confused what to do,,,

[jasmine1543]

hi im 25 yrs old indian female i m on m1 visa ( vocational ,non academic visa)
here in united states .
recently finished my studies and returned to my home country india.
now 8 months back i met this wonderful guy who is 44 and we fell in love and wanted to get married however i commited a mistake one year back due to bad company of indulging in shoplifting.
was arrested and fingerprinted and got the case dismissed thru pretrial diversion.my record only says arrest. no conviction or no pleading guilty.
no other offences anywhere in the world.
i'm very much in love and so is my boyfriend but m having second thoughts weather i shud apply for fiance visa or not since i have an arrest record.
my boyfriend doesnt know anything about it neither do my parents coz im so ashamed of it.
i feel like giving up the thought of being with my boyfriend since i wont be able to face him with a record like this.
what should i do ?
very upset.

[angela_ann2002]

Hi Jasmine! First I would like to congratulate you on having someone who really love. About your worries... If I were in your situation.. I would tell my boyfriend about the incident, it happened when you were alone here in US and didn't have anybody to properly guide you, also he should know that some people here can manipulate, it happened in a time of your life with-out him yet. If he really loves you he will also accept your past, if not maybe you should re-think your relationship with him.

About your the case, since you were not convicted it shouldn't be a problem also it is only a misdemeanor offense, however still best to advice your fiancee about this, because it would likely come-out.

As for your parents, you should not involve your parents since this doesnot concern them.

Goodluck!

[Russell]

I agree, talk to your fiancee and reveal the incident to him. It is a minor thing that you won't do again.

Your parents will only find out if you or your fiancee tell them.

I would be very surprised if you are denied for that single arrest without a conviction.