Please help! petitioner with criminal record

[mccabby 2]

My fiance ( the US citizen) and I have started preparing our i-129f but I'm a little confused on the criminal part of the form. My fiance (the US citizen/Petitioner) was arrested for drug possession(marijuana) with intent to deliver and somehow it turned into a felony because he got arrested again for theft a month or so later while he was on probation or something along those lines, he doesn't really remember because its been about 10 years.Healso has a dwi from 10 years ago,but the cop who arrested him did not show up to court so we believe the charges were dropped but we're not 100% sure (We are going to ask him mom is she has any of his court papers). Would we need to check yes on the i-129f form? What are the chances of being denied? I'm extremely stressed out over this because he thinks we shouldn't mention it since there isn't more than 3 convictions for controlled substance but considering it turned into a felony i think he should mention it? If someone could help me out that'd be awesome, thanks!

[Cyberfx1024 7,978]

1 minute ago, mccabby said:

My fiance ( the US citizen) and I have started preparing our i-129f but I'm a little confused on the criminal part of the form. My fiance (the US citizen/Petitioner) was arrested for drug possession(marijuana) with intent to deliver and somehow it turned into a felony because he got arrested again for theft a month or so later while he was on probation or something along those lines, he doesn't really remember because its been about 10 years.Healso has a dwi from 10 years ago,but the cop who arrested him did not show up to court so we believe the charges were dropped but we're not 100% sure (We are going to ask him mom is she has any of his court papers). Would we need to check yes on the i-129f form? What are the chances of being denied? I'm extremely stressed out over this because he thinks we shouldn't mention it since there isn't more than 3 convictions for controlled substance but considering it turned into a felony i think he should mention it? If someone could help me out that'd be awesome, thanks!

Of course you have to mention it. He was convicted of a felony so that means you have to mention it. He can't get his record at all and has to rely on his mom to have his papers. How old is he? 

[RO_AH 1,625]

16 minutes ago, mccabby said:

My fiance (the US citizen/Petitioner) was arrested for drug possession(marijuana) with intent to deliver and somehow it turned into a felony because he got arrested again for theft a month or so later while he was on probation or something along those lines, he doesn't really remember because its been about 10 years.

It didn't "turn into" a felony it was a felony. A lot of times a first time offender will receive a deal from the prosecutor/judge that is they stay out of trouble for a certain length of time the charge will be lowered or removed. Your fiance did not keep his end of the deal so it is now on his permanent record.

 

21 minutes ago, mccabby said:

He also has a dwi from 10 years ago,but the cop who arrested him did not show up to court so we believe the charges were dropped but we're not 100% sure (We are going to ask him mom is she has any of his court papers). Would we need to check yes on the i-129f form? What are the chances of being denied? I'm extremely stressed out over this because he thinks we shouldn't mention it since there isn't more than 3 convictions for controlled substance but considering it turned into a felony i think he should mention it? If someone could help me out that'd be awesome, thanks!

So you have a fiance convicted of DWI, dealing drugs, theft and that's just what he has told you and your biggest concern is whether he should lie about it or not? Then add that he needs to ask his mom because he is not mature enough to know his own arrest/court history?

 

So much I could say here but I will just answer your question. No...He should not lie. Lying to immigration can have very serious consequences just like theft, driving while intoxicated, and dealing drugs.

[mccabby 2]

Sorry I wasn't sure, which is why I asked. And of course he can get them on his own but we thought it'd be easier considering the crimes took place in different states and we know for that  his mom keeps records for everything for him and his sister. But we will get the records on our own as well. Thanks for replying!

[GreatDane 366]

30 minutes ago, mccabby said:

My fiance ( the US citizen) and I have started preparing our i-129f but I'm a little confused on the criminal part of the form. My fiance (the US citizen/Petitioner) was arrested for drug possession(marijuana) with intent to deliver and somehow it turned into a felony because he got arrested again for theft a month or so later while he was on probation or something along those lines, he doesn't really remember because its been about 10 years.Healso has a dwi from 10 years ago,but the cop who arrested him did not show up to court so we believe the charges were dropped but we're not 100% sure (We are going to ask him mom is she has any of his court papers). Would we need to check yes on the i-129f form? What are the chances of being denied? I'm extremely stressed out over this because he thinks we shouldn't mention it since there isn't more than 3 convictions for controlled substance but considering it turned into a felony i think he should mention it? If someone could help me out that'd be awesome, thanks!

Wow - there's so many red flags here. This shouldn't be a question. Don't lie - put exactly what happened, full details, and dates. He has to mention it, it's on the form. If he has a DWI from 10 years ago, he needs to figure out what happened. He could even have a warrant out for him. He shouldn't ask his mom for court papers - go to the courts and get records if he doesn't have them. He will need them. They will run a background check and any omission or lie will be flagged and could jeopardize the entire petition. Never, ever lie, especially to USCIS. Include all convictions and charges, as asked on the forms.

[mccabby 2]

Guys! I'm sorry I didn't say we were going to lie we just honestly weren't sure if we were supposed to put it down cause I thought you were only supposed to mention if you had 3 convictions for substance and we thought it only counted as 2. We are new to this and don't really know what we're doing but now that we know of course we'll mention it!

[JoannaV 173]

Well actually, my initial reaction would be that he should say "No" to 2(c) and "Yes" to 4(a).

 

But first, obtain all records. And yes check with his mother that he isn't forgetting anything!

 

If he had

1) drug possession

2) theft

3) DWI

then that is only two arrests/convictions for crimes related to a controlled substance or alcohol.

[mccabby 2]

45 minutes ago, JoannaV said:

Well actually, my initial reaction would be that he should say "No" to 2(c) and "Yes" to 4(a).

 

But first, obtain all records. And yes check with his mother that he isn't forgetting anything!

 

If he had

1) drug possession

2) theft

3) DWI

then that is only two arrests/convictions for crimes related to a controlled substance or alcohol.

Thank you for the advice! This is what we were confused about since it was only 2 arrests for crimes related to a controlled substance we weren't sure if we were supposed to disclose it but since it turned into a felony because of the theft we weren't sure what to do. We never intended to lie about anything he is completely honest about his past. These arrest were from when he was 18-19 years old, he didn't even serve any time for it just community service and he's had a clean record ever since. We will definitely start getting all the records needed. Thank you!

[acidrain 325]

Does anyone know how much immigration cares about the USC spouse having a record? I actually never considered it and more curious as to the answer. For some reason I thought they only cared about the person immigrating. Would there be any implication for the USC having a criminal record to sponsor a fiance?

[RO_AH 1,625]

4 minutes ago, mccabby said:

but since it turned into a felony because of the theft 

Possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver IS a felony. It did not turn into a felony from another charge.

 

Make sure her gets his criminal and court records from every place he lived so he does not accidently forget something that will come back to bite you later.

Edited November 30, 2017 by RO_AH

[mccabby 2]

1 minute ago, acidrain said:

Does anyone know how much immigration cares about the USC spouse having a record? I actually never considered it and more curious as to the answer. For some reason I thought they only cared about the person immigrating. Would there be any implication for the USC having a criminal record to sponsor a fiance?

Yes! id like to know this as well! I really hope it doesn't! or we will have to take a different route.

[mccabby 2]

1 minute ago, RO_AH said:

Possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver IS a felony. It did not turn into a felony from another charge.

 

Make sure her gets his criminal and court records from every place he lived so he does not accidently forget something that will come back to bite you later.

Sorry, my mistake! I don't know anything about criminal stuff since I've never been in trouble with the law haha never even got a parking ticket before lol but thank you I will make sure he gets all his criminal and court records.

[Unlockable 7,306]

34 minutes ago, acidrain said:

Does anyone know how much immigration cares about the USC spouse having a record? I actually never considered it and more curious as to the answer. For some reason I thought they only cared about the person immigrating. Would there be any implication for the USC having a criminal record to sponsor a fiance?

If the crimes are severe enough then, yes, a petition can be denied.

 

The ones I have seen denied were abuse from DV and pertained to the Adam Walsh Act (AWA) which is child abuse/molestation.

[mccabby 2]

5 minutes ago, NuestraUnion said:

If the crimes are severe enough then, yes, a petition can be denied.

 

The ones I have seen denied were abuse from DV and pertained to the Adam Walsh Act (AWA) which is child abuse/molestation.

Do you think ours will get denied? I'm hoping since his offenses were from years ago and they weren't really violent offenses it won't be as bad. I'm currently yelling at my fiance for being really stupid when he was younger -__-   Also, update: his mom has the court documents lol (She is an extremely organized person) but I'm forcing him to contact his local court house to obtain all the paperwork in case she doesn't have all of it.

[JFH 12,189]

3 hours ago, acidrain said:

Does anyone know how much immigration cares about the USC spouse having a record? I actually never considered it and more curious as to the answer. For some reason I thought they only cared about the person immigrating. Would there be any implication for the USC having a criminal record to sponsor a fiance?

I can't speak for fiancé visas but my husband petitioned my CR-1 and he has a felony. I was questioned about it at the embassy (see my review in my timeline).

 

A word of caution to the OP, made sure you familiarize yourself with every detail of his cases - dates, county and state, punishment. I took a copy of my husband's J&S to the interview and I had signed my name on the top right of every page to show I had seen every page of it. The CO was pleased with that. You very likely will be asked such details at the embassy so that the CO can be satisfied that your boyfriend has been up front with you about everything and you are well aware of what you are getting yourself into. The DWI would be the one that would worry me the most.