RFE - Court Records for no criminal history

[IvaVas 0]

Hello, everyone!!!

I'm new in the site but have been reading the forum from 2-3 months.
Me and my fiancé have applied for K1 Visa in March. In the I-129F form my fiancé has written in the field for Criminal History - a fine for Reckless Driving. A week ago we have received RFE letter stating we need to send court records for this fine that was from 2008. There are no court records of this violation. It does not exist anymore. Also they cannot provide us with documents or a record for a case that we do not have a case number for.

Is there anyone that has been in this situation and what documents should we send?
 

[debbiedoo 2,339]

heres what id do - go to the county courthouse and get a certified copy of convictions. if its not on that, they may be able to do something that says there are no records for that person or case. to get a case number you should be able to maybe contact the police department that handled it and get the police report that should have a case number on it.

 

worst case scenario, hire an attorney, they could track it down.

 

for a driving offense, its possible DMV has records of it too- they might be able to help with a case number.

Edited September 26, 2018 by debbiedoo

[IvaVas 0]

Thank you very much for the fast answer. Unfortunately, there are no records on his driving history from MVA and no court records.
I don't know if that is going to be enough as a reply to them because we have already filled in the fine and they are expecting some kind of court record from then.

[debbiedoo 2,339]

18 minutes ago, IvaVas said:

Thank you very much for the fast answer. Unfortunately, there are no records on his driving history from MVA and no court records.
I don't know if that is going to be enough as a reply to them because we have already filled in the fine and they are expecting some kind of court record from then.

as much as i hate to tell you to find an attorney, you might have to. chase down the possible police department records to see if they have anything. if not, call a lawyer. should be pretty quick and easy for them to track down.

[LNLBrooklyn 0]

If you can’t get documentations, make a note on your application & better yet mention it during interview or it might show up on background check. USCIS is very particular with these matters as part of their EXTREEME VETTING, IMHO.

[MeghanK 629]

Have you asked for documentation showing your name has no record from the county where the fine was, using your name, not a case number? They *should* be able to provide you certified documentation that you have no court records. I've read that some counties won't do this though, maybe that's what you meant there.

 

Also I second contacting the police station that issued the fine - using your name. There should be someone you can call or e-mail. A police report + certification of no record should be enough for your RFE.

[Ontarkie 14,280]

If this required going to court there is indeed a court record. The court clerk probably does not want to look for it. They can look it up by the date, but chances are they don't want to because it takes actually digging. Even if it's been expunged, pardoned or what ever the records are still there just need to dig for them. Depending on how long ago it was it might not be in the computers so manual digging through log books will be required. Then they send away for it if it's real old because it might be in storage. 

[GP1977 288]

5 hours ago, Ontarkie said:

If this required going to court there is indeed a court record. The court clerk probably does not want to look for it. They can look it up by the date, but chances are they don't want to because it takes actually digging. Even if it's been expunged, pardoned or what ever the records are still there just need to dig for them. Depending on how long ago it was it might not be in the computers so manual digging through log books will be required. Then they send away for it if it's real old because it might be in storage. 

I am an attorney in Maryland and unfortunately they have dont keep expunged cases after 3 years.  If its within 3 years of the case being expunged, you can file a motion with the court to request to unseal the case and open the file, which they will do for immigration purposes.  After 3 years, the files are burned.   It really is a true expungement in MD and the file is destroyed. I had a DUI in Maryland which i was found Not Guilty of 14 years ago and it doesn't appear in my FBI CJIS background.

For matters which have been expunged in Maryland, the clerk of the court will not write a "certified letter that no record exists for a case" because they can be sued and have been sued for recognizing a case in which it has been expunged.   I get their logic but it doesn't make any sense, because the former defendant is requesting it.

Nevertheless, what you have to do is file a motion with the court.  That can be a simply letter with your request to have a hearing with the judge.  Explain in your letter what you are looking for and the judge will hold a hearing and "should" grant your request.  The hearing lasts no more than 2-3 minutes.

In the event that the judge doesn't the request of the OP,  I would recommend that the OP keep all documentation, emails, requests and put everything in writing.  If you are ultimately unable to obtain the required documents then you must show USCIS that there were repeated attempts to obtain the documents and you were unable to do so.

 

 

[Nov2017AD 52]

On 9/26/2018 at 4:07 PM, IvaVas said:

Hello, everyone!!!

I'm new in the site but have been reading the forum from 2-3 months.
Me and my fiancé have applied for K1 Visa in March. In the I-129F form my fiancé has written in the field for Criminal History - a fine for Reckless Driving. A week ago we have received RFE letter stating we need to send court records for this fine that was from 2008. There are no court records of this violation. It does not exist anymore. Also they cannot provide us with documents or a record for a case that we do not have a case number for.

Is there anyone that has been in this situation and what documents should we send?
 

"Item Number 4.b. Criminal History Documents. If you indicated “Yes” in Item Number 4.a., provide information that explains the circumstances, places, dates, and outcomes for each incident of arrest, citation, charge, indictment, conviction, fine, or imprisonment. You must submit court certified copies of the arrest record and/or disposition for each incident unless you submit a certified statement from the court indicating that no record exists of your arrest, citation, charge, indictment, conviction, fine, or imprisonment."

From the i-129f instructions. If no record exists, submit a certified statement from the court indicating that no record exists.

Edit: Going to throw in a little rant because I'm stuck in "security check"...if they are keeping me in security check for this long, you'd think they'd have access to court records themselves? ####### is taking so long for my case...

Edited September 29, 2018 by Nov2017AD

[IvaVas 0]

Thank you very much for your answers. We will request a hearing from the judge, and will provide them with certified letter for no records, also a record from the police and MVA. We'll attach a handwritten letter from my fiancée explaining the situation. I think this is going to be enough.

[Jenny17655 284]

On 9/26/2018 at 4:07 PM, IvaVas said:

Hello, everyone!!!

I'm new in the site but have been reading the forum from 2-3 months.
Me and my fiancé have applied for K1 Visa in March. In the I-129F form my fiancé has written in the field for Criminal History - a fine for Reckless Driving. A week ago we have received RFE letter stating we need to send court records for this fine that was from 2008. There are no court records of this violation. It does not exist anymore. Also they cannot provide us with documents or a record for a case that we do not have a case number for.

Is there anyone that has been in this situation and what documents should we send?
 

If he is the petitioner I would not have even included that on the application.  The questions ask if he has been arrested for domestic violence, child abuse, elder abuse, sexual assault etc. Also asks about trafficking, murder, torture, incest etc. and lastly 3 or more convictions relating to a controlled substance.  None of those apply to a fine for reckless driving.  I read those 3 questions relating to criminal history and answered just what they were asking about, nothing more. It is not like the DS160 where it asks have you EVER been arrested. I know this is too late for your situation but hopefully it can save someone else the headache.  Good luck.

Edited October 1, 2018 by Jenny17655

[Villanelle 4,122]

29 minutes ago, Jenny17655 said:

If he is the petitioner I would not have even included that on the application.  The questions ask if he has been arrested for domestic violence, child abuse, elder abuse, sexual assault etc. Also asks about trafficking, murder, torture, incest etc. and lastly 3 or more convictions relating to a controlled substance.  None of those apply to a fine for reckless driving.  I read those 3 questions relating to criminal history and answered just what they were asking about, nothing more. It is not like the DS160 where it asks have you EVER been arrested. I know this is too late for your situation but hopefully it can save someone else the headache.  Good luck.

Item Number 4.a. Criminal Information. Indicate whether you have ever been arrested, cited, charged, indicted,
convicted, fined, or imprisoned for breaking or violating any law or ordinance in any country, for any offenses other than
those you have already outlined in the previous section. Unless a traffic incident was alcohol- or drug-related or involved
a fine of $500 or more, you do not need to provide information on it.
Item Number 4.b. Criminal History Documents. If you indicated “Yes” in Item Number 4.a., provide information
that explains the circumstances, places, dates, and outcomes for each incident of arrest, citation, charge, indictment,
conviction, fine, or imprisonment. You must submit court certified copies of the arrest record and/or disposition for each
incident unless you submit a certified statement from the court indicating that no record exists of your arrest, citation,
charge, indictment, conviction, fine, or imprisonment.
If you need extra space to complete this section, use the space provided in Part 8. Additional Information.