Criminal Law Misdemeanor petty theft; apllied for citizenship

[somy27]

Hi everyone, I am new to the forum.

My problem is that I have a dismissed record for a misdemeanor petty theft. I took a defferment class and had a total of 6 month probation. This was my first offense. I would like to know:

1) Can I get my record expunged or sealed? I live in the state of CA.
2) Will I be able to gain citizenship after being a permanent legal resident for 10 years?

I would really appreciate some help because I was just released from a Banking job because I have this on my criminal record.

Thank you!

 

[NYClex]

Yes, you probably can get a "dismissal". Here is a pretty good explanation of what you have to do and what effect it will have:

http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp/other/crimlawclean.htm#whatdo

For immigration matters though, the record will stand, that means you have to answer any questions regarding a conviction with yes - case dismissed. But luckily for you, if this was your first and only conviction, you should benefit of an exemption in the immigration law which holds that you are not inadmissible with a conviction or arrest record for a crime of moral turpitude if this is the only incidence and if the crime was a misdemeanor not punishable with more than one year.