Fishing Without A Valid License
I am now in Virginia. I am a foreigner. I've been in the US for 1 year.
My friend bought a fishing license and was told that one license can cover up to 2 fishing lines. So we assumed that I don't need to buy a license for I can use one of the three lines covered by my friend's license.
The other day, we were fishing by a river. I was caught by a police. He said I violated the law by fishing without a valid license. He issued me a uniform summons. I was imposed a fine penalty. That is $35. I explained to the warden that I didn't know that I couldn't use the fishing lines covered by my friend's license. But that police said I did violate the law, though I did it unintentionally. And he told me that if I went to the court, the judge will probably dismiss me.
But today I was set by the Judge to be the 3rd class of misdiminor, and paid about 103.5 dollars finement which composed of 25 dollars (35-10) +61+5+12.5 which made me very nervous, the crime code is '29.1-335'.
So my question is:"will this had a big influence for my future carrer? As a phd student, I still have 4 years to graduate, will this crime come into my record? And will it had bad influence on my job hunting, or visa interview if I go back to my home country? If so, how long will take it to be removed from my file? do I have any chance to amend the guilt? because I violated the law unintentionally.
So any comments on my situation?
Thanks very much in advance!
Criminal Conviction from Illegal Fishing
The ticket probably will be treated as falling under the petty offense exception, when it comes to immigration issues; but to be sure you need to consult an immigration lawyer.
You should also consider talking to a local criminal defense lawyer about your situation, as it sounds like a lot happened in court that you didn't completely understand.