Minor criminal history, did I screw up?

[SalishSea 16,827]

6 hours ago, Sartre said:

There is absolutely no record of whatever the event was.  He was a minor and most likely it was handled by a juvenile court (I doubt it was even that severe).  I think it's just a little worse than being sent to "time out".  Also, he is a petitioner, not an applicant for naturalization. My strong advice is to leave it alone.  Nothing will come of it...

You clearly do not know what you're talking about.

 

The AWA rules around K-1s are different than for the visa you did.

[Crazy Cat 39,402]

4 hours ago, Family said:

he indicated there was NO arrest…

Don't you find the "I was questioned but never arrested and didn't ever see a judge, but it was easier to accept community service for a couple days as a punishment instead of fighting it."  to be a little strange?  Does that sound like there was no arrest? 

[poh 125]

On 4/30/2022 at 11:40 AM, Rachel & Khairy said:

I agree do not listen to anyone they are giving you bad advise. You said it was in high-school so I'm assuming you are under 18 at the time? 1. If you were a minor it's not going to be on any permanent record. 2. You are a US Citizen and the petitioner so it doesn't make a difference.

If its under 18, you were charged differently and not as an adult.  You were a juvenile when you were charged and won't effect your application.  No worries. Juvenile records are sealed and unavailable outside of juvenile courts.  US courts gives kids chances to correct themselves instead of ruining their lives.   I know someone who  at age 17 broke the law  and got arrested and did fine in their immigration journey.  

Edited May 2, 2022 by poh

[Cheesehead22 86]

2 minutes ago, Crazy Cat said:

Don't you find the "I was questioned but never arrested and didn't ever see a judge, but it was easier to accept community service for a couple days as a punishment instead of fighting it."  to be a little strange?  Does that sound like there was no arrest? 

I was questioned and told before anything that I was not under arrest. 

[Crazy Cat 39,402]

1 minute ago, Cody Lehr said:

I was questioned and told before anything that I was not under arrest. 

Who ordered you to do community service?

[Cheesehead22 86]

Just now, Crazy Cat said:

Who ordered you to do community service?

That's what I don't remember. We were given a choice of fighting in court and risk losing, or doing community service for a couple days and staying clean until 18 then it would be expunged. When you're young you look for the easy way out, even if you're not guilty. We talked to a person in the mall who deals with juvenile cases, i don't know the details anymore. I just wanted it over and don't remember much. 

[Cheesehead22 86]

30 minutes ago, poh said:

If its under 18, you were charged differently and not as an adult.  You were a juvenile when you were charged and won't effect your application.  No worries. Juvenile records are sealed and unavailable outside of juvenile courts.  US courts gives kids chances to correct themselves instead of ruining their lives.   I know someone who  at age 17 broke the law  and got arrested and did fine in their immigration journey.  

do you know if they disclosed the crime that took place at age 17?

[Sartre 123]

1 hour ago, Jorgedig said:

You clearly do not know what you're talking about.

 

The AWA rules around K-1s are different than for the visa you did.

The first sentence does not lead to any discussion. It's truncated!   If you know what the correct approach please describe in detail.  The second sentence is a little too cryptic:t, "...visa you did"?  

[SalishSea 16,827]

8 hours ago, Sartre said:

The first sentence does not lead to any discussion. It's truncated!   If you know what the correct approach please describe in detail.  The second sentence is a little too cryptic:t, "...visa you did"?  

Your timeline says IR-1/CR-1 visa.

 

K-1 has different, specific rules pertaining to AWA and criminal background disclosure.   Questions?  Google it.

[Sartre 123]

5 hours ago, Jorgedig said:

Your timeline says IR-1/CR-1 visa.

 

K-1 has different, specific rules pertaining to AWA and criminal background disclosure.   Questions?  Google it.

I am truly familiar with the rules and regulations. The problem in the end is that there wasn't a crime.  There isn't a record of a crime.  This implied argument that the authorities have ways of finding out about events that we do not already know about is ludicrous.  The FBI, State and local authorities do not know of any crime the petitioner committed and by the way, neither does the petitioner. This is absurd and an over reaction.  It's obvious the petitioner did something and it appears he was punished by having to payback the community with some time of service. Obviously some fair minded person got the petitioner to do something to amend for his discretion.  This is like a parent punishing a kid.  Pretty soon some posters of this site are going to start saying that the crime is that he thought about it, therefore he committed it. Show me the crime and I'll be the first to tell the petitioner to amend his petition. 

[Golden Gate 530]

You should call the Immigration contact number. I honestly don’t think they care about that offense and you will be fine. I called them because I was arrested for slapping my children’s dad on the head and he called the police and I admitted it because I am a way more honest person than he is. My case is not available to anyone because of a first time offense and I didn’t have to put it on the form to sponsor my now husband. Just for context, I was in the hospital for five days and no one in my family would take care of my children. I was forced to have him do it and he took the opportunity to move into my house and because of the law in Michigan once someone moved in, you can’t get him out and I previously had a restraining order against him for abusing me, so the slap was the accumulated frustration of me having to get through school to get a better job so I could move out of my own apartment away from an abusive partner again.

Edited May 6, 2022 by Golden Gate
Clarity

[beloved_dingo 1,935]

The issue here isn't about the incident really, it's about omitting information that is specifically requested. If OP fixes the problem now, he will have peace of mind that there will not be a problem down the line. If he doesn't, he's going to spend a long time wondering if this will come back to bite him. Saying "oh immigration doesn't care about something you did at 17 that was expunged" is disingenuous because the issue is that USCIS absolutely does care about misrepresentation. 

[Golden Gate 530]

Beloved dingo: That’s why I told them to call immigration. They can ask them directly because papers were already sent in and no one is saying “immigration won’t care and so they shouldn’t worry about it and wait to see. Repeat: I told them to call immigration, did you read that part? And based on what happened to me where I actually got arrested and didn’t provide that info,  that took me to the conclusion that they didn’t even care I had that arrest and didn’t put it on my application. Read everything in context of what I was saying instead of picking apart my sentences and misinterpreting what I meant. No need for you to reply to this comment.

Edited May 7, 2022 by Golden Gate

[TBoneTX 43,290]

It's against the Terms of Service to tell others not to post.  A noncontributory post has been removed.  Please remain supportive, direct answers toward the OP's situation, and avoid giving and taking offense.

 

VJ Moderation

[John & Rose 7,237]

On 5/2/2022 at 8:08 AM, Sartre said:

The big difference is that there isn’t a record available and there isn’t a charge. There is nothing expunged. I think people are trying to make something out of nothing. USCIS and anybody else will find nothing in this case. I think the advice this poster is getting it’s based on the assumption that a real criminal event having occurred. Sorry, argument that he should admit to something that he can’t even verify is not even illogical, it’s alogical and absurd. 

My record was expunged and not available for me either.  No court or police record at all.  Expungement order steed the court and police had to destroy any record.  So the police and court did destroy there records.  They are still VERY visible to immigration and other Federal agencies.  He was arrested and convicted.  The record is out there and even though you are saying it doesn't matter, my experience says it really matters a lot.