Anyone going to AOS interview with an ARREST RECORD?

[grupakrovi]

Hi,

I am a US citizen, and we have an interview in May for my husband who came here on a student visa 8 years ago and stayed.

We've been together for 4 years, so I am not worried that they would suspect the marriage not being real but the thing I'm worried about is that hes been arrested twice for misdemeanors a long time ago. We are bringing letters of court disposition to the interview which shows one case dismissed and another where he did 3 days of community service.

Did anyone here go to an interview with an arrest record? Did any of you hear of any cases where it presented a problem and/or the greencard was denied?

Thanks a lot!

[txh1b]

Depends on what the charges were, if the crime committed was a CIMT and what the max punishment under the state law for the charges the person was guilty of.

[grupakrovi]

Thanks for the reply.

One charge was "theft of service" (jumped over a turnstile on the train) which was dismissed, and another was "petite larceny" (stole a book.) where he did 3 days of community service. What does CIMT mean?

[txh1b]

Crime involving moral turpitude are ones that lack moral values and which require an intent. The petit larceny would qualify under CIMT. But there is a petty offense exception under which once can overcome inadmissibility.

You definitely need to talk to an immigration attorney with the details of the court papers. Did he plead guilty to any of those charges?

Also, when did that happen. All these come into picture.

[grupakrovi]

Actually the lawyer that prepared our case told us to just get the letters of disposition, and didnt mention any potential problems (I hope they know what they're doing but I guess we'll really see in May.)

At the time he pled guilty to both charges, the theft of service one happened in 2000 when he was 18, and the petit larceny in 2003. We are going to try to take the "he was young and stupid" angle as an explanation, that he hasn't had any run ins with the law since 2003, been going to college, working, paying taxes, etc. But if there are specific laws regarding certain misdemeanors coming in a way of getting a greencard we could be in trouble...

[grupakrovi]

We got the greencard in the mail on June 5th! I guess the arrest record wasn't a big deal. The whole process was actually suprisingly smooth and quick. Thanks to the writers on this forum for easy to understand important information.

[txh1b]

I guess the arrest record wasn't a big deal.

Congrats!

Arrest records are a BIG deal. Please don't generalize so quickly. Any arrests involving CIMT or that lead to a conviction have to be dealt with with extreme care during the AOS and naturalization process with professional guidance.

[grupakrovi]

Yes you are right, it helped that we had letters of disposition and that the violations were minor. Also the passport didnt get stamped right away, the ins officer said he needs to show it to his supervisor first.

Congrats!

Arrest records are a BIG deal. Please don't generalize so quickly. Any arrests involving CIMT or that lead to a conviction have to be dealt with with extreme care during the AOS and naturalization process with professional guidance.