hat on]

Antagonistic post has been removed, and administrative action has been applied. Old thread is now closed to further comment.