CRIMINAL PROBLEMS CAN LEAD TO DEPORTATION

During the 1990s, Congress passed several laws that treat noncitizens who have criminal difficulties with increasing severity. Many crimes that may not seem that serious can make a noncitizen deportable (including shoplifting), often with no hope of avoiding deportation, even if the noncitizen has US citizen and lawful permanent resident spouses, children or parents.

This is an extremely complex area of immigration law, that cannot be easily summarized. The most important point, however, is that ANY NONCITIZEN WHO IS ARRESTED FOR A CRIME SHOULD BE SURE TO TELL HER/HIS DEFENSE ATTORNEY THAT HE IS NOT A CITIZEN, AND SHOULD MAKE SURE AN IMMIGRATION EXPERT IS CONSULTED BEFORE ENTERING INTO ANY TYPE OF PLEA TO THE CRIME. An outcome of a criminal proceeding that might be positive if the defendant were a US citizen can lead to deportation with no possibility of ever returning to the US for a noncitizen.

Also, any permanent resident who has EVER HAD PROBLEMS WITH THE POLICE SHOULD NOT APPLY FOR US CITIZENSHIP WITHOUT FIRST SPEAKING WITH AN EXPERIENCED IMMIGRATION ADVOCATE. All applicants for US citizenship must submit their fingerprints as part of the application. The Immigration and Naturalization Service uses these fingerprints to find out if the person has had any criminal problems at any time, in any state in the US. Even crimes that did not make a person deportable when they were committed long ago may cause a person to be denied US citizenship now and to be put into removal proceedings, regardless of how long the person has lived in the US as a permanent resident. An immigration advocate can help a noncitizen determine if his/her past criminal difficulties, no matter how long ago, will make the person deportable and can help determine if any remedy is available.

The same is true for a person applying to adjust his status to become a permanent resident of the US. Any person who will be applying for permanent residency (the "green card") who has EVER HAD PROBLEMS WITH THE POLICE SHOULD SPEAK WITH AN EXPERIENCED IMMIGRATION ADVOCATE BEFORE FILING AN APPLICATION FOR RESIDENCY.

EVEN IF A PERSON BELIEVES THAT HIS CRIMINAL CASE WAS DISMISSED, HE SHOULD SPEAK WITH AN EXPERIENCED IMMIGRATION ADVOCATE BEFORE APPLYING FOR ANY IMMIGRATION BENEFIT. Under the immigration laws, many cases that have been dismissed are still considered by Immigration to be criminal convictions and no different from having been found guilty after a trial.