Fighting For My Reputation

5 Things You Need To Know About Committing A Crime During The Immigration Process

16 May 2017

Luke Warren

If you have committed a crime while you are trying to become a legal resident or citizen of the United States, you may be wondering how that affects your immigration status. There are variety of ways that a crime may affect your immigration status and process. Here's what you need to know.

1. You Can Deported for Some Crimes

If you are a legal permanent resident or if you are in some other stage of the immigration process, you may be deported for committing certain crimes. For example, imagine you have entered the country on a fiancé visa and you commit a serious crime. In this case, you may be deported. Similarly, if you are in the country on a work visa, you may also risk deportation for committing certain crimes. Only citizens can completely avoid deportation for very serious crimes.

2. There Are Deportation Waivers in Some Cases

In some cases, you can avoid deportation based on your situation. Essentially, you need to prove that the benefits of keeping you in the country outweigh the benefits of deporting you. For example, some people are able to avoid deportation because it would bring severe hardship on their family.

It is also possible to waive deportation in the interest of asylum. In this case, you would need to prove that you are physically threatened or severely discriminated against in your home country. However, in both of these cases, it depends on your crime — you will be a lot more likely to be deported for a serious violent offense than a misdemeanor like petty theft.

3. An Immigration Lawyer Can Help

Immigration lawyers can be essential throughout all of the immigration process, but they can be especially critical if you have committed a crime. To ensure you get the expert help you need, look for an attorney who has worked with the intersection of criminal and immigration law in the past. Visit a site like http://www.kasselandkassel.com for more information.

4. Crimes Can Affect Your Future Immigration Proceedings

If you commit a crime and the government doesn't threaten deportation, that doesn't mean that the crime is completely forgotten. It may become an issue in the future. In particular, if you are a legal permanent resident and you want to become a citizen, your request may be denied if certain crimes are on your record.  

In addition, crimes can also affect your chances of being approved for a cancellation of removal. To explain, imagine you are an illegal immigrant or undocumented immigrant and the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or another entity starts deportation proceedings. The deportation was not related to a crime. You just got on their radar.

In these types of cases, you may apply for a cancellation of removal. To qualify, you must have been living in the country for at least ten years, and your absence must cause distress to your family who should be citizens or legal permanent residents. In addition, immigration officials also want assurance that you have strong moral character part of proving that is showing that you have no serious crimes on your record.

5. You Can Vacate Some Crimes

Luckily, if you have crimes on your record, it can be possible to vacate some of them. Vacating a crime basically means that you set aside a verdict, and if you find an immigration attorney to help you vacate the crime, that can safeguard your record to make future immigration processes easier.

In order to vacate a crime, you must no longer be in jail or prison, or there must be evidence that you are innocent. There are several reasons for which you can vacate a crime and they include poor representation and not understanding the consequences of pleading guilty.

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