Navigating Immigration: Key Legal Updates and Success Stories

An arrest and a pending charge would prevent a person from acquiring a green card or citizenship. A conviction of possession of more than 30g of marijuana, can result in one’s deportation… Some misdemeanors or criminal violations are pose a problem when applying for permanent residency or citizenship. By paying the fine, you are pleading guilty to a criminal offense, which cannot be expunged or erased. If you are not a permanent resident, any contact with the police may pose a threat to your immigration status. Arrests can hurt your chances of getting a work visa, citizenship, or permanent residence.

Many States step on a path to liberalize marihuana use. However, for Federal and Immigration purposes, marijuana possession and sale is still an issue. New York State decided to address this discrepancy in its own way. Starting from September 1, 2018, the NYPD will begin issuing tickets for most cases of public marijuana-smoking rather than making arrests. Arrests will only be made under a few circumstances, such as if someone is on probation or parole, has a lack of proper identification, has outstanding warrants, has a history of violence or if their smoking poses a public safety risk, such as smoking marijuana behind the wheel of an automobile. Issuing tickets, formally referred to criminal summons, leave a permanent criminal record. The summons will result in a ticket that is estimated to be about $100, and requires an appearance in court. If you fail to appear in court to pay the fine, this will result in a warrant for arrest.

For those applying for citizenship, it is important to have all the necessary documents and requirements, and to include all criminal history on your N-400 form. For those looking for permanent residency, often you will need to fill out an I-601A waiver for the criminal summons. Our office can handle both these forms. If you would like our credited immigration attorney to analyze your case specifically regarding your criminal history and immigration status, please contact our office to schedule a consultation. You can book your consultation today by calling 917-885-2261.

2. SUCCSESS STORY: WINNING ASYLUM AFTER NOID

Client X came to me, showing the NOID that was received after the asylum interview. The NOID stated that even though X was found credible during the interview, the reasons of the misfortunes X suffered in home country could have been other than religious persecution. X was very upset. X was a devoted member of the religion group that was severely persecuted in X’s home country. While I have to agree, that at times, the reasons why one is fired can be argued to be due to the country’s economy, in X’s case, due to proximity of the events and comments made to X it was obvious economy was not the issue. I reviewed X’s case and developed a plan of how to respond to the NOID. The issue with NOID is that an applicant has only 16 days to respond to it. 16 days, in reality less than 2 weeks to prepare a brief, new evidence and response to strong government’s arguments to try to save someone from persecution in their home country. First, I asked X to submit letters of support from all possible witnesses, including family members. Second, because X was suffering from an undeniable trauma, I asked that X would seek an expert opinion about the situation which we submittedto the Asylum office. I did extensive country conditions research, proving that what happened to X was not a random occurrence. That members of the X’s religion, were systematically and purposefully persecuted in X’s home country. I also prepared a strong legal argument in favor of X’s claim: I remembered one court’s decision, where the judge had a very strong point on the issue: “having to practice religion underground to avoid punishment is itself a form of persecution.” About two months after we submitted the response to NOID, Asylum office granted X’s application. I do not take for granted any victory, and I always make sure to tell this to clients: we did it together: X, by following my advice, and collecting all evidence X could within the ten days we had; I, by using my legal skills to convince the government that there was no safe place X could return to… Now, X is free to practice religion of X’s choice, safely and freely!