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Petty Theft Charges and Naturalization Interview

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  • 02-03-2010, 12:21 PM
    finik
    Petty Theft Charges and Naturalization Interview
    To make a long story short, I have an open criminal case with petty theft charges (shoplifting a $20 item). In Ohio, this constitutes a Class A Misdemeanor (6 mo jail, $1000 max punishment) and is a crime of moral turplitude, but also falls under the petty offense exception. Thus, I am not deportable/inadmissible. However, I am currently applying for Naturalization (process was started before the criminal charges occured, so they are not mentioned on the N-400 application). I have an interview scheduled in 20 days, and the criminal case will certainly not be resolved by then.

    My question is - is it safe/smart to go to the interview with an open criminal case? I would, of course, bring all documents, explain everything, etc. But would it be better to postpone the interview until after the criminal case is settled? Or withdraw entirely for now, and reapply later (if later, how much later - after probation is over, or 5 years later)?

    Also: does the petty offense exception apply to naturalization's CIMT parameters, or only to inadmissibility? In other words, would citizenship be automatically denied for the next 5 years, or would the petty offense exception apply?
  • 02-05-2010, 09:54 AM
    Mr. Knowitall
    Re: Petty Theft Charges and Naturalization Interview
    What would be smart? Consulting an immigration lawyer.

    This is the only offense on your record?

    You will be asked about your brushes with law enforcement. If you lie, you can expect them to find that out at some point and to deem you as having committed fraud. You don't want that.

    Do you have a criminal defense lawyer? Are you eligible for a possible dismissal under the circumstances? Perhaps your lawyer can accelerate the proceedings so that the criminal matter is resolved before your interview.

    The issue of whether this is a petty offense is apart from the question of whether you've shown "good moral character" over the past 3-5 years. Any criminal conviction during that look back period is likely to prevent naturalization.
  • 02-07-2010, 01:29 AM
    finik
    Re: Petty Theft Charges and Naturalization Interview
    Yes, this is the only offense EVER, not even a traffic ticket before.... Thus, I would not be lying when I said that I never had any other 'brushes with law enforcement'.

    And consulting immigration attorneys does not exactly work too well. 90% of them refuse to advise without being retained and attempt to scare me with threats of deportation and such (which is not even applicable in this case). As for the other 10%, I simply cannot afford their consultation fees (broke college student), and public defenders do not advise on immigration matters.

    I do have a criminal attorney, and he is working on getting me into a pretrial diversion program. Unfortunately, a matter of petty theft isn't exactly on top of the to-do list in the court, so it's proceeding very slowly.

    What I was trying to find out is whether the petty offense exception (which applies to inadmissibility) also applies to the bar on establishing good moral charater due to CIMT.
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