Two or More Offenses. However convicted, if the aggregate conviction is for 5 years or more of confinement, even if suspended, brings you into this section- Persons ordered Removed. If you have been deported or leave while deportation is pending, you face 10 years away unless you have permission to re-enter sooner from the AG (Attorney General). The case you file is a 212 waiver (please do not simply fill out the form without a legal brief. This is the legal equivalent of open-heart surgery and should not be attempted as a do-it-yourself exercise);
- People who have overstayed by 6 months or 1 year; they are subject to 3 and 10-year bars, respectively (this law took effect April 1st of 1997). This section kicks in, by the way, once you leave the country;
- If you are granted Voluntary Departure and do not leave, you will be in a state of unlawful presence as of the date the Voluntary Departure expires and you add on any unlawful presence you had before the Voluntary Departure. However, if you are granted Voluntary Departure after proceedings began, you will not be subject to the 3-year bar, but will be subject to the 10-year bar
- People who evaded the draft cannot receive citizenship
- If you claimed to be a U.S. citizen and were not, you are inadmissible (Note August 2008 changes). However, we have won a case where the person mistakenly thought he was a citizen so you have to remember that while no waiver is available, you still must have committed the offence in order for it to be held against you
- If you voted and couldn't, you are inadmissible, no matter how strongly you felt about the candidate (again, there is an exception)
International Child Abduction. Watch this one. If the judge ruled your ex-spouse has custody and you take the child, this is a serious problem for you.
As you have learned, many grounds allow for waivers (or forgiveness) but you have to file a very serious and difficult case. The form is I-601 is for all grounds of inadmissibility. If you have a criminal record, they will want your fingerprints, a form called G325A and a police report from all countries in which you have lived. Lastly, they want to see that you have rehabilitated and don't come to the U.S. to continue a life of crime! Be careful with the I601 form. Many people receive an I-601 form from the government and think that all they need to do is fill it out in order to get the immigration waiver approved. In 23 years of being a lawyer I have never heard of someone winning an I601 waiver case like that. The heart of an I-601 is the legal brief that goes with it. Let me explain the brief as some of you may not know what I am referring to.
An I-601 is simply a form. This I601 form is filled out and a filing fee is paid. It takes a matter of minutes to fill out an I601. However, it does not 'make a case'. What you need to do is research laws, regulations, and cases that support your position. This I061 supporting document can be anywhere from 10 to pages long and take anywhere from 16 to 120 hours to produce, depending on how many issues are involved.
It is harder and harder to get away with anything as the government has several systems in place that can share information. The USCIS has a computer system called NAILS (National Automated Immigration Lookout System) as well as IBIS (Interagency Border Inspection System). The State Dept. has AVLOS (Automated Visa Lookout System) and CLASS (Consular Lookout and Support System). Customs has TECSII (Treasury Enforcement Communications System). Who thinks of all these acronyms...is this one person with a full-time job??
Expedited Removal
I wrote about this earlier. If you want to try it out, simply forget your Green Card or your NIV (Nonimmigrant Visa) documents. Another way to do it is to make a material (=important/but the definition is subject to legal interpretation) misrepresentation unless you are seeking asylum or fear persecution or terror. Other exceptions include natives or citizens of Cuba, and a few others. You will be facing detention.
And by the way....if you have a Green Card and a criminal record, left the country and were let back in...the government can still get rid of you based on a previous criminal conviction even if they let you in...
And still on the topic of criminal behavior....a conviction includes pleading nolo (nolo refers to the Latin term Nolo Contendre or ""no contest""=you caught me with my hand in the cookie jar and I don't really have a good answer for you). Suspended sentences are still considered final convictions. However, a conviction is only considered where it is final, not for example where it is kept 'on file'. KEY: Let's say you have a drug conviction. Let's say they stated you had 30 grams of Marijuana (MJ) and you state and had witnesses to prove you had 5. The conviction will not count for 30 but for what the evidence actually showed, ( i.e. not what you were charged with).
Expungements by the way, from State courts, do not count for immigration purposes. [Matter of Roldan, 22 I&N Dec 512 (BIA 1999)]; foreign expungements do not count either. Full and unconditional pardons by the President, State Governor, or other constitutionally recognized executive body can help with crimes of moral turpitude, multiple convictions, aggravated felonies and high-speed flight from a USCIS checkpoint.
KEY: If you have your plea or sentence vacated, then it can be erased for immigration purposes. If you have a criminal record, call us so we can discuss the particulars of the conviction and ascertain whether help is available; you have nothing to lose by asking; there is no charge for this type of evaluation by phone."