USCIS now wants final court disposition .. but impossible to now get

[Turbota 11]

We have a real mess on our hands now ...

My wife was arrested a couple of years ago on a misdemeanor charge. Prior to her court date, the judge dismissed the charge against her, so my wife never had to go to court.

Because my wife was never found guilty of any crime, she was able to have the record expunged here in Florida.

When filling out the N-400, she stated the day of her arrest, what the arrest was for, where arrested, and stated that the charges were dropped by the court and the record expunged.

Yesterday, she had her citizenship interview in Tampa. The interviewing officer told her she passed the interview but would need to send a certified copy of the Final Court Disposition of her case and a certified copy of the Expungement to USCIS in Tampa before they would set her a date to receive her Citizenship Oath ... and they gave my wife 30 days to comply with this paperwork request.

______________________________________

I called the Court Clerks office as soon as we got home .... There is a BIG problem here. Since the record was expunged, the Clerk stated that they do not have access to the final court disposition. They also stated they would not write a letter stating that the final court disposition was unavailable.

The Clerk's office told me the only way to get this final court disposition would be to petition the court to re-open the case. Then get the required documents, and then have the case closed again.

WOW .... This sounds like something that will take more than the 30 days my wife was given, and it sounds like something that is going to have some really expensive lawyer fees!

Anybody here ever try to get a certified court disposition [after] the record had been expunged?

Edited October 15, 2014 by Turbota

[Turbota 11]

Had I known what I know now, I would have had my wife go to the Court Clerk's office and get 2 or 3 certified copies of the Final Court Disposition [prior] to having the case expunged.

And my wife's lawyer never mentioned anything about it.

BTW ... the lawyer actually got a certified copy of the final court disposition, but had to send it in with the paperwork to have the record expunged ... so now he has none.

Edited October 15, 2014 by Turbota

[jxn 86]

The lawyer doesn't have a photocopy or scan? I'm not sure if that would be acceptable, but that's surprising to hear. I've heard of lawyers printing off emails just to have a permanent hard copy of absolutely everything.

[d3adc0d3 186]

I've never had this issue, personally. However, if you contact the office and inform them of the process required to get the disposition of an expunged record, they may allow more time.

In addition, I would consider contacting the Clerk's Office and getting the information on what statutes in the criminal law state that you must go through with that process. Tell them you need to inform the officer of the state's laws so you can request they extend the time limit, and provide the statues to the Officer with your request.

[Turbota 11]

I talked to the lawyer's secretary about why someone in the office did not at least make a photocopy of the certified court final disposition of the case [prior] to sending this certified copy of it to whoever it had to go for the expungement ..... they say it was a mistake by someone in there office.

I would like to call the officer that interviewed my wife, but if you go to the Tampa USCIS Field Office website, that don't even show there phone number. And I can't make the 2.5 hour drive up there to talk to him either since they won't let you in the door without an invitation letter.

Well, my wife's lawyer is in court today, but is supposed to give me a call later in the day .... hopefully he will have some info about what to do about this mess.

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You know ... You can bet that USCIS did a very detailed criminal investigation on my wife, and you can certainly be sure that they know very well that she was not convicted of any crime. And you can bet they already know that her record has been officially expunged.

But they still want paperwork that I just can't get by myself ...... "Catch 22" situation here !

[Darnell 8,478]

i suggest to you that the clerk at the court was wrong. It was convenient to use a telephone, but I suggest you show up in person with your wife, sometime in the next 5 days, have a different conversation.

[Turbota 11]

i suggest to you that the clerk at the court was wrong. It was convenient to use a telephone, but I suggest you show up in person with your wife, sometime in the next 5 days, have a different conversation.

Well, the lady I talked to on the phone at the Court Clerk's office had me on hold for a long time while she talked to her supervisor about my problem ... and what I posted is what her supervisor told her to tell me.

I guess I could go down there in person, but I can't see that it will make the outcome any different at this point.

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You know, if my wife's record had just been "Sealed", it might be easier to get this final court disposition, but an "Expunged" record is certainly a different matter.

[novedsac 355]

Expunged records are not available to the public - but are still available to law enforcement, the courts and government agencies.

If you don't get quick action through pleading, then subpoena the Court for the records. You'll need to show cause why they should be released, but I think you're justified here. A judicial order can release the records under subpoena.

Edited October 15, 2014 by novedsac

[Turbota 11]

Just talked to the lawyer that handled my wife's case.

He told me to go down to the Court Clerks office and ask to see the supervisor and show them the letter USCIS in Tampa gave me.

Where it reads ....

"If the court record is unavailable, you must provide an original or certified document from the court having jurisdiction over your case, confirming that the record is unavailable (expunged). Claims of "No Record" must be certified by the Clerk of Court in both the felony and misdemeanor divisions in the county where the arrest occurred".

He said if they still don't give me a certified document stating that the final disposition is now unavailable, to call him, and he will see what he can do.

So ......

[Turbota 11]

Expunged records are not available to the public - but are still available to law enforcement, the courts and government agencies.

If you don't get quick action through pleading, then subpoena the Court for the records. You'll need to show cause why they should be released, but I think you're justified here. A judicial order can release the records under subpoena.

Thanks a bunch ...

[Calicolom 265]

The FBI record still stands, whatever the local or state court does, or the outcome is.

[hereWeGo-Go! 5]

i suggest to you that the clerk at the court was wrong. It was convenient to use a telephone, but I suggest you show up in person with your wife, sometime in the next 5 days, have a different conversation.

What she says. have a similar issue from 2004, when I called I was told the same thing, did the 2 hour drive to the county and went directly to the judicial building and requested it (for AOS) it took about 10 mins and cost me $3.00 for a certified copy of the final disposition (dismissed misdemeanor as well). I think USCIS also take the original document as well which would be a white (for clerks office)/yellow (for you)/pink(attorney) triplicate that your lawyer would have gotten showing dismissal the day of dismissal, my lawyer gave me both his and mine pages, I didnt send the original to USCIS as I was trying to avoid an RFE and figured with such an old incident a recent certified copy would be better. Good luck, but go in and try!! Easier to dismiss you over a phone.

[carton025 38]

Just talked to the lawyer that handled my wife's case.

He told me to go down to the Court Clerks office and ask to see the supervisor and show them the letter USCIS in Tampa gave me.

Where it reads ....

"If the court record is unavailable, you must provide an original or certified document from the court having jurisdiction over your case, confirming that the record is unavailable (expunged). Claims of "No Record" must be certified by the Clerk of Court in both the felony and misdemeanor divisions in the county where the arrest occurred".

He said if they still don't give me a certified document stating that the final disposition is now unavailable, to call him, and he will see what he can do.

So ......

This is what you need to do... I had to show my bank the visa application instructions to do the same to get my bank to give me a letter stating that I had an account there, how long I had the account, and the amount of money deposited into the account for the last year. I truly think that if you show them the letter they will either come up with the document(s) you need or provide you a letter stating why they can't get the document(s) for you.

Best of luck!

[raven52 233]

I like Darnell's answer! Show up, professional, but "kind" but have a firm, confident way about you.,..,.,.it cannot hurt to try!

[Ortolan 381]

@op: yes, go to the court clerk's office or records office and ask in person. Bring plenty of identification with you. Explain your situation. It's much harder to dismiss your request if you're standing there in person, and it seems unreasonable that they couldn't help you.

Edited October 16, 2014 by Ortolan