Hi @Villanelle thanks again. Basing myself on what I disclosed on I-485, in spite of all this the officer still felt I had a chance and invited me to come back with a lawyer, otherwise he would have denied me right then and there. So that's the only thing that's making me hopeful (and it's the only chance I have, anyway).
I stopped using in 2006 or 2007. I know it's hard for people to believe that people can change, but I truly did change, my life was transformed, call it what you will, but I'm not the person I used to be. There's no legal term for that maybe, but it's the truth.
Duly noted!
I am hoping this can be at least considered a factor. In Canada, under the Criminal Youth Justice Act,, *most* offenses, if any, are wiped from your slate once you turn eighteen. I just spoke again with the court today, located in Ontario, where I had my appearance, and in spite of all the information I provided them, they still couldn't find anything on me. Maybe it's just a paper file buried away somewhere and hard to find.
Interesting, thank you.
Helpful. I don't know why he would tell me to come back and bring an attorney unless he meant what he said. I mean, if USCIS has already decided to expel me from the U.S. for mistakes I made when I was a teenager, deemed serious in their eyes but committed by a person very different from the one I am today - I understand they're under no obligation to do anything and that my being here is a privilege, not a right; they have their own designations as to the seriousness of things, but again - if they deem these teenage mistakes of mine committed 15 to almost 20 years ago to be grounds for inadmissibility, and they've already made their decision about denying me permanency, then why not deny me immediately and order me to leave the country? It's a special form of malice to make your enemy think he has a chance, just to watch him struggle and squirm before you utterly annihilate him, and I don't suppose this to be their intention here. The officer looked me right in the eye and said, "Come back with a lawyer. I really recommend it." I have to take him at his word as it's all I have to go by, and that means if I bring a lawyer, I have a chance to stay in this country and not be indefinitely be separated from my new family and be the cause of years of emotional and financial hardship for them.
My wife wants to be there, too. She will come. We might even bring our two children, aged sixteen months and four months. And if I can bring character witnesses, I will definitely invite friends and family members, too.