Background checks for petitioners?

[kkrxo 2]

Does USCIS perform background checks on the petitioners? I don't remember ever reading anything about the petitioner's criminal history on any of the forms... the only thing I recall was on the I-485 when it asked about mine and to provide evidence. (and my background is clean so I didn't provide anything for that)

My husband has a prior drug conviction from when he was 18 (misdemeanor), and for having a concealed weapon (which was also a misdemeanor)... it was originally a felony, but the judge was pretty lenient with him and said if he didn't get in anymore trouble within the next 12 months, then they would amend the felony charge to a misdemeanor... and they did.

Does anyone know if we were supposed to provide like a court document and send it with our applications?...because we didn't! And back to the first question, do they perform background checks on the petitioners? And if so, will his prior convictions be a huge issue? I hope not because he was seriously young and dumb back then, and has fully turned his life around since then... I know they won't have any compassion for anything we have to say now so I'm really worried. I don't know why I never thought about this before we sent the applications!

Edited October 9, 2010 by kkrxo

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Yes, they do background checks on the petitioner. There aren't too many criminal problems a petitioner can have that would cause a problem with being a petitioner for an immigrant.

A drug conviction would only be a problem if he'd filed an I-129F for a K1 or K3 visa. It wouldn't normally disqualify him, but it's something that needs to be disclosed to the beneficiary under the IMBRA act. It's not an issue with an I-130 petition.

I'm only aware of two things that would be a problem with an I-130 petition. One is a conviction that would fall under the Adam Walsh Act, which mostly includes sexual crimes involving children. Someone with a conviction covered by the AWA cannot file any immigrant petition without a waiver. The other is a conviction for a violation of immigration law. In either of these cases, you could expect USCIS to require all of the relevant court documents.

A prior drug and weapons conviction should be completely irrelevant for an I-130 petition. There's no reason you would have had to submit any documents related to these, nor any reason I can think of that USCIS would ask for any documentation about them.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Does anyone know if we were supposed to provide like a court document and send it with our applications?...because we didn't!

Yes you are supposed to. Says it right there in the I-485 instructions under "initial documents" page 3, "criminal history" (it's the VERY first point of the inital docs so it's VERY important). If you missed it, and I'm not trying to be offensive here, you really should re-read the instructions because there might be other important stuff you missed.

There's nothing you can do about it now except start applying for the records you require, and then handing them over when you have your interview. Failure to do so will look VERY suspicious if it's ever found out.

Edited October 9, 2010 by Vanessa&Tony

[kkrxo 2]

Yes you are supposed to. Says it right there in the I-485 instructions under "initial documents" page 3, "criminal history" (it's the VERY first point of the inital docs so it's VERY important). If you missed it, and I'm not trying to be offensive here, you really should re-read the instructions because there might be other important stuff you missed.

There's nothing you can do about it now except start applying for the records you require, and then handing them over when you have your interview. Failure to do so will look VERY suspicious if it's ever found out.

I put on my original post that the I-485 was the only form where I could remember anything about the criminal history. But I thought for that form, it was just asking for court records for the beneficiary's criminal history and not the petitioner... I just re-downloaded those instructions, and those instructions still come off that way to me. We were very careful with reading the instructions line by line, that's why I'm kicking myself in the head now just thinking about this!

[VanessaTony 3,567]

I put on my original post that the I-485 was the only form where I could remember anything about the criminal history. But I thought for that form, it was just asking for court records for the beneficiary's criminal history and not the petitioner... I just re-downloaded those instructions, and those instructions still come off that way to me. We were very careful with reading the instructions line by line, that's why I'm kicking myself in the head now just thinking about this!

You know... I might be the nob here... criminal history for the I-485 IS for the AOS applicant.. I think I "forgot" you weren't asking about the immigrant. My bad :S

Okay well i'll have a quick look at the i-130 instructions then and get back to you If it's anything like the K1 though, there are no criminal history records needed for the petitioner because they (USCIS) do the criminal history check for you (FBI etc)...