Zulma Lopez

Zulma Lopez

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Three steps before applying for your citizenship

This election cycle has prompted a surge in permanent residents wanting to apply for citizenship to be able to vote in the November 2016 presidential election. I have seen this with my clients, and my colleagues nationwide are seeing the same with their clients. The citizenship process can take six months or more to complete from the time of filing your application to your citizenship oath ceremony. If you have been considering becoming a United States citizen to participate in this year’s general election, time is running short. Don’t wait any longer and file your citizenship application today. Learn more about the citizenship application requirements here

Now, in this article, I want to discuss the three steps you should take before applying for citizenship if you have a criminal record. The motivation for this article is a consultation I had recently with a family who had already filed their citizenship applications on their own, but were concerned about a prior criminal conviction their son had after he became a permanent resident. I cannot stress enough how important it is to evaluate criminal convictions before filing any immigration application. Criminal arrests or convictions have the potential of hurting your immigration status even at this late stage of your immigration journey. You not only risk getting your citizenship denied, but could also be even put in removal proceedings and deported for filing an untimely citizenship application. Follow these three steps before applying for citizenship if you have a criminal record: 

1) Get your background check: You can get a state background check by taking your fingerprints at a police station, or you can request your FBI background check by mail. There are also private companies that can take your fingerprints and produce your background check for a fee. Be mindful that once you file for citizenship, you will have to provide your fingerprints to immigration so that immigration can run its own background check. Also know that no matter how old an arrest or conviction is, it will show on your record and it could potentially affect your immigration status, or even your permanent residency. How about if you paid the fines, completed the community service and finished your probation? Your conviction will still be a conviction for immigration purposes and could negatively impact your citizenship application. Arrests and convictions do not disappear from your record just because you paid the fines and completed the conditions of your sentence. Also, the definition of what constitutes a conviction is different in an immigration context. Even a first offender plea that may have later been expunged for state purposes will still be considered a conviction for immigration purposes. It is your responsibility to be diligent when filing for citizenship to avoid a denial or even worse be put in deportation proceedings. Do not be dismissive of any prior criminal arrests or convictions, get your background check first. If you feel intimidated by going to a police station to get your fingerprints done, or if you are unsure how to go about getting your fingerprints, call us today

2) Get final court dispositions or sentences of all your arrests or convictions: One of the requirements to become a United States citizen is that you have to prove that you have been a person of good moral character for the applicable time-period (three to five years). However, an immigration officer may consider arrests or convictions outside of this period when reviewing your application. This is why is so important to get your complete criminal history, and evaluate how each incident on your record could potentially affect your immigration status. Once you get your criminal background check results, you will be able to tell exactly where were you arrested and which court decided your case. With this information you can easily locate those final court dispositions or sentences, which are crucial in evaluating whether you should move forward with a citizenship application. Why is this so important? Because even if you were convicted of a misdemeanor, that conviction could be deemed as a serious offense under immigration law. Lastly, if you are on probation, you will have to complete all the terms of your probation before you can become a citizen. 

3) Consult with an Attorney: An attorney consultation could save you from making a fatal mistake of filing an untimely citizenship application, and exposing yourself to a potential deportation for a past criminal conviction. An attorney can also offer you viable alternatives on how to deal with a criminal past incident and to ameliorate its immigration consequences. For example, if your conviction is more than five years old, you could potentially submit rehabilitating evidence with your application and at your interview showing that you should be considered a person of good moral character. In the case of the young man at my consultation, we are preparing to show that he is now in college, works, actively participates in his community, and has not had another instance of criminal conduct not even traffic violations for the past five years. Only a qualified attorney would be able to tell if you should file for citizenship after evaluating the proper documents from the court or arresting office. 

In conclusion, if you have a criminal record be careful when filing for citizenship. Follow the above three steps before you send your citizenship application to make an informed decision whether it is time to become a United States citizen.

Monday, May 23, 2016

Tres pasos antes de la ciudadania

Este año electoral ha causado que más y más residentes permanentes se animen a solicitar para la ciudadanía para votar en las elecciones de noviembre del 2016. Yo he visto este interés en mis clientes y también mis compañeros abogados y abogadas lo están viendo en sus prácticas en toda la nación. La realidad es que el derecho al voto es uno de los mayores privilegios de nuestra sociedad democrática y por tanto está exclusivamente reservado para los ciudadanos de los Estados Unidos. Si usted está listo para solicitar la ciudadanía de los Estados Unidos pero ha tenido un arresto o sentencia luego de que le aprobaran su residencia, siga cuidadosamente los siguientes tres pasos:

1) Obtenga su reporte de historial criminal ya sea con el estado en donde vive o con el FBI si usted no recuerda dónde fue arrestado o si tiene arrestos o convicciones en varios estados. Tenga presente que cuando usted solicite para la ciudadanía tendrá que poner sus huellas para que inmigración acceda su historial criminal. Recuerde también que su record criminal no se borra con el pasar del tiempo. ¿Qué tal si usted pagó sus multas, hizo servicio comunitario y cumplió con su probatoria? Aun cuando usted haya cumplido con todo esto, su historial criminal no se borrará de su expediente e inmigración lo puede considerar negativamente en su contra. No permita que inmigración sepa más que usted acerca de su historial criminal. Es su obligación hacer esta gestión antes de solicitar para la ciudadanía para evitarse que le denieguen su caso o peor que lo pongan en proceso de deportación. 

2) Obtenga la sentencia final (emitida por un juez) y todos los documentos relacionados a su arresto y acusación. Uno de los requisitos para hacerse ciudadano de los Estados Unidos es demonstrar que usted tiene un buen carácter moral durante el tiempo que le corresponda a su solicitud (tres o cinco años). Aprenda sobre los requisitos de ciudadanía aquí. Sin embargo, sepa que el oficial de inmigración pudiera considerar arrestos o convicciones anteriores a este término. Por lo que es importante analizar su historial criminal en su totalidad antes de solicitar para la ciudadanía. Una vez usted obtenga su reporte de historial criminal sabrá exactamente dónde fue que lo arrestaron y en cuál corte fue que se vio su caso. Con esta información usted podrá obtener los documentos relacionados a dichos arrestos o sentencias. ¿Por qué es esto importante? Porque aun cuando usted haya sido arrestado o sentenciado de un delito menor para propósitos de su estado, pudiera ser que para inmigración se considere un delito severo. Recuerde que a usted le pueden quitar la residencia si usted ha cometido ciertos delitos. Además, si usted está en probatoria deberá cumplirla y terminarla antes de que le aprueben su ciudadanía.

3) Consulte un abogado. Una consulta con un abogado le puede salvar de cometer un error gravísimo al solicitar para la ciudadanía con un record criminal. Un abogado también le pudiera ofrecer alternativas de cómo lidiar con su record criminal y aminorar sus consecuencias para efectos de inmigración. Por ejemplo, si su record criminal tiene más de cinco años y usted no ha vuelto a cometer un delito, usted pudiera demostrar en su entrevista que usted se ha rehabilitado y que es un individuo productivo y merecedor de la ciudadanía. Además, hay ciertos delitos que no le afectarán su solicitud de ciudadanía pero solo un abogado de inmigración capaz le podrá aconsejar luego de evaluar todos los documentos relacionados con su arresto o convicción. Si usted tiene un record criminal, no se desanime si desea hacerse ciudadano de los Estados Unidos. Siga estos tres pasos para tomar una decisión informada sobre cómo proseguir. Recuerde aquel refrán que dice ‘es mejor precaver que tener que remediar’, es sumamente apropiado cuando se trata de su caso de inmigración. No se arriesgue y si todavía tiene dudas llámenos para una consulta hoy
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