I recently got married. My wife needs to apply for an H-4 visa.
She visited the US in 2001. Four days before she was scheduled to leave the country, she got caught mistakenly walking out of a department store with a $30 dollar bag. She was arrested, -- she was not handcuffed -- taken to the precinct, fingerprinted, and then presented to the magistrate. He told her that she'll get a court notice to appear in court and pay a fine. She was charged with shoplifting an item under $500. Then she was told to leave and wait for a court notice. She was also told that she was on a 6 month probation. Right about then, she left the country as scheduled and did not receive any court notices. (We have found out that a notice was indeed received by her relative while my wife was still in the country, and the relative did not pass the information along.)
Earlier this year she applied for an H-4 visa. Having forgotten the past incidence, she checked "No" against the question regarding arrests and convictions. The consulate received her application and took her fingerprints. At the interview her application was temporarily refused on the grounds that she lacked an original I-797 and her birth certificate. She was told to come back with the missing documents. No mention was made of the past arrest.
The 2001 incident was brought up by someone after the first visa interview. We immediately hired a lawyer in Maryland, who moved to recalendar the shoplifting case, settle it, and get the bench warrant withdrawn. The administrative judge in Maryland has refused to recalendar. So the case is awaiting final adjucation. I don't know how that will be resolved.
Meanwhile, we are uncomfortable about getting a visa based on an application that we now know is misleading. We have withdrawn it today. We plan to file another application mentioning the arrest. We don't think there has been a conviction on this case yet; something we are trying to find out now. What are our chances of getting an entry visa for my wife?
This is robbing me of my nights' sleep, so your help will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
She visited the US in 2001. Four days before she was scheduled to leave the country, she got caught mistakenly walking out of a department store with a $30 dollar bag. She was arrested, -- she was not handcuffed -- taken to the precinct, fingerprinted, and then presented to the magistrate. He told her that she'll get a court notice to appear in court and pay a fine. She was charged with shoplifting an item under $500. Then she was told to leave and wait for a court notice. She was also told that she was on a 6 month probation. Right about then, she left the country as scheduled and did not receive any court notices. (We have found out that a notice was indeed received by her relative while my wife was still in the country, and the relative did not pass the information along.)
Earlier this year she applied for an H-4 visa. Having forgotten the past incidence, she checked "No" against the question regarding arrests and convictions. The consulate received her application and took her fingerprints. At the interview her application was temporarily refused on the grounds that she lacked an original I-797 and her birth certificate. She was told to come back with the missing documents. No mention was made of the past arrest.
The 2001 incident was brought up by someone after the first visa interview. We immediately hired a lawyer in Maryland, who moved to recalendar the shoplifting case, settle it, and get the bench warrant withdrawn. The administrative judge in Maryland has refused to recalendar. So the case is awaiting final adjucation. I don't know how that will be resolved.
Meanwhile, we are uncomfortable about getting a visa based on an application that we now know is misleading. We have withdrawn it today. We plan to file another application mentioning the arrest. We don't think there has been a conviction on this case yet; something we are trying to find out now. What are our chances of getting an entry visa for my wife?
This is robbing me of my nights' sleep, so your help will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks