Please help, Shoplifting in texas

[naresh161]

Hello to all,

I was on F1 visa in 2010 in texas, I did shoplifting from a big electronics store(35$ worth) so they took my photographs, fingerprints and did put me in jail for an hour. They gave me a minute to call my friend to get me out of jail by paying some money(I guess its bail kind of thing).And I had hearing after a month, for which I didnt attend, but went to court clerk and signed "accepted guilty" form and paid $600 fine. 10 days later I got a letter from the electronics store to pay $100 to restock the device and so I mailed the moneyorder. After that I had like 3 speeding tickets with one being major where I had to pay $300. And after that I joined a consutant company and got my H1 approved for 3 years. Till now no one knows about it except me and my friend, not even my employer...... I dont even have any documents related to that shoplifting. I did visited India before H1 got approved with no problem. But now I am planning to go canada for stamping. Please suggest me what to do...

Thanks.

[Attorney_23]

You will definitely need to reveal the arrest/conviction on your DS-160. I suggest you read this article:

http://www.murthy.com/2012/09/21/criminal-violations-and-immigration/

[test_litmus]

Hello to all,

I was on F1 visa in 2010 in texas, I did shoplifting from a big electronics store(35$ worth) so they took my photographs, fingerprints and did put me in jail for an hour. They gave me a minute to call my friend to get me out of jail by paying some money(I guess its bail kind of thing).And I had hearing after a month, for which I didnt attend, but went to court clerk and signed "accepted guilty" form and paid $600 fine. 10 days later I got a letter from the electronics store to pay $100 to restock the device and so I mailed the moneyorder. After that I had like 3 speeding tickets with one being major where I had to pay $300. And after that I joined a consutant company and got my H1 approved for 3 years. Till now no one knows about it except me and my friend, not even my employer...... I dont even have any documents related to that shoplifting. I did visited India before H1 got approved with no problem. But now I am planning to go canada for stamping. Please suggest me what to do...

Thanks.

why do u wana go to cannada,

email me at ******** @yahoo.com,v can discuss

[rickmim6]

hi

I got caught in jc penny for 100 doll worth merchandise no arrest no fingerprints were taken. i have court date on april 10 my attorney told me i will be on probation for 6 months. Till 6 months my records shows as conviction but for immigration it always shows as conviction .presently i am on F1 status and graduating this month i am confused wether to apply for OPT or not if some one has the same problem please suggest me it will be really appreciated.

[test_litmus]

hi

I got caught in jc penny for 100 doll worth merchandise no arrest no fingerprints were taken. i have court date on april 10 my attorney told me i will be on probation for 6 months. Till 6 months my records shows as conviction but for immigration it always shows as conviction .presently i am on F1 status and graduating this month i am confused wether to apply for OPT or not if some one has the same problem please suggest me it will be really appreciated.

u r not convicted till the final outcome of it

[naresh161]

Hello All,

I made background on my self and nothing came in the report, I also checked with the county clerks office to search any records on my name and date of birth but they said "No Records found". I did not have SSN issued to me at the time of incident so I did not use SSN in all checks so what should I do now?

[Attorney_23]

Hello All,

I made background on my self and nothing came in the report, I also checked with the county clerks office to search any records on my name and date of birth but they said "No Records found". I did not have SSN issued to me at the time of incident so I did not use SSN in all checks so what should I do now?

I hope you do not not plan on trying to conceal this arrest on your DS-160 simply because you couldn't find evidence of it when you conducted a background check.

[t75]

The time to worry about the effects of the shoplifting was before you decided to steal the items. You now have to live with the consequences for the rest of your life.

[naresh161]

Hi Attorney_23,

The problem is I dont have the case number nor any single document regarding the case. I am planning to get some documents so that I can show to the consulate officer, even if I say yes in DS 160 forms, I dont have documents to show to the consulate officer, what should I do., I called the county clerks office, they said I dont have any records, I even looked up online records in other near by county clerks offices but no records found.... can you suggest me any way to get the documents so that I can have a copy of those...

[naresh161]

Hello t75,

Yes you are right, I should have thought this before doing that mistake, there is no single day went by without worrying about it till today and I didnt do any mistakes till now after that incident nor I am planning to do in future.... I repent about it on every day of my life and I also hate myself doing that mistake, after that incident I cannot live like a normal person, I just cannot believe that I did that, even after 3 years I cannot cope up with that. How should I manage my future(family and kids) with this stupid thing in my life...Thats the reason I was looking if there is a way I can take it off my records so that I can behave like a normal person and bring back the smile I lost. may be like a donaton or community service or some thing which can clear that off my record so that I can proudly talk with anyone and say "I am a good person". I believe its just because of I am not so matured at that time, its that phase where we turn from teen to adult where we have teen feelings in between adults and think "this is not a big mistake" but it ended up as a big one. I just hate myself everyday after that.

[Attorney_23]

Hi Attorney_23,

The problem is I dont have the case number nor any single document regarding the case. I am planning to get some documents so that I can show to the consulate officer, even if I say yes in DS 160 forms, I dont have documents to show to the consulate officer, what should I do., I called the county clerks office, they said I dont have any records, I even looked up online records in other near by county clerks offices but no records found.... can you suggest me any way to get the documents so that I can have a copy of those...

You would need to speak with an attorney in that state who handles criminal law; see if s/he can help you find your records. But, before you do that, I would suggest going back to the clerk's office. If you pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor in 2010, I find it hard to believe the court would not have any record of this. Maybe you just happened to speak to someone at the clerk's office who was too lazy or incompetent to locate the records. Ask to speak to a supervisor, if necessary.

Whatever you do, do NOT lie on the DS-160, etc. Just because you didn't find your records does not mean the government won't. And, the consequences for lying on such an application are extremely severe.

Hello t75,

Yes you are right, I should have thought this before doing that mistake, there is no single day went by without worrying about it till today and I didnt do any mistakes till now after that incident nor I am planning to do in future.... I repent about it on every day of my life and I also hate myself doing that mistake, after that incident I cannot live like a normal person, I just cannot believe that I did that, even after 3 years I cannot cope up with that. How should I manage my future(family and kids) with this stupid thing in my life...Thats the reason I was looking if there is a way I can take it off my records so that I can behave like a normal person and bring back the smile I lost. may be like a donaton or community service or some thing which can clear that off my record so that I can proudly talk with anyone and say "I am a good person". I believe its just because of I am not so matured at that time, its that phase where we turn from teen to adult where we have teen feelings in between adults and think "this is not a big mistake" but it ended up as a big one. I just hate myself everyday after that.

Everyone makes mistakes. The most important thing is that you learn from them. I trust that you learned the consequences of being dishonest through the consequences of this action -- do not commit the same mistake again (including when you are completing your immigration forms!)

[rbk]

You would need to speak with an attorney in that state who handles criminal law; see if s/he can help you find your records. But, before you do that, I would suggest going back to the clerk's office. If you pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor in 2010, I find it hard to believe the court would not have any record of this. Maybe you just happened to speak to someone at the clerk's office who was too lazy or incompetent to locate the records. Ask to speak to a supervisor, if necessary.

Whatever you do, do NOT lie on the DS-160, etc. Just because you didn't find your records does not mean the government won't. And, the consequences for lying on such an application are extremely severe.

Everyone makes mistakes. The most important thing is that you learn from them. I trust that you learned the consequences of being dishonest through the consequences of this action -- do not commit the same mistake again (including when you are completing your immigration forms!)

As long as the case is not expunged,the court will hav the documents.If you call the court admin and give u;r DOB first nam or last name.

As regards background check if it is not expunged and if you had given your finger prints to FBI or even to Texas DPS at Ausin,it will definitly show up.You can even call up and ask.From what you ar saying its a conviction becauce you paid the fine..

Good thing :Class C misdemnor is punishable only by fine in texas and has no jail terms .A speeding violation in texas is also a class C.Theft under 50$ is hanled by municipal court in texas .

Negetiv thing,end of the day it is still a conviction and can come up.Convictin is not desirable for both imig and emloytment

My case was tx so Iam saying.if you need any more inputs u can reach me at **********@yahoo.com

[test_litmus]

The good part is its a Class C - theft under 50$ .The max punishment for this is only fine in tx

But the thing is you paid fine and got convicted for class C

you can go to the court ,give your first name last name DOB,SSN and search

[test_litmus]

The good part is its a Class C - theft under 50$ .The max punishment for this is only fine in tx

But the thing is you paid fine and got convicted for class C

you can go to the court ,give your first name last name DOB,SSN and search

also do FBI fingerprint chec or TX DPS fingerpritn chk it wil ome up