Criminal Law Grand Larceny Nolle Prosequi

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rachelpnz

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First I will give you a little background.

I am a Conditional resisdent (by marriage) I have have my residency for just over 1 year now and been married for almost 2.

I was arrested for Grand Larceny in South Carolina my charges were nolle prosequi (sp?) and I am currently persuing an expungment. The expungment will be complete within 21 days.

First question:

I have planned an overseas trip will I have a problem re-entering the US?

Second Question:

I am 8 months away from applying to have my conditions removed. I understand that I have to be completely honest about my arrest but will they hold this against me? since I was arrested but not convicted, of a crime of moral turpitude?

My marriage is bonified and have SO MUCH paperwork to prove it so that will not be a problem.

Third Question:

When applying for citizenship will they hold it against me then?

Thankyou in advance for any help.
 
If there is no evidence of admission of guilt, you would be okay. But be honest about it............What matters is if you admitted to it on statements or if there is a conviction or plea deal. Even if there is an element of guilt, it would only affect you if it does not meet the petty crime exception. It would not affect your citizenship if you are not guilty or cut a deal. More so, citizenship requires five years of good moral character...........Expunctions don't work for immigration purposes............So be honest about it. If you are traveling, hold all relevant court disposition papers and be ready to make it available if prompted on entry.
 
There was no plea deal or conviction. When I was arrested the arresting officer told me that he had enough evidence to convict me and then have me deported (very distressing at the time as my husband had just returned from Iraq with PTSD and I was having to deal with that as well). He told me that if I made a statement saying that I did it then I would be entered into the Pre Trial Intervention Programme in SC and upon completing this program I would not be convicted and my record would be expunged. So I admitted to it (even though I didnt do it) thinking that was the best way to make this all go away. Going through a court case was just too distressing to think about especially since at the time I thought that there was a high chance of me being convicted of something that I did not do. So it was a rock and a hard place situation.

Anyway I finished my programme my charges were nolle prosequi and I am filing for expungment.

My biggest concern is getting held up at the airport when I come back to the US from going home to visit my family...

So I did admit guilt. There is a statement out there that is signed by me saying that I did it. So I guess I am screwed to put it mildly. To make matters worse my husband knows nothing of this.
 
What was the maximum possible jail time for your offense? That would determine if it meets the petit crime exception under immigration law. If it does, it would not affect you on re-entry but you would have to have all relevant court papers....Let me know........
 
Five years is maximum jail time so it does not fall under petit crime exeption if I was convicted. Does it matter that I was never convicted of it for the purposes of re-entry?
 
Immigration law views pre-trial intervention as a form in which you admitted guilt and your statements to them would count against you….especially since it does not meet the exception. Yours case falls in a gray area and is very risky. You would face some problems…….I suggest you get your immigration lawyer to review the type of pre-trial intervention if you never plead guilty to a lesser more acceptable charge. I can't give you more definite advices without full knowledge of the court papers and your states practices in criminal law and effects on immigration. You need to see a local immigration lawyer ASAP before thinking of traveling.
 
I spoke to the solicitors office where I did my PTI and they told me that my records will be treated just the same as someone who was arrested and the charges were dropped/case dismissed/found innocent/nolle prosequi . They told me that the documents pertaining to my arrest are litterally shreded and there will be no record of it on their computerised reporting system. As far as she was aware there would be no record of it anywhere since it is treated just the same as an arrest that didnt result in a conviction.

She told me that they do not report to anyone that I have been involved in PTI they only keep their own paper records to make sure that no one does that programme twice.

She told me the only record that is kept is for the ability to track statistics on crime etc etc and on the record of that crime (if anyone pulled the #) it would come up as saying resolved and then with a date. There is no way to track that record back to me.

I looked up the law as well in SC and as far as I can make out everything she says is true.

I am going to try and find an immigration lawyer to make sure of all of this but I do not know where to start in looking for a good one. Especially now that I live in a different state finding some one who is schooled on SC law might be difficult.
 
I just called ICE as well and they said as long as there was no conviction then I will be fine. I explained the whole situation and that is what they said. Again I will carry all relevent documents just incase.
 
I just called ICE as well and they said as long as there was no conviction then I will be fine. I explained the whole situation and that is what they said. Again I will carry all relevent documents just incase.

If you did a pre-trial program, that is an admission of guilt per immigration law. Once you are fingerprinted, the record cannot be erased from access by immigration and the FBI. It would be erased from the rest of the public……expunctions have no effect on immigration and you must admit to the arrest and pretrial program to immigration officials. Non prosecution or dismissed cases to immigration does not necessarily constitute a non- conviction. A plea deal or pretrial program is considered a conviction. Who ever told you that at ICE is wrong based on the information you have provided in all your post here. If you did a pretrial program to get the case dismissed or not prosecuted, it is a deal which would mean guilt and view as a conviction. Immigration would ask for all the court papers to view and evaluate.
 
I knew it was too good to be true. Now I am really upset I am supposed to be leaving in four weeks and if I cannot get back into the country then I cannot leave. Round in circles I go again trying to get this straight. I seriously do not know what to do now.
 
I strongly advice you not to leave the US under such circumstances......some people do and are lucky to get back in with no problems. Your offense does not meet the exception and would need your immigration lawyer to review it and see if the court papers were well structured to address immigration concerns. The length of time you have been in the US before the offense also matters......... So just consult with an immigration attorney who can review all relevant documents and let you know your best options or how to proceed. Who knows, it might have been well structured per your state's law. Most immigration lawyers would charge under a 100$ for initial consultation which would address your questions and situation.
 
Thankyou I did some research and made some calls last night. Just trying to find a lawyer here in VA/MD/DC area who is schooled in SC law.
 
Just Google criminal and immigration lawyers in your town and state................get some numbers and call for free consultations............then chose an experienced one. You can even use yellow pages......
 
Ok update...

Spoke to SLED and got a really helpful lady on the telephone. The reason my record is not showing up in their files is because (she can only guess since it is not there) that the arresting agency did not send in the finger prints to them. The FBI will not accept fingerprints from any other law enforcement agency in SC except them.

She checked the database on fingerprints and information that had been sent to the FBI and my name, ssn, birthdate was not there.

So SLED never got my information and therfore neither did the FBI!?!?!?

I am still looking for an immigration attorney but the only one with any experience near where I am is going to charge $1700 ?!?!?!?
 
That is interesting...........But I would not bet on that lady's research alone. When you get a local lawyer, they would advice you about the risks of not admitting to the record. False representation on a federal form is a crime.......Expunctions are not recognized by immigration...... Just go see a lawyer for free initial consultation just to get a general view on your case. Most immigration lawyers would do that for free on your first visit or charge 100$ on average. Let us know how it goes..........
 
I would never risk not admitting it if asked but if I am travelling through the airport and nothing comes up on their screen then they will not ask me....fingers crossed. Still looking for a lawyer...I should have gone to court and fought this charge but I guess hindsight is an exact science.
 
Let us know how it goes............
 
I went to NZ and I came back through San Fran and everything was fine. No Questions nothing. I think that I have gotten very very lucky with the Local Dept not reporting anything to anyone and that is why immigration doesnt know.

I wonder if USCIS knows if ICE doesn't? especially since I have to apply to have my conditions removed at the end of the year?
 
Nice to know...............Just be honest about it if it comes up. You never know if their systems might be updated with the information by then.
 
Hi How did things go?

That thread is over four years old.

I doubt seriously the OP will ever respond.

Please don't post to OLD threads, thank you.


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