Officer Requested Police Records From 20 Years Ago

[Duodedi 0]

My mother went for her interview and swearing on 4/2/2015 in Amman, Jordan at the US Embassy. The officer asked her a few questions then told her to take a seat while they prepare to issue her the visa. He called her back and told her that something came up on his system and that it said she had a felony hit and run record in 1994 (she was in the US at that time). He said they need court records explaining what happened to the case.

The officer said that after we get the records, my mother (the applicant) can send the information, along with her passport, through aramex and that they would issue her the visa provided the information is correct and the case is resolved.

Since then we've been trying to gain any sort of information on this case by calling the police station where it happened, calling the circuit court, etc. and we've had no luck. The police and court said they don't keep records that are over ten years old. The court said that it could send us a letter stating that all records over ten years of age had been destroyed. We agreed to that and received the letter recently.

We can't afford a lawyer right now because we've already spent too much money on this case, and also because we have been through the whole process by ourselves - We even wrote a 601 at one point and got approved, without a lawyer. So, getting a lawyer is out of the question.

We emailed the embassy explaining the situation and how we can't find any records due to the case being so old, but they said that we have to somehow find a way to obtain it because the case can't progress without that information.

We were thinking about sending the letter we got from the court, along with a letter explaining the situation, to the embassy, but we want to leave that as a last resort because it doesn't say anything specific about her case.

We are at a loss here, and any helpful responses would be appreciated.

[Cathi 5,609]

What happened after the hit and run? Did they find her, did they arrest her, did she pay fines or get jail time? And if so, did she not save any of the court records? She should have saved them because someone in the family must have known that a felony arrest would cause problems with any future immigration.

[Duodedi 0]

After the accident, she surrendered herself and got bailed. She was supposed to go to court, but instead she left the country due to personal reasons.

Making suggestions in hindsight such as "She should have done this, and she should have done that" is not helpful. What happened took place twenty years ago. So, unless she can travel back in time and keep the records, these kinds of answers won't do any good.

I need to know who to contact to get these records. I'm not even sure they exist anymore. It was a minor felony hit and run, and the guy who she hit (or rather, hit her) was fine. Not sure if he even pressed charges.

[PK and PK 13]

After the accident, she surrendered herself and got bailed. She was supposed to go to court, but instead she left the country due to personal reasons.

Making suggestions in hindsight such as "She should have done this, and she should have done that" is not helpful. What happened took place twenty years ago. So, unless she can travel back in time and keep the records, these kinds of answers won't do any good.

I need to know who to contact to get these records. I'm not even sure they exist anymore. It was a minor felony hit and run, and the guy who she hit (or rather, hit her) was fine. Not sure if he even pressed charges.

Did she disclose the felony in the original I-130 submission? Skipping a court hearing doesn't sound so good...

[Cathi 5,609]

After the accident, she surrendered herself and got bailed. She was supposed to go to court, but instead she left the country due to personal reasons.

Making suggestions in hindsight such as "She should have done this, and she should have done that" is not helpful. What happened took place twenty years ago. So, unless she can travel back in time and keep the records, these kinds of answers won't do any good.

I need to know who to contact to get these records. I'm not even sure they exist anymore. It was a minor felony hit and run, and the guy who she hit (or rather, hit her) was fine. Not sure if he even pressed charges.

I wasn't saying she should have or shouldn't done anything, I was just saying if she had gone to court she perhaps would able to find the paperwork somewhere., I didn't realize she left the country before showing up, I'm not a mind reader and you left out the fact that she skipped the country. I was asking these questions to try to get some sort of background. If she didn't show up for court that means she was in default and automatically found guilty. It doesn't matter if he didn't press charges, the police did. The only place you can contact is the jurisdiction of the court, did you try going to the court itself and asking to speak to a court clerk? Sometimes people are more likely to help if they go face to face. You can try sending the letter the court sent to the consulate, but it sounds to me the consulate isn't going to issue her visa until the matter is resolved. Did you explain to them she had a court date and she didn't show? They said that something showed when they did a background check so they are aware of what it was, it's best to be truthful.

Edited April 20, 2015 by mimolicious

[Duodedi 0]

Did she disclose the felony in the original I-130 submission? Skipping a court hearing doesn't sound so good...

No she didn't.

[Duodedi 0]

I wasn't saying she should have or shouldn't done anything, I was just saying if she had gone to court she perhaps would able to find the paperwork somewhere., I didn't realize she left the country before showing up, I'm not a mind reader and you left out the fact that she skipped the country. I was asking these questions to try to get some sort of background. If she didn't show up for court that means she was in default and automatically found guilty. It doesn't matter if he didn't press charges, the police did. The only place you can contact is the jurisdiction of the court, did you try going to the court itself and asking to speak to a court clerk? Sometimes people are more likely to help if they go face to face. You can try sending the letter the court sent to the consulate, but it sounds to me the consulate isn't going to issue her visa until the matter is resolved. Did you explain to them she had a court date and she didn't show? They said that something showed when they did a background check so they are aware of what it was, it's best to be truthful.

I didn't go there in person. I only talked to them on the phone, but I'll probably go talk to them face-to-face soon.

I didn't give them any details about the case - I assumed they knew what happened from the background check.

We've been very truthful from the beginning. She just didn't know that the case was still active after twenty years and forgot about it. The officer who interviewed her was very nice and told her to bring information about the case so that they can issue her the visa.