H-1B Stamping with a Misdemeanor Theft Case on the Record - Success Story

aryandone

By aryandone,
in Criminal Issues

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aryandone Newbie

aryandone

Posted
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I had a misdemeanor for retail theft 2 and half years back and got it dismissed with in a month through a  pretrial diversion. I took an educational  class and later the case was dismissed and expunged. I went to India after to get my visa stamped very recently and got it stamped successfully. I am a full-time employee working for one of the fortune 500 companies. I wanted to talk about my experience so that people who are in similar kind of situation can gain some confidence and face the situation a little bravely.


 


 Firstly there are certain thing which one needs to do even before the Visa interview.


 


1.) Maintain proper documentation-  Arrest Record, Court records, a letter from your attorney, Police Clearance Certificate, pre-trial completion certificate, any other document related to your case.


 


2.) Mention about your arrest in the DS-160- This is the most important thing. Never lie about it. They will have all the information.


 


And now about the interview, 


 


 


ME: Hello mam, good morning how are you?


VO: I am doing great, thanks. Which company are your working for?


ME: XYZ 


VO: What do you do there ?


ME: XYZ


VO: What's your annual pay?


ME: XYZ


VO: Did you do your Masters in US ?


ME: Yes Mam, I did my Masters in XXXXX from YYYYY. 


VO: What was your previous company?


ME: XYZ


VO: Great ! Your visa is approved. You can pick it up in 2 days.


 


 


Yes. They didn't ask me about my arrest in the visa interview or at the port of entry as I very clearly mentioned the whole event in the description in DS-160 form I filled.


 


I hope this brings in hope for those who were arrested and not convicted. If you are convicted it's a totally different story.


 


Thanks !!! 


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deshpremi Member

deshpremi

Posted
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That's good to hear. To add to the above comment, I totally agree with it. Always tell the truth. I had a misdemeanor with pretrial diversion( no conviction). This was when my GC was in process, at least 6 months before. Luckily, there was no interview and got my GC. I have travelled out of country multiple times without any problem at the POE. Again, I personally think, it could vary by officers who are at the POE or at GC processing.

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aryandone Newbie

aryandone

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Adding to above question how did you expunge your records? After dismissal wouldnt the charges be expunged automatically?

 

You will have to hire an attorney to help you with the expungement. No, a dismissal would not expunge the charge. A petition to expunge the record has to be filled which has to be then approved by the magistrate. Sometimes they might accept your petition and sometime they might reject. It would all depend on how good of an attorney you hire and what all information they have on your arrest. Say you really did the crime and you are being given pre-trail as a mercy you might not be eligible for an expungement in some states in US . In my case my arrest was based on a pure misunderstanding. 

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Catty123 Member

Catty123

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Hi,

I am on H4 visa and got ordinance violation for petit theft but later case got dismissed without conviction with diversion programme..

When I ask for expungement I got a reply saying Ordinance violation are not criminal in nature in Illinois state so can not expunge it..

Now my visa extension is due in next month so I have feel form i539 and in that form there is question " have u arrested or convicted after last entering in US" I will say yes as I got ordinance violation but not convicted but do I need to send more document other than court disposition letter...?

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