My wife's H4 visa valid till Feb 2019 and she got arrested in shoplifting case

[pavan2018]

Hello,

We are in a deeply humiliated situation due to a small mistake of forgetting to checkout some clothes in a shop and my wife who has H4 visa valid till Feb 2019 got arrested last thursday in georgia.

Here is the current situation:

1) I have hired a criminal attorney but he seems to be not much knowledgeable on the current immigration situation for Indians. But he is trying for diversion program to dismiss the case and eventually getting the record expunged.

2) When it comes to USCIS I am not sure if USCIS will be immediately informed about the arrest (which will lead to deportation).

3) Also, we need to apply for our H1B and H4 extension since there is only 3 months time left to go for extension process. One more issue here is we are not sure if USCIS will verify the arrest records during extension process and deny the visas.

Please advice the best path that I need to take to come out of this situation.

[pontevecchio]

Get an Immigration lawyer involved, maybe the firm of Murthy to touch base with your current lawyer.

[pavan2018]

Thanks for the suggestion! 

Please could you advice on below:

we need to apply for our H1B and H4 extension since there is only 3 months time left to go for extension process. One more issue here is we are not sure if USCIS will verify the arrest records during extension process and deny the visa

[pontevecchio]

Damage limitation should be the first priority. You should file the H1 and H4 extensions soon and see what happens. 

[pavan2018]

Thanks. I was just checking the I-539 form for H4 extension which is having a question  about arrest information after last arrival to usa. If I say Yes here please suggest about the consequences

[SimpleFavor]

DO NOT PANIC. First of all, hire an attorney who is specialized in both immigration and criminal field. Shoplifting in USA is a criminial offense. So get the charge amended to some non criminal charge( check with attorney about this). Meanwhile you would file your extensions and be honest in filling any applications. Worst scenario, you would get an RFE to submit the certified court doc about your case. You can get this once your case is processed by the attorney in the court.