moe1985

First, he needs to hire an attorney, who specializes in DUI cases, not just any attorney! Make sure, that the attorney is a registered member in the national DUI defense association! Once the attorney is hired, he needs to be aware of the immigration case and the negative impact would be if the defendant pleads guilty! This is crucial that this case gets dismissed and closed right then on the day when he appears in court. Some lawyers will work out a deal with the judge for a court referral, which requires the defendant to do several things over a period of time ( probation) to comply with with the court order, such as : Attending AAA class or being randomly tested for drugs and alcohol! Well, USCIS looks at this as a form of punishment and guilt, not to mention that the defendant will be already on probation and USCIS cant approve someone, who is on probation, its an automatic denial!. Bottom line, this case needs to be dismissed and closed on the day he appears court for the best outcome, otherwise he will be denied for the citizenship application but, WILL NOT BE DEPORTED !
Good luck!

Case Update Oath Ceremony Notice Was MailedWe scheduled your oath ceremony for Receipt Number nbc********We sent a notice with the date, time, and location of your oath ceremony to the address you gave us. Please follow the instructions in the notice. If you do not receive your notice by August 19, 2016, please go to www.uscis.gov/e-request to request a copy of the notice. If you move, go to www.uscis.gov/addresschange to give us your new mailing address.

Great news!
Mo, if you would like for this thread to be closed in favor of your other one on the topic, hit the "report" button, make the closure request, and ask that a link to this (to-be-closed) thread be added to your other (active) thread (in your report, include the link to that thread).
Choosing to do the above is completely up to you.

What great news. Thanks for returning with the update. You'll feel very satisfied when you update your VJ timeline!

First, he needs to hire an attorney, who specializes in DUI cases, not just any attorney! Make sure, that the attorney is a registered member in the national DUI defense association! Once the attorney is hired, he needs to be aware of the immigration case and the negative impact would be if the defendant pleads guilty! This is crucial that this case gets dismissed and closed right then on the day when he appears in court. Some lawyers will work out a deal with the judge for a court referral, which requires the defendant to do several things over a period of time ( probation) to comply with with the court order, such as : Attending AAA class or being randomly tested for drugs and alcohol! Well, USCIS looks at this as a form of punishment and guilt, not to mention that the defendant will be already on probation and USCIS cant approve someone, who is on probation, its an automatic denial!. Bottom line, this case needs to be dismissed and closed on the day he appears court for the best outcome, otherwise he will be denied for the citizenship application but, WILL NOT BE DEPORTED !
Good luck!

As a police officer, refusing to take the test was a HUGE mistake. If you were not drinking then you had nothing to worry about and it would have ended there. The officer DID have a probably cause since you ran off the road. The reason being if you were driving at a safer speed you might not have run off the road to begin with. And something about following their finger aroused their suspicion. Regardless of the reason you did not take the test, ( 5th amendment), not taking it just made it worse. They were just doing their job. And the reckless driving charge, in my opinion, has no validity as there is no evidence to support it..
Having said that, they have no solid proof of drunk driving and you do have a valid defense.Just tell the truth and no more standing on ceremony in front of the judge. Be contrite. Additionally, just because you were charged means nothing. Being found guilty MAY be a problem for citizenship.
A decent lawyer should be able to get all charges dropped. And, based on your story, you sound like someone who should say very little, if possible, and let the lawyer do most of the talking.

Not going to judge your actions. At one time or another we've all said or done things that are counter-productive. As others have said, it would have been better to take the test, but that time has passed. Your refusal to do so is basically treated the same as a DUI in the eyes of the law in most states.
Will it affect your citizenship? Hard to say. I suspect that you will have to disclose that you have charges pending.
If everything went down as you say, a competent lawyer shouldn't have a problem turning the tables.

Geez. The issue isnt up for debate. We are not the jury here deciding probably cause. The cops stopped him and used THEIR JUDGEMENT. They used several investigative methods. Observation of the scene, a finger waved in front of his pupils, his appearance/speech/behavior etc, and made a decision. PERIOD>
There is no violation of rights regardless of you tube vidoes. Alabama has “implied consent” laws. It means by driving on the roads you consent to taking the tests if an officer who has reasonable grounds to believe you are under the influence. The video mentioned is someone fighting probable cause. - most likely not this situation- and again not this forums place to debate is it probable cause or not>
And its a BIG YES YES YES this does impact citizenship. DUI is moral character. Arrest is moral character. This is not something considered 'administrative penalty'.

USCIS can NOT make any decision while you have an open criminal case. For best results, you will need to have this charge dismissed, as I highly recommend you to hire a good attorney to assist you with your criminal case. Once the case is resolved, make sure to send your court disposition by the deadline which they have set. If you think you need more time to resolve the case, you will need to contact your field office and request more time ( Deadline extension for evidence request) and they should be able to give you more time.
Dont risk it and go to court on your own, YOU WILL NEED A LAWYER FOR THIS.
Good luck.

I just came home from court, let me tell ya, my attorney is the best in the world.... DUI charge is dismissed and reckless driving charge was reduced to improper lane and the case is completely closed. USCIS gave me until May 25th to respond back with court disposition documents, the clerk was very busy today and she told me to come back Monday to court and get the disposition to send for immigration. Thank you all for your support and good luck to those who are going in a similar situation. this has been such a huge experience. IF YOU EVER GET APPROACHED BY A COP, NEVER NEVER EVER TALK TO THEM UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES!

I just came home from court, let me tell ya, my attorney is the best in the world.... DUI charge is dismissed and reckless driving charge was reduced to improper lane and the case is completely closed. USCIS gave me until May 25th to respond back with court disposition documents, the clerk was very busy today and she told me to come back Monday to court and get the disposition to send for immigration. Thank you all for your support and good luck to those who are going in a similar situation. this has been such a huge experience. IF YOU EVER GET APPROACHED BY A COP, NEVER NEVER EVER TALK TO THEM UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES!

If you were denied B2 multiple times, it wont affect your K1 application whatsoever! They surely can deny you for asking to visit the US but, def cant deny you to join your family unless if you have a criminal record!

Tom,
Thank you for your advice and encourganing words, I hired one of the top DUI defense attorney in the state of Alabama and this attorney does not play around! He is already taking actions and explained the whole process for me as well as gave me the piece of mind.
Thank you again, Tom and I hope you have a happy new years!