Fiance from UK has criminal record from 12+ years ago

[NSMS0809 4]

Hey all,

 

My fiance got into trouble with the law frequently as a teenager. We only realized recently that his expunged record is still on file for immigration purposes. Rude awakening haha...Anyways, we just received his police certificate and it shows charges from when he was 16-19 years old. The ones before he was 18 are for common assault (16 years old) and destroying or damaging property (x3 for the same incident when he was 17 years old). Then when he was 19, he had 2 incidents:

 

- Assault occasioning actual bodily harm (18 months probation)

- Battery (16 week imprisonment suspended and instead 2 years probation and community service)

 

No time served in prison. He went through a period of not the best behavior as a teen but after the last incident in August 2009, he has never had another run in with the cops, has held down good jobs, and is a marvelous human being. It has been 12 years and it is a shame to think that what he did when he was a confused teen would come back to haunt him now even though he is nothing like that kid back then. 

 

We are pooping ourselves but also trying to remain calm. We are working on getting the SAR and court records. We are unsure if either of these adult convictions fall into the CIMT category. Has anyone been through something similar? Any suggestions on what to do? Are we likely to be rejected? Thanks in advance. 😓

[Boiler 43,841]

The devil in the detail but from the limited information you posted it seems you have CIMT's involved and will be looking at filing a waiver.

 

Do you have an Immigration Lawyer involved?

[NSMS0809 4]

Yes, I know the details are major. We are waiting on the SAR and court records as he doesn't remember so clearly what the courts had to say about it. We have an immigration lawyer but she does not have experience with working with criminal stuff. We hadn't asked any of the lawyers we spoke to because we didn't realize it was still on record. We will have to find someone who has specific experience with this. Just really praying that either of them are not considered CIMTs. 

 

If we do have to file a waiver, do we have to wait until after the interview? And what are the chances of the waiver being granted?

 

Thanks!

[Boiler 43,841]

Well you need a Lawyer who is familiar with waivers. That is the issue.

 

US asks about all criminal history not just what you think is on record.

 

The Consulate Officer will review the case and advise at the interview if a waiver is required, obviously not everything is waiverable, but assuming it is then usually a well prepared waiver will succeed, very high probability, and it is more a question of time and money.

[NSMS0809 4]

Hmm yea, that makes sense. It's a real shame how unforgiving the US is of criminal stuff. I am not an advocate of breaking the law in any way, but I would hate it if someone held my 18-year old decisions against me now. 

 

I guess we will have a better idea once we get the court records if his crimes will be CIMTs or not. A bit hard to say. Online I have seen battery and assault generally are NOT CIMTs if it can be proven that there wasn't the intention to commit the crime. 

 

Seems like a lot of gray area but I do find comfort in the fact that most likely, the worst case should be having to do a waiver. I think?

[Diane and Chris 651]

12 hours ago, NSMS0809 said:

Hmm yea, that makes sense. It's a real shame how unforgiving the US is of criminal stuff. I am not an advocate of breaking the law in any way, but I would hate it if someone held my 18-year old decisions against me now. 

 

I guess we will have a better idea once we get the court records if his crimes will be CIMTs or not. A bit hard to say. Online I have seen battery and assault generally are NOT CIMTs if it can be proven that there wasn't the intention to commit the crime. 

 

Seems like a lot of gray area but I do find comfort in the fact that most likely, the worst case should be having to do a waiver. I think?

Did you disclose the information of his past criminal behavior on the application?  

[NSMS0809 4]

7 hours ago, Diane and Chris said:

Did you disclose the information of his past criminal behavior on the application?  

We are only at the I-129F stage (about to send in) so they have only asked about MY criminal background as the USC. We will disclose on the DS260 or whatever the form is before the interview. 

 

What should he bring to the interview? Police certificate and SAR for sure. If both of those include the sentence from the court, do we need court records as well? 

[Boiler 43,841]

Basically everything he can get, you have a long way to go and plenty of time to get all the records, however I certainly would get it reviewed by your Lawyer.

 

You want to be in the position to file a waiver, you do not want to go to the interview, be asked for more documents, be refused and then start the process.

 

Well I am assuming a waiver will be needed which seems reasonable on the information provided but obviously something else to be checked.

[SalishSea 16,976]

5 hours ago, NSMS0809 said:

We are only at the I-129F stage (about to send in) so they have only asked about MY criminal background as the USC. We will disclose on the DS260 or whatever the form is before the interview. 

 

What should he bring to the interview? Police certificate and SAR for sure. If both of those include the sentence from the court, do we need court records as well? 

You are probably >1.5-2 years away from even having an interview.  Plenty of time to find a good lawyer and get all of the documentation you can on the incidents.

[NSMS0809 4]

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Edited June 17, 2022 by NSMS0809