This is terrible!
I filed for my fiance's K1 visa a couple of weeks ago.

In the mail last week, he received a letter from the police in the U.S.
stating that there is a warrant out for his arrest and that he needs to
turn himself in asap

He received this letter overseas as well as at my home address.

We researched it online and it is because of passing 2 bad checks in the 1990s.
(when he lived in the U.S.) We are sick about this. He does not have a criminal record and actually doesnt
even remember these checks.

Will we be turned down for the K1 visa straight away for having these outstanding
warrants?

What can we do. He wants to make good on these checks (although he cant even remember these-
so we are currently requesting copies) He wants to pay whatever he needs to .
He has never had any trouble with the law in the past. But obviously he cant "turn himself in" as
he doesnt have a visa to enter the U.S.

We are very scared and very worried.

Does anyone have any advise? Any lawyers out there??

Is your fiance the US citizen? If so, i don't see why this would affect anything. If your fiance is the US citizen and he is the one with the warrant, I just don't understand or see why this would matter. He is already a citizen and he is not applying for anything, you are. If you're the beneficiary then don't worry I don't see why this would affect anything. I just don't see the US govt. being able to deny a beneficiary because the US citizen fiance has a criminal record/warrant out for his arrest.

This is a gray area, "Moral Turpitude" is grounds for inadmissibility, bad checks can be considered a crime of moral turpitude.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_turpitude

http://www.travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/inel...ities_1364.html

My fiance is the foreign national

He does not have a criminal record. Isnt that what they are asking?

When they do the background check, he has no record, but there is an
outstanding warrant.

How did the police know to submit the warrant with your home address?

my guess is now that he is "in the system" from our K1 petition the have my address.
He has not lived here in the U.S. since the 1990s.

so was he in the US illegally or with a visa?

Oh, he was legally here back then. Visa and all.

I would advise you guys to seek professional help ASAP not necessarily regarding the visa process but it is worrying that he has these outstanding warrants. The letters will have been automatically generated because his name has been entered into a US system (a lot of them are all linked - see name checks work when the US government are the beneficiary of them.) Contact a lawyer and get the status and full nature of these warrants investigated. Having a criminal background may seriously hinder your application but it does not make it impossible. Ignoring these warrants is definitely not going to help your application in anyway though

Good luck

Bex xxx

Lawyer time.
So sorry!
I wish you guys much strength and courage during this time.

ok, so thats good that he was here legal. But i think that this would definetly cause a problem... a warranty is very serious!!....but you need to speak to a lawyer ASAP!




GOD BLESS AND GOOD LUCK, STAY STRONG!

I spoke to a couple of lawyerrs but none make any sense! (big surprise)

One says he cant help unless my fiance can come here for a trial
(duh, if he could come here I wouldnt be petitioning)

The other wants us to pay $5000 just for her to TALK to the state prosecuters office!

I dont know what to do. What will the USCIS do? Just deny us? or will they ask for RFE?

We dont have $5k for a lawyer! But this is our lives and our future we are talking about!

I think I'd just wait and see if a hit comes up and results in a denial. If not, just deal with the checks after he gets here. The warrent may or may not show up in the name check process. An initial consultation with an immigration attorney would probably ease your mind.

What you want to know is the answer to your original question which is whether warrants will result in a denial.

I know it is hard but try to relax. Nothing is going to be resolved nor get dramatically worse for you in the very short term. Your lives and future are not literally hangin by a thread, you have just reached a momentary detour that needs to be resolved.

If it were me, the first thing I would do is get a copy of the warrants. This will provide you with basic information that will allow you to research the case that was filed against him and who prosecuted the case. Generally, check fraud is handled on a county level in most states. You can review the files at the county court house and make the appropiate copies. Once you have the case information approach the DA's office that was responsible for handling the case.

Most DA's are friendly, since they are an elected position. Nobody wants to lose re-election votes. Be courteous and respectful and present them with the information that you have. This is where it is important that you research the case that was brought against you SO. It will be a matter of public record. The DA assistants will be appreciative of your effort.

They should be helpful to the extent that they can be. Now, it is true as the one attorney said, that default judgment cases can be reopened sometimes. But the process is not straight forward and you would need the assistance of an attorney. Which might be the way to go, if you want to try and reverse the original guilty verdict.

It would be interesting to know if your SO was charged with felony or a misdemeanor. If it is a misdemeanor the DA might have great leeway ie your SO just make restitution and pay a fine. If it is a felony charge, then you probably will have to get an attorney to get it reduced. Otherwise, your SO's visa will face some daunting challenges.

Okay, in summary. Find out about the warrant and the facts surrounding the charges. Talk to the correct DA's assistant nicely and then proceed from there. Try to relax, at this point just focus on getting the correct information.

Brian

WOW thanks for helping me get my head back on.
I will follow your advice.

Incidentally, I spoke with an immigration attorney- He does not think it will
be a problem- because my fiance doesnt actually have a record
(hes never even been to traffic court!)

He said that when my fiance arrives, we will have to face the existing warrant
but would be surprised if they rejected the visa on this.
In which case I would file a waiver..but he doesnt see it going this route.

Thanks to all for your sensible words and support!

If and when you get the details of the warrant, I have a possible simple solution.
Find out who the bad checks were written to. Hunt those parties down, speak with them. Tell them he is sorry and you would like to make restitution (this should include interest) if all charges can be dropped. If they agree, now contact the proper police or who ever and see what can be done. you never know until you try.
Unless there is mistaken identity, your fiance'e has screwed people. Trying to fix the problem this way is honest and could work. Also it could end up much cheaper than all the bills and head aches that will probably be coming your way. You may get past the visa but the time for pay back will come.
Good luck, honest people mostly prevail

A girl that used to work for my company issued a bad check a few months ago and it was recorded as a misdemeanor.
She paid a fine in town court and that was it. So how serious is it to get resolved? Five grand from a lawyer to resolve the issue ......a legalized whore

A girl that used to work for my company issued a bad check a few months ago and it was recorded as a misdemeanor.
She paid a fine in town court and that was it. So how serious is it to get resolved? Five grand from a lawyer to resolve the issue ......a legalized whore

As we have no Idea where this took place here is an example from nebraska

http://law.justia.com/nebraska/codes/s28in...2806011000.html
Issuing or passing a bad check or similar order; penalty; collection procedures.

(1) Whoever obtains property, services, or present value of any kind by issuing or passing a check, draft, assignment of funds, or similar signed order for the payment of money, knowing that he or she has no account with the drawee at the time the check, draft, assignment of funds, or order is issued or, if he or she has an account, knowing that he or she does not have sufficient funds in or credit with the drawee for the payment of the check, draft, assignment of funds, or order in full upon presentation, commits the offense of issuing a bad check. Issuing a bad check is:

(a) A Class III felony if the amount of the check, draft, assignment of funds, or order is one thousand five hundred dollars or more;

( A Class IV felony if the amount of the check, draft, assignment of funds, or order is five hundred dollars or more, but less than one thousand five hundred dollars;

© A Class I misdemeanor if the amount of the check, draft, assignment of funds, or order is one hundred dollars or more, but less than five hundred dollars; and

(d) A Class II misdemeanor if the amount of the check, draft, assignment of funds, or order is less than one hundred dollars.

The aggregate amount of any series of checks, drafts, assignments, or orders issued or passed within a sixty-day period in one county may be used in determining the classification of the offense pursuant to this subsection, except that checks, drafts, assignments, or orders may not be aggregated into more than one offense.

(2) For any second or subsequent offense under subdivision (1)© or (1)(d) of this section, any person so offending shall be guilty of a Class IV felony.

I helped an employee out of a jam like this. The people who got screwed ONLY want to get paid. The D.A. wants to clear the case. Make some phone call. Pay those your fiance owes. And get the D.A. to drop the charges. Do not hire a lawyer!! You can make this go away on your own.

It is simple, contact the court where the warrant is filed, make restitution to the plantiff(probably local prosecutor office) that filed those bad check claims and won. Then is record will be expunged, it is simple, they expect him to pay those outstanding bad checks or other wise no matter what lawyer you hire is not going to be able to get his police record cleared until he makes restitution and pays those bad checks back to the plantiff, which is more than likely the local prosecutor's office in the court where that bad check claim was filed. Then ask the local prosecutor to file update of his police record that it is clean once he has made restitution and paid the prosecutor office for those bad checks, otherwise it is going to show and stay out there on his record indefinitely.

Probably deny you, I mean think about it, why else do they require background checks and police records from us if they are not going to look at them, he has a mark on his police record, best that you contact the prosecutor's office that filed this claim in whatever court where it is in the USA, call them, tell them you want to know how much he owes for passing bad checks and wish to make full resitution. AND do not be surprised if they do not accept a personal check from you but wish to have a money order or a cashier's check instead. You do not need a lawyer to handle this. You can do it yourself.

An immigration attorney?

An immigration attorney should be qualified to comment on the impact to the visa process from having the warrants. Dealing with the warrents is a separate issue.

Uh they probaby found his address and him through your application for him.. That is probably clue number one. Pay off his bad checks and etc get that cleared up then ... try all over again... If he is worthy it will be a long wait. and will he wait with his pants on and not lying down with others for 3 yrs.. etc