Impact of Criminal Charges for Immigrants

For individuals facing criminal charges there are a lot of things to be worried about.  People worry about their reputation, possible impact on their work or job, how much is it going to cost, am I going to go to jail?  These are a few of the questions and worries that may go through your mind.  However, if you are an immigrant a new layer is added.  When you are an immigrant and you are convicted or plead guilty to a crime there is the possibility that there will be immigration consequences.

Contract with the United States

When an alien applies for immigrant or non-immigrant status they are making an offer to the US government that they will come to the United States and abide by the rules and regulations that govern our country.  When the United States offers the alien resident status or any other immigrant status they are agreeing to allow you into the United States as long as you abide by the rules and regulations.  When you accept the visa and come to the United States you are implicitly and explicitly agreeing to conform to the rules and regulations of the United States.

When you are convicted of a crime or plead guilty/no contest to a crime you are admitting that you broke your contract with the United States.

Consequences of Your Breach

There are a number of things that can happen after you plead guilty.  The consequences depend on a number of factors but the two most important are; 1) type of crime 2) length of time served.

Type of Crime

In criminal law there are three types of crimes, infractions, misdemeanors and felonies.  Infractions are minor crimes in which you generally have to pay a fine, e.g. speeding or rolling through a stop sign.  Misdemeanors are more serious and you can face up to a year in prison.  Misdemeanors include simple assault, your first DUI, trespassing and other low level crimes.  Felonies are crimes in which your sentence is a minimum of one year in county or state prison.

Infractions will rarely if ever have any impact on your immigration status.  Misdemeanors can potentially have an impact on your immigration status.  Felonies will have an impact on your immigration status.  When dealing with misdemeanors and felonies it is important to find out if the crime is an aggravated felony.  Aggravated felonies are not defined by the Immigration and Nationality Act, but are defined by statute and can be determined by the wording of the criminal statute.  Therefore, the same crime in two different states may have different immigration consequences.

Time Served

The amount of time you serve in prison or custody will have an impact on your immigration status.  If you serve too much time one or two things may happen.  First, the longer you are in custody the more likely the immigration services will find out about you and may begin deportation proceedings.  Second, the longer you spend in custody your options begin to disappear as to correcting the immigration violation.

Options After Pleading Guilty/Serving Time

After looking at the above mentioned factors there may or may not be options for you.  You may be able to request a waiver or do an adjustment of status.  If your crime was fairly minor you may want to become a US citizen (as long as the other requirements are met) and therefore you cannot be deported.  You may go into deportation proceedings, which are a stressful event in anyone’s life.  A qualified attorney can help keep you in the United States even after committing a crime.