Can I Get a Green Card if I Have a Misdemeanor?

When filling out your green card application, you may grow anxious when you reach the section dedicated to questions about your criminal history. This is specifically if you have been charged with a misdemeanor offense before. Well, please continue reading to learn if you can still get a green card after a misdemeanor on your criminal record and how an experienced green card lawyer in Milwaukee, WI, at Sesini Law Group, S.C., can help you handle these charges.

Can I get a green card if I have a misdemeanor on my criminal record?

In short, having a misdemeanor on your criminal record may not automatically disqualify you from earning a green card. However, it may not necessarily make the process of obtaining one any easier for you. This is because the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) may not be exactly thrilled to learn that you have had run-ins with law enforcement in your home country, in the United States, or both places. This is especially true since so many people apply for green cards as it is, with strict annual caps imposed in each category. So the USCIS may sooner select an applicant with a clean background and no criminal history whatsoever.

What should I do if I am charged with a misdemeanor?

Unfortunately, you cannot change what has already happened in the past. So if you have ever been charged with a misdemeanor, you must, without a doubt, disclose this in your green card application. This disclosure should include details such as the time you were arrested and the crime you were charged with. This should be disclosed regardless of whether your charge was eventually dismissed or expunged from your permanent criminal record. A failure to disclose may be considered lying, which in and of itself may make you ineligible for a green card.

However, if you were recently accused of committing a misdemeanor, in the midst of filing your green card application, you must do everything in your power to fight for a not guilty verdict. This may be better accomplished by first hiring a seasoned criminal defense lawyer in your residential United States state or home country. This is because it may look better to the USCIS if you were found not guilty rather than guilty. Though, it may still be necessary to disclose your initial arrest and pending charges in your green card application, as this information may appear in the USCIS’s background check anyway.

We understand how anxious you may be about your criminal charge and your green card application alike. So please do not wait for another second. Retain the services of a skilled family immigration lawyer in Milwaukee, WI from Sesini Law Group, S.C. today. We look forward to working with you and taking on your case.

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