QUESTION

Can I get my citizenship if I have a 3rd degree assault that has been dismissed over 15 years ago?

Asked on Jan 04th, 2017 on Immigration - Georgia
More details to this question:
I have a 3rd assault, few motor vehicles problems, seat belts, and driving unregistered cars and one disturbing the peace. All were dismissed. I have a clean record now. I haven't got in trouble.
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1 ANSWER

Immigration Law Attorney serving Atlanta, GA
3 Awards
Usually a criminal or traffic charge that has been dismissed will not stand in the way of eligibility for naturalization, but a major exception can exist where the USCIS concludes that a dismissal took place following an acknowledgement of the elements of the offense. For example, a dismissal following a pre-trial diversion where the defendant has aliquoted will be treated as a "conviction" by the USCIS. In the naturalization application process it will be necessary to disclose all arrests and citations and to provide a full set of court-certified disposition documents (or court-provided explanations about why disposition documents no longer exist). For this reason you will need those documents both to determine naturalization eligibility and also to support an application for naturalization. There really is no substitute for consulting with an immigration attorney who, after reviewing the records and learning all of the relevant facts, would be able to advise you about eligibility and could offer legal representation in the application process - a process made significantly more complex because of a record of arrests/citations.
Answered on Mar 02nd, 2017 at 5:31 PM

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