Drug Crimes, Substance Abuse Tourist and Diversion program

[william perez]

Jurisdiction

Arizona

Hello,
A year ago when i was 20 i went to the United States for vacation and i have a cousin who has a medical marijuana card for california, i dont know much about how the medical stuff works with the law. I dont smoke marijuana but when i was in Arizona i went with my cousin to one lf her friends house who has a medical card as well so they smoked i did not smoke with them, me and my cousin left and my cousins friend let her borrow a pipe and my cousins had leggins on so she could not put the pipe in any pockits and had no purse so asked if i could carry it i thought it would be no problem sents it had no weed in the pipe and i didnt know little the resin would be bad and its called paraphernalia i found out that night xD so after we left my cousin wanted to go in an ally so she could smoke a joint on the way to her moms house and when she was almost done the police came and gave us citations but we never got fingerprinted and had to go to court we informed the cop it was hers but sents i had it it was possesion and i dont remember if they gave us another for marijuana use but we got diversion and a diploma that said we finished the course so after that i came back to my country but i no longer have the diploma because it got wet with some of my other things so i had to throw it away and i was wondering if i go back for summer vacation for a month would that make any problems the lady i asked in the court room said it would not but i wanted to make sure because what i have is a U.S tourist visa

 

[army judge]

Hello,
A year ago when i was 20 i went to the United States for vacation and i have a cousin who has a medical marijuana card for california, i dont know much about how the medical stuff works with the law. I dont smoke marijuana but when i was in Arizona i went with my cousin to one lf her friends house who has a medical card as well so they smoked i did not smoke with them, me and my cousin left and my cousins friend let her borrow a pipe and my cousins had leggins on so she could not put the pipe in any pockits and had no purse so asked if i could carry it i thought it would be no problem sents it had no weed in the pipe and i didnt know little the resin would be bad and its called paraphernalia i found out that night xD so after we left my cousin wanted to go in an ally so she could smoke a joint on the way to her moms house and when she was almost done the police came and gave us citations but we never got fingerprinted and had to go to court we informed the cop it was hers but sents i had it it was possesion and i dont remember if they gave us another for marijuana use but we got diversion and a diploma that said we finished the course so after that i came back to my country but i no longer have the diploma because it got wet with some of my other things so i had to throw it away and i was wondering if i go back for summer vacation for a month would that make any problems the lady i asked in the court room said it would not but i wanted to make sure because what i have is a U.S tourist visa

Only the US IMMIGRATION AUTHORITIES can answer your question with 100% certainty.

www.uscis.gov

 

[Michael Wechsler]

This is impossible to answer since we don't know the charge and whether it's even possible that you were part of a diversion program which allowed for the charges to be dropped, etc. But that doesn't really matter because you can certainly apply for a tourist visa. You'll only know whether you're going to be denied if and when that happens. And I don't think that what we tell you might happen would matter if you applied for a tourist visa and it was granted.

 

[william perez]

I actually have a tourist visa still for the next 7 years i wanted to know if when i go for vacation if they will deny me from entering

 

[Michael Wechsler]

The basic standard for admission based upon criminal actions are whether the crime is considered a crime in moral turpitude or CIMT. U.S. Customs and Border Protections recommends:

Generally, any convictions for drug possession can result in denial of entry. If the conviction was long ago, you might contact the U.S. Embassy, Office of Consular Affairs in your country to obtain a waiver. Other misdemeanors may result in denial if they were recent.

You may wish to speak to a U.S. Embassy. But they will likely not be able to provide a good answer without knowing with what you were charged. It's difficult to believe that you wouldn't keep a backup record if you were intending to return. That said, here is the list of what is considered a Crime in Moral Turpitude. From my reading and understanding of your crime I would guess that it might not be a problem and doesn't rise to the level of being a CIMT and you may have no conviction as well - but I cannot be sure. You have a better understanding of your options now. Good luck.