What does all this mean to you?

First:  Your response to questions about a criminal record must be truthful.  The government presents you with written questions on Application Forms which you must fill out.   Don’t assume that if they ask, they don’t know the answers.  They know the answers, or they will know them, because everything is computerized and all computers are connected.  The questions are only to give you an opportunity to lie - and to be caught in a lie, and then you are in real trouble.  Therefore: Don’t lie on the Forms.

Second:  Do not lie to your lawyer.  An experienced immigration lawyer would be able to tell you whether a particular stain on your past is a problem at the present time and what could be done - if anything - to overcome the problem.  Sometimes, the best advice the lawyer could give your would be: There is no remedy to your problem.  You can not get a Green Card (or U.S. citizenship).  You better stay away from the Immigration Service and do not file any applications, because if you bring yourself to their attention you may end up with a Removal (Deportation) Order, and - by the way - do not travel, because they will catch you at the port of entry.

But most cases are not so hopeless.  An experienced immigration lawyer would do the following:

• Establish the number of the problems that need an evaluation and the dates and places where they happened, by getting FBI and State Police Reports;
• Get the criminal record, beginning with a certified copy of the Docket Sheet;
• Sort and separate mere arrests from actual convictions;
• Classify the convictions to either Felonies or Misdemeanors;
• Reclassify the convictions into “Aggravated Felonies” and/or “Crimes Involving Moral Turpitude” or none of the above;
• Evaluate whether the criminal record creates a problem at this time.  If not - file the Application for a Permanent Residency (Green Card) or American citizenship.  If yes - continue with the evaluation;
• Consider the dates on which the crimes were committed (sometimes also the date of the convictions)relative to both the present date and to the dates of previous admissions of the alien to the United States;
• Evaluate whether the alien is eligible to any of the crime waivers which the law provides;  If not,
• Decide whether the passage of more time would change the situation.  If not,
• Advise the alien what to do and what not to do.