Even though you regretfully committed a criminal offense in what seems like a lifetime ago, one of its repercussions is that you are left carrying a criminal record permanently. This criminal record may negatively affect many aspects of your future life, including whether you ever wish to obtain immigration status in the United States. That said, please continue reading to learn how your criminal history might affect your pending immigration application and how an experienced immigration criminal issues lawyer in Milwaukee, WI, at Sesini Law Group, S.C., can help you enter or remain in the U.S. regardless.
How does a criminal history affect my pending immigration application?
No matter whether you are applying for a family-based or marriage-based green card, and whether you are currently residing inside or outside of the United States, your immigration application will ask you if you have a criminal history. There is no sense being anything but honest in your answer, as the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will conduct a background check and unearth the truth anyway.
Further, it does not matter whether your past criminal conviction was in the U.S. or a foreign country, as you must disclose it regardless. Unfortunately, being convicted of an aggravated felony, a crime involving moral turpitude, or a crime involving illegal drugs makes your ineligibility for a green card highly likely. Of note, being “convicted” means that a court either ruled that you were guilty or you ended up admitting guilt when entering a plea bargain.
Is it possible to apply for a waiver to excuse my criminal history?
When asked to explain your past criminal conviction in your initial immigration application, you may attempt to argue that the offense under the foreign country’s laws is not equivalent to the United States’ standards for an aggravated felony, a crime involving moral turpitude, or a crime involving illegal drugs. However, the USCIS may disagree with your argument.
Instead, you may have a better chance at gaining immigration status in the U.S. if you submit a waiver of inadmissibility. Here, you must sufficiently prove that your presence in the country would not pose a danger to anyone else. Or, that your being denied entry would cause your sponsor extreme hardship.
You must understand, though, that certain criminal convictions do not even allow a waiver option. Namely, this is if you previously committed an aggravated felony such as murder or torture. This is in addition to most illegal drug convictions, unless you only committed a simple offense of possessing less than 30 grams of marijuana for personal use, for example.
Before this gets too much, please seek the guidance and counsel of a skilled removal & deportation defense lawyer in Milwaukee, WI, from Sesini Law Group, S.C. We will work to the best of our ability to minimize or eliminate this mess from your immediate worry.