does the american citizen having a criminal background have as big of an effect as if the foreign immigrant had one? long story short, i went to go visit her a few months back, and was searched at customs (i am heavily tattooed) and i had a little plastic case of weight lifting supplements for personal use. they obviously found them, and was charged with importing and trafficing..ridiculous for a bottle of 31 pills, that i recently found out are available for over the counter in windsor(where she lives), and its not illeggal to even have, just illegal to carry over the border. in conclusion, my case was just closed and they dropped trafficing and i plead to importing and all i got was a fine. and for that, i am now inadmissable to canada. well, now i am in the middle of another, rather weak, court case, but this is in the states. more than likely, i wil not be charged with any felonies so will hopefully not end up with a criminal record here. but is it going to be a problem with the application process. her on the other hand has no criminal record at all. not arrested for anything. by the way, we are a very very young couple, which i heard could possibly benefit for us. im only 19 and shes 22. any opinions or answers??? thank you.

I fail to see how being a very very young couple can be of benefit? So, you were charged with importing, not trafficking. You were fined. This will show up on your criminal record. You're petitioning for your Canadian fiance to move to the US for marriage?

Check out the IMBRA section of this site. You'll find that you will have to disclose you have a criminal background. I think you have to answer something of this on your application, and write a covering letter.

You might want to check out the Adam Walsh Act, which is why/how this all came about. The importance of all of this is that your fiance, in the other country, is aware of your criminal history for one. Have you disclosed to her your offences, and what they entailed. I don't think it matters that she says she knows, it would probably be discussed at her interview.

I don't know what your other charges are as well. Is it for something that might potentially put your finace in danger? Are they sexual offences or domestic violence charges? I think at the end of the day USCIS can deny anyone that has an application in process if they thought that your finace was in danger if she moved to the US to be with you. Again, posting this, or being more clear about the process might be helpful in the IMBRA section. Someone will also advise perhaps on your covering letter.

she knows exactly what happened. i was going to visit her when it did happen. i just recently went up for my court hearing and stayed with her, she went to court with me and everything. she is also aware of these other charges i have. no they are not domestic violence charges or sexual offenses so im assuming it wont be a big deal.

Your criminal background has nothing to do with her immigrating to the usa - only that your record will be disclosed to her - it will not have an effect on the petition.

that was the answer i was hoping to get. and especially in my situation, i am heavily tattooed, and heavily tattooed meaning, head, face, neck, so yea, i didnt want them throwing out our application by taking one look at me and saying, "hes even got a criminal record".

Forget about it. It's meaningless.