Thanks for your inquiry. The answer to that is that it depends on the offense for which he was convicted. While the question of whether an offense is a misdemeanor or a felony may be important, the question of the nature of the offense is most important in attempting to determine whether someone will be eligible for immigration benefits or rendered ineligible for such benefits as a result of their criminal history. Certain "waiver" are available" for individuals convicted of certain offenses and in the context of your case which appears to be a US citizen applying to bring her spouse to the US. My advice would be to schedule an appointment with an attorney and bring all of the criminal records that you can obtain. A knowledgeable attorney should be able to figure out whether the conviction will create an issue with your spouse's application for immigration benefits and if so, whether a waiver is available to get around that problem. Keep in mind that these cases are never easy and using an experienced attorney is going to save you a lot of time and money. Most importantly, finding someone who will speak frankly with you and give you the likelihood of success is key. You do not want to spend your resources hiring someone who says that an application for a benefit can be filed only to learn later on that the lawyer sold you a bill of goods and had you and your spouse file applications that were going nowhere from the beginning.
Answered on Sep 12th, 2012 at 2:21 PM