Misdemeanor dometic battery charge, no conviction, and re-entry to the US (green card, uscis)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I am an immigrant on H1B visa who had a very unfortunate family incident where I was arrested and charged with misdemeanor domestic battery. I have a dropped case and all the charges were dropped.
Since this was my first brush with the law, I was allowed to enroll to a pre-trial diversion program, which I already attended and have completed the counseling courses. My case will be expunged in several months.
My questions are:
After the dismissal, in case I do foreign travel, will I have issues in the re-entry to the US?
Will I have problems in the Green Card application?
Will I have problems in getting stamping when I return to US?
You shouldn't since the case was dropped so you were not convicted but only charged which is a big difference.
Keep in mind you have to behave as you can't keep getting a case expunged and it may only be a one or two time thing... not sure how many times but for sure you can't keep adding it.
It seems you had some kind of deal as you enrolled into a pre-trial diversion program which is not needed if the case was dropped so double check as that to me doesn't make sense.
Maybe it was dropped as part of that deal but I know some College kids who didn't have to do anything and their case was dropped and some entered into the pre-trial diversion program but they had some kind of deal.
If everything is true you shouldn't have any issues with the green card process but keep in mind Homeland security and the FBI can still see expunged cases so better check with a lawyer what to disclose so you won't be kicked out for lying.
We run a lot of background checks and often we see an arrest and case and our application is asking "have you ever been arrested?" and often younger people fill out "no" and than it comes back with their arrest record and all are saying that it was expunged and shouldn't show up.
Of course we have no clue if they lie or not but the background check doesn't lie.
If memory does not fail me most questions are "have you been arrested" not "do you have a criminal record".
In the majority of cases, the answer to that question can legally be answered as "no" if the record has been expunged. It would be worthwhile to have a quick consultation with an immigration attorney to confirm.
With permanent deletion i meant I dont want to say yes to the question in ds160 form asking me were you ever arrested? Can that happen ?Usually how much time does it take for expungement?
With permanent deletion i meant I dont want to say yes to the question in ds160 form asking me were you ever arrested? Can that happen ?Usually how much time does it take for expungement?
You said your case would be expunged "in several months" so check with whoever told you that and follow up with the court. As mentioned, if the question is, "Have you ever been arrested?" then either check with an immigration lawyer or contact USCIS directly which you can do via their website which is linked in the first "sticky" on this forum.
Lawyers will be able to tell you that some departments still can see an expunged record but most agencies and departments won't.
You can also check the public records and police websites if you have them as we have over here or have your background pulled which cost a little bit of money but then you will be sure what will be shown.
You might want to check because plea deal with successfully completed anger management is different from charges dropped in many states. Some states keep the arrest record which is only then available to law enforcement in case of second offense when they will not offer the course. It will not show on public record as police will only give out adjudicated convictions; not arrest without final sentence. To have expunged means you petition the court to do so and judge orders all agencies to do so . If that is case be sure to check that it was done.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
