Jane1000

I just wanted to update that today I got the ceremony notice in the mail. Thank you all and for those who have similar concerns, there definitely is hope!

Thank you! That really makes me relax a bit and have a little hope in my case.

Thanks everyone for your comments! I found that an SOC is not considered a conviction by immigration if the language used in the SOC is “immigration safe” (i.e. it doesn’t involve admission of guilty and the consideration of evidence is contingent upon lack of future compliance). I checked mine agreement and it never mentioned anything about admission of guilty, and it specifically said the consideration of evidence is based on if I fail to comply with the terms in the agreement. So hopefully I still have a chance. Ref: https://gshlaw.net/socs-withheld-pleas-and-acds-immigration-does-make-a-difference/

Thanks for your post! Yeah mine was DV4 assault not felony. Unfortunately my attorney never mentioned anything other than SOC as their negotiations with the prosecutor. They never discuss with me about what really happened and how they could prove me innocent or at least have the charge reduced, etc. All I was given was an option of SOC for which I paid some money to complete an online class and waited 6 months for the case to be dismissed. I’m glad the case was dismissed. But the more I think of it the more I feel it’s all about money. There’s a profit chain just like how the speeding tickets brought in extra revenue for every party involved except for the one being charged/cited. I mean there are definitely true bad people who are truly violent/driving recklessly, etc. But I’m not in any way like that. I guess that’s the reason those who looted the street or randomly attacked people got way without any consequences. They don’t have the financial capability to hire an expensive lawyer or pay for classes so they are no use to them. Anyway thanks for your response

I’m not sure if traffic ticket can get you deported but I meant to ask what do you think would be the ground to get me deported in my case..

Found a previous post similar to my situation. https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/719789-the-stressful-decision-cannot-yet-be-made-about-your-application/page/9/

Whats the ground for removal? In fact, the first time I talked to one of the immigration attorneys, she were unsure whether I should just withdraw the application. But after she consulted a “more experienced” attorney, the conclusion was I should keep the application and wait till my case is formally closed (it’s dismissed now). My criminal attorney and the immigration attorneys also assured me this will not cause a deportation. What I found confusing is that there seem to be very drastic differences in people’s views on this when I search online. Maybe there isn’t a clear cut law or policy on this so the decision can be very random and up to immigration officers? At this point, all I can do is speculation, right? Asking on the forum and hoping to get information from people who went through similar experience or have the expertise would not guarantee me a pass but would certainly be helpful to get me prepared.

I applied for citizenship last year and a few months later got arrested and charged for domestic violence. My state do mandatory arrest so once the police is out they have to arrest someone. The case was later dismissed. It was dismissed after completion of an SOC, which was a negotiation with the prosecutor that if I behave good for X amount of time then by the end of the period they will dismiss the case. Now I got the notice of citizenship interview in a few weeks. What is my chance of passing the interview? I’ve talked to a couple of attorneys and received different messages. One said I will need to prove that I have good moral character by doing volunteer work or something like that. Another said I don’t need to do that but instead they can write up something for me to argue that a dismissed DV case doesn’t mean I have bad moral character. I have also researched online and got mixed results. I heard a dismissed case might sometimes be considered a conviction from a immigration point of view. But I don’t know if in my case it’s considered a conviction?