Has anyone applied for AOS with juvenile record??

[MJhawk 0]

Hi I would like to know if anyone is filing or already completed AOS that had a juvenile record or criminal record. Thank you

[MJhawk 0]

NOBODY???? Now I'm getting scared :-/

[RebeccaAndPhil 5]

No worries I am sure there are a TON of people who have. Someone will likely come along soon

[flypri 0]

I did not have a juvenile record but my understanding is that it is still possible to adjust. I am not an attorney, but as I understand it depends on the number of offenses, the age of arrest, and what the maximum penalty possible is, and the actual sentence imposed by the judge.

Generally an offense, arrest, or conviction of a "crime of moral turpitude" renders an alien "inadmissible" to the US. However, there are some exceptions to this law that can be argued in an addendum to the petition. There is an argument to receive a "petty offense exception." In order to qualify for the exception the maximum penalty possible for the crime cannot exceed imprisonment for one year (usually based on the state law where crime was committed) AND the alien was not sentenced to a term of imprisonment in excess of 6 months (regardless of time actually served in prison). Both of these have to be true in order to qualify for the petty offense exception. All of this info is from INA 212(a)(2)(A)(ii)(II) which you can find online.

The more convictions the more likely it is that a person will not qualify for this (as the penalties for repeat offenders generally increase in severity). Also, if you are filing for other exceptions (like for being out of status), it also complicates matters and makes an approval less likely. Hopefully that helps. I am sure it has been done plenty of times before. If the applicant just has one small offense on the record and the maximum sentence is less than 1 year (you have to look this up based on state law) and they were not sentenced to more than 6 months in jail, they are not "inadmissible." Hope that helps!!

[The Law 0]

I'm going to have to disagree with "flypri". The "petty offense exception" is not the only exception.

Matter of Ramirez-Rivero, 18 I&N Dec. 135 (BIA 1981); Matter of Devision; 22 I&N Dec. 1362 (BIA 2000) states:

"Juvenile adjucations are not convictions for the purposes of immigration law".