Should people with three DWI convictions (felony) be worried when renewing their permanent resident card? I know that a few years ago USCIS considered this type of conviction an "aggravated felony" which could mean deportation. What is the current interpretation of the law?

jg

how close together are your dwi offenses? and when is your greencard due for renewal?

...with any luck the person will be too drunk to fill out the necessary forms :-)

Sundevil.. behave put that drink down!




this is part of what you ask.. the whole reading is at


http://www.nysda.org/idp/docs/fileN_IMMIGRATIONDETENTIONREMOVAL.pdf

I. CRIMINAL GROUNDS OF DEPORTABILITY:


I. CRIMINAL GROUNDS OF DEPORTABILITY: You may be subject to removal on
deportability grounds if you have been lawfully admitted into the United States and have been
convicted of:
* An aggravated felony;
* A crime involving moral turpitude (CIMT) committed within five years of the date of
your admission and for which a sentence of one year or longer may be imposed;
* Two CIMTs at any time after your admission;
* A controlled substance offense (other than a single offense involving possession for one’s
own use of thirty grams of less of marijuana);
* Certain firearms offenses;
* A crime of domestic violence (including violation of an order of protection).
There are also other grounds of deportability not mentioned above found in section 237 of the
Immigration and Nationality Act. Each of the grounds of deportability listed above is discussed
further below.
Aggravated Felonies: A conviction for an aggravated felony, or an attempt or a
conspiracy to commit an act defined as an aggravated felony, has the most serious
immigration consequences of any kind of conviction. An aggravated felony conviction
will bar you from most forms of relief and will likely make you subject to mandatory
removal.
The term “aggravated felony” as used here is an immigration term and has no connection
to the definition of a felony in state criminal law. A crime can be considered an
aggravated felony even if it is a misdemeanor under state penal law. Whether a felony
conviction under state law is an aggravated felony depends upon whether the federal law
treats the crime as a felony. Consequently, you may be able to challenge the
government’s allegation that you were convicted of an aggravated felony if the state......

you can continue reading at the link above

Also continue reading to find out relief in case you are deported. Cancellation of removal or voluntary departure. this of course depends on how long you held greencard and hardships to family

Good Luck JG and hope you are getting help for your problem with profesional counseling. It is very powerful addiction.


SEEK a EXPERIENCE attorney for this.

4now, thank you very much for the information. It was extremely helpful. Thankfully I am not the one with this problem (US born citizen, electrical engineer, clean record). I will let him know that it looks like his offense is not deportable anymore since it is not considered an "aggravated felony". Thanks again.

well aggravated felony is a big problim and i dont think they will get approved no matter what,,but u never know iam not an attorney,,but bcoz i been in immigration detention and i seen alottttttt of ppl who were aggravated felon and they were all in trouble ,,and i didnt c even 1 who got any kinda of relief,,when they released me the judge told me that i was lucky bcoz i have very clean record,,he said if u hade any criminal charges or a felony i will be the first 1 will deport u no matter what ur case is,,so based on all this i think he will really have a hard time dealing with the immigration

no prob

that was the good news

bad news is he can forget about citizenship 4 a while. and of course he is probably going to jail now for 3rd offense.

takecare of your friend... get him/her some help

or call a taxi before he kills somebody or child.

Here is one more article. it is short and concise:


November 2004

Supreme Court: DUI Not Cause for Deportation
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that a drunk driving accident does not give the government the right to deport the offender because driving under the influence is not a "crime of violence" even if someone is injured.
The court rule unanimously in favor of Josue Leocal who was deported to Haiti after the pleaded guilty to a felony charge of driving under the influence. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court upheld his deportation, ruling that the drunk driving charge was a crime of violence because he injured someone.

The Supreme Court overturned the lower court's decision ruling that the immigration law requires intent to cause harm, not merely negligence, before an immigrant can be deported.

"Drunk driving is a nationwide problem, as evidenced by the efforts of legislatures to prohibit such conduct and impose appropriate remedies," the court ruled. "But this fact does not warrant our shoehorning it into statutory sections where it does not fit."

Source: Court Rules for Immigrant in DUI Case

4now,

He ended up taking a plea deal in 2000 which allowed him not to spend any time in jail but instead get 5 years probation as well as fines, community service, AA, suspended license, etc. He completed everything in 2005 without any violations. How long do you think he will have to wait for citizenship?

He probably will be eligible in 2011 . that should be safe. usuallay 5 years from last moral offense. Ouch.. 5yrs probation... not easy.. violation of probation will put him in jail. could be for something stupid.

He needs to get citizenship to protect himself. 2 misdemenors could jeoporidize his greencard. citizen only safe bet.

Good luck to him.

4now,

His last offense was in 2000. He completed probation in 2005. Is it 5 years from when the offense was committed or 5 years from finishing probation?

On a side note, I really want to thank you for the information you provide on the Immigration Discussion. I often pay attention to member's posts and I have to say yours are always seem to genuinely want to help others. Where are you from and what is your profession?

JG He will appear more reformed and of better character if showing he continued to visit A.A. and other related meetings. I know a USC that had three in past ten years. He lost his license for ten years. I think it can be considered having had three. Not good. Appears habitual. Attend meetings regularly.

The 5-year wait for a citizenship application starts to count from when he was sentenced in the case of probation. In the case of jailtime, it starts to count when he was released. This is because he has to be in the position to prove good moral character within the society; probation immediately provides that chance while release after jailtime (or parole) provides that chance after release from jail.

In addition to my last post, I would say he qualifies to file an N-400 for naturalization since he is done with the 5yr probation. I will post the USC law code here when I do find it again.

What he can also do is file apply a pardon. If the offense was federal he would need a federal pardon from the US President usually administered by the Attorney General, if it was a state offense he would need to seek pardon from the governor of that state. These pardons are applicable to immigration to alleviate or nullify the effects of any consequences. Read item 2(A)(v) on the following link; http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/search/display.html?t...0001227----000-.html

Read item 3 (5yr waiting period) on the following link (federal pardon);
http://www.usdoj.gov/pardon/pardon_instructions.htm

In summary, this person qualifies to file for both naturalization and pardon because he has met the 5yr waiting period for both.

If the US president and vice, and others can be all they can be after DWI/DUI then you too can. Check this out; http://www.drunkdrivingdefense.com/consequences/bush-dui.htm

Jay A,

Thanks for those links...they were helpful. Do you know where in Immigration Law it states when the five year wait period for Naturalization begins?

Update for anyone who may be interested in the answer to my original post. Permanent Resident card was issued in less than two months with no questions asked.