liliya_enigma1

Hello!
I am in the process of getting a marriage visa (I-130 and I-129 petitions were approved and I have already been invited for the interview for I-129).
I have several question which I am very-very worried about and maybe some of you know answers to.
1) I came to the US in 2001 with J-1 (subject 212e) and am in my homecountry spending the HRR time. I have travelled back and forth several times while I was on my F-1 visa. I counted the time altogether, first I thought it was 6 months, but now I see that I was also counting one month that I spent in Turkey. Do you know how precise the consular will be when they are counting the time. Are they going to be sitting and counting all the days till the last one in order to make sure that I have two years in? I know it may sound silly but my husband and I are going insane being apart for this long and another month seems like a killer for us.
2) Another question is about an arrest I had while in college. I was stopped for driving drunk (had a couple of beers), arrested. But the charege was later reduced to reckless driving. For some reason I (stupid and young me...) assumed that since the charge was dropped then my record is clear and I am free of the arrest charge. Later on that same year I travelled home and had my visa restamped in the passport. For that purpose I filled out all the papers and in the question (have you ever been arrested? been a prostutute or smuggler?) I put "no" since I truthfully believed that none of that applied to me. (((
NOW I am very worried that when I am interviewed for the immigrant visa and tell them about the arrest they might pull up all the documents they have on me and see that I marked "no" on that previous application.
What do you think about it? I get a shiver every time I think about it.... I am so tired and confused about this whole deal....
Liliya

Just Jenney

Welcome to the forum. Could you please clarify something about your visa status? You said you came to the US on a J1 but then you subseqently mentioned an F1 visa. Was that a typo? Or did you receive an F1 visa after you got your J1 visa?

I honestly don't know the answer to your question, but that part confused me.

I suggest reading THIS THREAD because it discusses something similar to your situation. Basically, the fact that the charges were dropped doesn't mean you weren't arrested for them, so you should have answered "yes" any time you were asked "Have you ever been arrested?" While you might not have been intentionally lying, by answering "no" you were still not being truthful. I suggest sharing this with your lawyer (if you have one) and your husband (if he doesn't already know), but most importantly be truthful about it at the interview. If they ask you at the interview "Have you ever been arrested" you do NOT want to answer "no"!

~ Jenney

liliya_enigma1

Thank you so much for answering!
About F-1 visa: I had my J-1 visa 2001-2002 (it was completely USG funded) and in 2002 got F-1 visa and returned to the States. Stayed in the States till 2006 (early January), finished school half a year earlier and decided to go home because after hours and hours of searching on the web the waiver I decided that I'd be better off going home. (not that it was very easy or very easy now... I've been back home for a year and still have at least 7 months to go, it's so hard, I don't think many people can even imagine that).

I know I've done a stupid, bad thing by not putting "yes" then.
Of course I am going to disclose this case this time. I don't think they are going to be very crusial about it since it was an arrest, but I was not charged with a DUI. My only concern is whether the consule will pull out all of my old applications, see a "no" on my previous application and put the two dates together (the date of arrest and the date of me getting a visa renewal). I don't know if they ever do pull out the old forms.
Do you think that if I say YES now in all of the application they would not pay that much attention to my old forms?

Too bad this guy with a Georgian fiance did not write us back with his thought about the interview.

liliya_enigma1

Now I am really scared of the misrepresentation fact... I am afraid the consule will deny me a visa on this basis....
I don't know what to do. I am having bad time dealing with me being not with my husband.
I was just wondering if there are any people who have gone through immigration procedure with an arrest on their record and could tell me whether the consule is really suspicious of the arrest and starts checking all the previous documents one had or not.
And also if there is this arrest whether the consule will hold the visa issuing for an undetermined period of time....

Noorah101

Hi Liliya,

I don't know the answers to your specific quesitons, but just wanted to remind you to have all your arrest and court records with you at your interview, so you can show them what happened and what the result was.

Best Wishes,
Rene

Just Jenney

I think all you can really do at this point is tell the truth. As far as whether you should explain to them that you originally answered "no" but only because you thought that was the correct answer because the charges were dropped -- I don't know. On the one hand, my instinct tells me that that would be a good idea, because it demonstrates that you are fully aware of your error and you're not trying to hide anything. On the other hand, though, maybe you should just say "yes" when they ask at your interview if you've ever been arrested, and then just leave it at that. I really don't know.

It might be worthwhile to consult an immigration attorney to see what would be the best course of action. At the very least, be prepared to explain why you answered "no" on your application. Also, search this forum for similar cases, because I know I've read of people who did the same as you -- answered "no" to "Have you ever been arrested?" because the charges were dropped -- so you might find more information about how to handle it.

What country are you from/in?

~ Jenney

Folinskyinla

Hi:

They count. I wonder if you can still get the K-3 with the idea that you can still spend time in home country until you get the two years. I don't know the answer.

On the "no" on the arrest record -- the misrepresentation must be "wilful" and "material." You may want to get legal advice and/or representation on this one. Off the top of my head -- it looks doable. But it can be a problem.

Good luck.

Rete

Actually things are not as dire you think they are. The charges were not dropped but reduced and it was a traffic infraction.

Do you recall the year this occurred? If so, you can probably see if there is anything in a court that pertains to the reduction and the consequences, i.e. fine, etc. This is all that is required.

If you can't find anything, than you go with that information, i.e. DMV driving report, or perhaps a court clearance that you are not on record, and explain exactly what happened. It was not a felony charge so you are subject to ban or deportation but you made an honest mistake in completing the forms by thinking that a traffic arrest was not the same as a criminal arrest. Many people don't equate the two as the same.

Rete

Capt. Tuttle

Noorah101 wrote:
>>Now I am really scared of the misrepresentation fact... I am afraid
>>the consule will deny me a visa on this basis....
>>I don't know what to do. I am having bad time dealing with me being
>>not with my husband.
>>I was just wondering if there are any people who have gone through
>>immigration procedure with an arrest on their record and could tell me
>>whether the consule is really suspicious of the arrest and starts
>>checking all the previous documents one had or not.
>>And also if there is this arrest whether the consule will hold the
>>visa issuing for an undetermined period of time....
>
>
> Hi Liliya,
>
> I don't know the answers to your specific quesitons, but just wanted to
> remind you to have all your arrest and court records with you at your
> interview, so you can show them what happened and what the result was.
>
> Best Wishes,
> Rene
>

Not the same situation, but maybe this will help.
My step son answered yes to the arrest question for a J-1 visa. As it
turned out he could have answered no. He was just trying to be totally
honest. It is a long story, but the bottom line is he was not arrested.
At the interview he explained all of this to the officer. The officer
said he would have to investigate the matter. My step son wrote to
France and got his police record, which showed no arrest. (The interview
was in Mexico). After some delay and a few phone calls he went back for
another interview with the police certificate. There was still some
delay, but finally he received his J-1 visa.
What I'm trying to say is to go to the interview, be as honest as
possible, but remember the rule stated here several times. "Only answer
the question asked".
Chances are very good that you are worried more than you should be. The
only thing you can do at this point is be totally honest and hope for
the best.
I (and I'm sure everyone here) wish you good luck.

liliya_enigma1

Thank you Rete for cheering me up !
I am hoping too that the consule is not going to make a huge deal out of reckless driving and the fact of me saying "no" on the previous form.
I am hoping he's not going to look at the previous forms anyways...

I've decided for myself to reschedule (third time, gosh) the interview for a later date b/c of the two-year requirement. I'll better wait till the end of August but feel more confident at the interview.

liliya_enigma1

Ah, about getting a visa and staying in home country:
No, they want me to come for the interview AFTER the two-year requirement is done.
I decided not to take the risk and wait till I have the exact two years over.

And about my home country: Kazakhstan (a former Soviet republic)

liliya_enigma1

Also, I have a case court record that shows that I was charged with a DUI, but the case was reduced to reckless driving and pleaded guilty to reckless driving.

Do you think this is gonna be enough of the proof. Should I try getting BMV records? How do I go about getting them?
What else would help me at the interview?

ian-mstm

No idea... but I'll tell you what will help in this forum - quoting a bit of the message to which you're responding. You've just posted 3 messages and it's totally unclear to whom or to what you've responded.

Ian

Just Jenney

I don't know about the spousal visa, but I know that the I-129F for a fiance visa is only valid for four months. You're talking about postponing your interview for 8 months -- and that's in addition to previous postponements. Is this timeframe going to be problematic? Will the I-129F and/or I-130 expire before then? Anyone know??

~ Jenney

Noorah101

Hi Jenney,

Sadegh's I-129F petition expired long before we were able to get the K-1 interview. We brought a written request with us to the interview, asking them to extend it, but it wasn't necessary. They processed everything without asking any questions. I don't know about the OP's case, but it wasn't a problem with ours.

Rene