Criminal Law Conditional discharge caused denial

[the3rdMan]

Help - Naturalization denied - N-366 Appeal question

Hi - i was given a conditional discharge on a disorderly conduct charge a year ago. (the underlying situation is so unbelievably minor and convoluted that i won't bother posting here. Lets just say the charge was less than a traffic violation and does not jeopardize my naturalization). I did not know a conditional discharge was tantamount to probation so my application was automatically denied after passing the naturalization interview because the year is not yet up for the discharge. My question is should I bother to do a n-336 appeal? The discharge will be done by the hearing and my record will be completely clean. Do they take that into account? If I do appeal should I get affidavits from witnesses who were there and saw what a minor situation it was and how the officer completely over-reacted? Or should I just reapply?

 

[mafioso]

You did not state the exact charge............It matters and I can't tell if your offense is a CIMT. If it is, you would have to wait for five years before re-applying. To be a US citizen you have to show good moral character for atleast five years. So you have to wait for atleast five years from the day of the offense or crime you where charged with........an appeal would lead to thesame result. Probation and pretrial interventions are viewed in immigration law as a conviction.

 

[the3rdMan]

That was the charge - disorderly conduct. Nothing more nothing less - not even a misdemeanor. Long back story with a valid explanation but an out of control officer arrested me because i went thru a turnstile for subway without a ticket (I was stuck in the line). Pled down to a disorderly and a conditional discharge to get rid of it after a year. Its discharged this July - the appeal hearing would be after the discharge ends - does that come into play? That the charge would be off my record by the hearing and the conditional discharge would no longer exist?
And are you telling me a non-misdemeanor disorderly conduct bars me for naturalization for another 5 years?

 

[mafioso]

Sorry I did not see your charge on your first post.....Where you given a reason for the denial?
Your charge is a minor one and should not pose you problems. Disorderly conduct is not viewed as a CIMT. So you should be fine. what exactly did the denial notice or letter say?
What was the original charge? You say it was pled down to disorderly conduct?
The original charge could determine if you have to wait for five years under certain circumstances......

 

[the3rdMan]

The issue wasn't the charges. The issue was that they considered a conditional discharge the same as probation and you can't be given citizenship until your probation is over. But calling a conditional discharge probation is like calling a traffic ticket a felony. You can't even get probation for disorderly conduct if you wanted to. Unfortunately a recent federal ruling held that federal courts can use discharges as equal to probation when sentencing (you get harsher sentences with prior probationary periods on your record). Its a ridiculous ruling but my main question is that since the discharge ends way before the appeal is heard will the person ruling on the appeal take that into account? Or is he stuck with the time frame of the actual rejection? So can he say, Ok the discharge is like probation but now that its over Ill just OK the citizenship now.

 

[mafioso]

If you were told that it you were denied because of the probation still in progress, then you would probably get it if the probation is over by appeal time. As I said earlier the five year rule normally applies if they denied you due to a record.

 

[cherryhillNJ]

Similar Issue

Hello,
I also had a application for naturalization denied due to "poor moral character" because I was arrested for possession of Marijuana (less than 30 grams) and got a conditional discharge for a year (expires in 10 months).
I just received my denial letter yesterday and they give me an option to "Request a Hearing" using form N-336. So, my question is: Do I have a chance to be approved for naturalization even if I'm under the conditional discharge? Or I have to wait until it's over and then apply again (but in this case I would have to wait 5 years, because that what it says in the letter).

So, should I file this "Request for Hearing" and pay $600 or it's automatic denial because I'm under conditional discharge.

Thanks

 

[mafioso]

Your appeal would still be denied. Just wait five years.