F1 renewal with 1 arrest record, but charge dropped by DA

[hphp95 2]

I got arrested for a misdemeanor in San Francisco, but the charges against me are dropped by the DA. I got the final disposition from the court clerk said that the case is closed and "all charges against defendant XXX has been DISCHARGED by the District Attorney's office on MM/DD/YYYY; INTEREST OF JUSTICE." Would it be an issue for me when I renew my visa when I visit my home country? 

[Coco8 1,042]

It is a tough question. You might be better off saying that you got arrested but they dropped the charges. It is better to be honest. The only reason they can revoke your visa is if you lie. You didn't get charged so that basically means you did nothing wrong so it is better to be honest. Did you get fined?

 

I know of someone who had a fine for drunk driving (which is a crime) and didn't reported that when renewing the student visa, and they revoked his visa for not mentioning it. The guy had no clue that drunk driving is a crime so he said he had committed no crimes (so, lie even if it was innocent). But they didn't renew the visa because he had lied,  not because of the drunk driving. 

Edited April 7, 2017 by Coco8

[Transborderwife 4,666]

Be honest and be sure that you have original court records with court seal and a police report.  Your local clerk of the court should one able to provide for a nominal fee

[hphp95 2]

I have the court certification state that the "DA discharged the charges against me in the interest of justice, therefore no records are available". This is stamped and certified by the court clerk. Since I am not charged then there's no record, so this one is the only document that I can get from the law enforcement. Is that enough for the interview?

[Transborderwife 4,666]

1 hour ago, hphp95 said:

I have the court certification state that the "DA discharged the charges against me in the interest of justice, therefore no records are available". This is stamped and certified by the court clerk. Since I am not charged then there's no record, so this one is the only document that I can get from the law enforcement. Is that enough for the interview?

I would think so.  Can you try to get the police report?  It may help as they may want more details of the crime 

[hphp95 2]

1 minute ago, Transborderwife said:

I would think so.  Can you try to get the police report?  It may help as they may want more details of the crime 

I don't know if I can get that since it's not on the court record. I asked the court clerk if there is any available record, he said since the DA dropped the charge then there'a nothing on file.

[hphp95 2]

What should I do next? I understand that I have to declare the incident in the interview, and bring the final disposition to the interview. The DA dropped the charges, and as far as I know this is even better than getting charged and get the charges dismissed. Am I correct?

[Transborderwife 4,666]

6 minutes ago, hphp95 said:

What should I do next? I understand that I have to declare the incident in the interview, and bring the final disposition to the interview. The DA dropped the charges, and as far as I know this is even better than getting charged and get the charges dismissed. Am I correct?

Depends on the crime.  May I ask what it was?

[hphp95 2]

It's pretty embarrassing. It's 647(b) solicitation of prostitution (misdemeanor in California - fall under "petty offense exception" IF convicted - means not inadmissible - https://www.uscis.gov/ilink/docView/INT/HTML/INT/0-0-0-42832/0-0-0-59564.html). Texting with a girl with a number I got online (didn't say/mention anything about sexual intercourse), come to her place and then it's an undercover sting operation. After 2 months, I get the information from the court clerk said that the charge is discharged by the DA's office, reason: "Interest of Justice".

Edited April 8, 2017 by hphp95

[Transborderwife 4,666]

2 minutes ago, hphp95 said:

It's pretty embarrassing. It's 647(b) solicitation of prostitution (misdemeanor in California - fall under "petty offense exception" IF convicted - means not inadmissible - https://www.uscis.gov/ilink/docView/INT/HTML/INT/0-0-0-42832/0-0-0-59564.html). Texting with a girl with a number I got online (didn't say/mention anything about sexual intercourse), come to her place and then it's an undercover sting operation. After 2 months, I get the information from the court clerk said that the charge is discharged by the DA's office, reason: "Interest of Justice".

I understand.  This is not every case but sometimes being declared not guilty is indeed better than a dismissal.  A dismissal means "we didn't have enough evidence to convict you".  Or perhaps it was a first offense that the state didn't want to waste time on (this often happens in DV cases with no injury).  I think that you'll be alright but just do what you can, perhaps consult a lawyer.

[hphp95 2]

According to what I read, legally speaking, I'm not inadmissible, since there's no conviction and even if convicted it would fall under petty offense exception. What I'm afraid is that I would be placed under 221(g) administrative processing and it would take a huge amount of time (I can only leave for about 3 weeks). Should I bring my own FBI certified background check so that the process get faster?

[Transborderwife 4,666]

1 minute ago, hphp95 said:

According to what I read, legally speaking, I'm not inadmissible, since there's no conviction and even if convicted it would fall under petty offense exception. What I'm afraid is that I would be placed under 221(g) administrative processing and it would take a huge amount of time (I can only leave for about 3 weeks). Should I bring my own FBI certified background check so that the process get faster?

As I said I think that you'll be fine.  But I would indeed be wary of leaving the country during the process.  Are you unable to do it in country?

[hphp95 2]

In order to get my visa renewed, I have to go to other country for it. There's no embassy/consulate of US inside the US. I also want to visit my family too.

 

Should I bring my certified FBI background check to the interview?

[Transborderwife 4,666]

1 minute ago, hphp95 said:

In order to get my visa renewed, I have to go to other country for it. There's no embassy/consulate of US inside the US. I also want to visit my family too.

 

Should I bring my certified FBI background check to the interview?

Understood.  I would just in case

[hphp95 2]

That's the only two documents that I have access to: My own FBI background check and the certified documents from the court clerk. Thank you for your help

 

I myself think the arrest is stupid and the police is crazy. 

 

I will update the information when I have the interview. I will leave the country in 8 months.

Edited April 8, 2017 by hphp95