PepsiChic

Wirelessly posted (LG-GR500/V10f Teleca/Q7.0 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 UP.Link/6.3.1.17.0)

teenagers sometimes steal things again and again from shops....but a married man trying to get peramant residence in another country?...seriously you need to get your head screwed on the right way, admit everything to your wife and go seek counciling to help you stop this stupidity which could well leave you without the life you so wish to have.

Rete

Operative word is highlighted.

Rete

OT: I thought you were telling him to talk to his undies

Rete

Confessional time ... have to get to DH and tell him I got caught shoplifting Henna from F.W. Woolworth's when I was 13. Caught by the store manager and reprimanded in public and told never to come back.

I never did anything like that again but I did return to the store a few years later. In fact I wound up working for them for several years when I turned 16.

If I were going through an immigration process, I wouldn't mention this.

Songbird

probably be about as productive for him immigration-wise as sharing tales of his prior light-fingered adventures on a public board

EDIT: in fact scratch that, it would be MORE productive (and potentially less damaging) for him to share this type of info with his undies than on a public board!

llfenms

well thanks anyway for the advice everybody - now that is has stopped and those who have never done anything wrong are casting their stones.

i`m going to get an attorney, hopefully not get a conviction and resolve to go straight and narrow as is required in this land.

Sally Redux

It's required in most lands.

jeffreyhy

Wise move, and hopefully you'll come out of this a better person. Which is not to say that you're not a good person now, we all have flaws and we can all improve as we move through life.

Regards, JEff

Bluegrass Lass

Oh please, spare us. You admitted to stealing this item, and getting caught and that is the only reason you are sorry. You appear to be a person that thinks stealing is ok as long as it's only 'small' things. Did you stop to think that companies account for the cost of stealing in the prices that they charge for items? So by your actions, you help contribute to prices going up.

I'll admit to stealing a few things when I was a young teenager. My friends thought it was cool, and it was a cheap thrill to see if I could get away with it. Then I almost got caught and I stopped. I haven't stolen since then as I've obviously matured, and understand that my actions have ramifications - and jail time and a criminal record is not a ramification that I want to live with, not to mention the effect upon my familial relationships. You, apparently, had little to no regard for this and now you are only sorry because you have to pay for your actions. It was sheer stupidity for you to even consider stealing in another country where your legal status hasn't been approved yet.

I hope the item you tried to steal was worth it, given the cost of your future legal fees to dig yourself out of the hole you made and the possible effect on your new wife.

YouWantFriesWithThat

I hope things work out for you - we all make mistakes in life. The issue is what we do about them.

If you really want to help yourself then consider getting counselling to examine whether there may be issues within you that manifest themselves into bevhaviour such as you have described. Otherwise, you may just be trying to put the lid onto something that will reappear at a later time. Good luck.

frrussre

If your standing in a line, waiting for a job interview at a store, would you steal something from a counter next to you?

NO, would be dumb, silly & stupid. Probably screw chance of getting the job.

If your standing in a line, waiting for your new shiny Green Card, would you lean over & steal something from the counter?
NO, would be dumb, silly & stupid.

Why on earth, would someone commit a crime, while applying for a, hard to get, wanted by many, desired by loads, Green Card. Think he is already here, so already may or may not of committed a crime.

I never lecture on here, but, what the heck went through his head.

Frank R.

nettlebed

Follow the early advice and get TWO attorneys (one immigration and one criminal), and make sure they talk to each other.

I'm not going to throw stones, since I have two convictions for shoplifting from my younger days (1978, when I was an adult), and I had to jump through the hoops to get here and become a USC.

Forget people telling you what scum you are for being a tea leaf: some people do it for whatever reason, like I did. There is no excuse, but there are reasons.

So, there are exemptions available in law, and if you can get yourself fitted into one of these and can get your GC and eventually naturalize - if that is what you want - then assuming that you have fully complied with US law in doing so, then there is no reason to beat yourself up over it. That is why the exemptions exist: they are an acknowledgment by the legislature that not everyone is perfect, and that exceptions can be made in certain circumstances.

There may be other people that will try to make you feel bad, but forget them: if you can honestly comply with the laws of the US while immigrating, then you have only yourself and your wife to justify yourself to.

As far as resolving to follow the straight and narrow, I'll quote Yoda: "No! Try not. Do. Or do not. There is no try."

Good luck from a fellow crim.

Ginblossom

Funny enough I saw yesterday a NatGeo documentary about Mexican illegals risking life and limb literally to get to the USA.

Young boys riding trains and going through mountains and rivers just to get to a nation where they know they will have to work for hours with no legal rights and benefits and likely hugely exploited by unscrupulous bosses who won't care if they live or die, just that they produce/ work. And that is their entire life.

The OP , of first world descent and means, on the other hand seems to think that nicking small stuff is ok, with a past habit of doing this, and obviously has dependents.

He justifies all of this with the sorry contrition - everyone finds God in prison- and the swipe at people helping him here of their own unselfishness with a comment about those casting stones. Yes everyone makes mistakes but it seems you haven't learned from your past nicking habits. Let me guess, if you hadnt been caught on this little trip, next week, you would have come back and tried again.


Frankly, when you consider all of the people who are busting their asses off to try and earn a honest living, especially right now in a real tough economy, this guy deserves no sympathy. All I hope is that he really has leant a lesson, but I doubt it, as his posts demonstrate a complete selfishness.

Rete

Seriously folks, enough of us have jumped on the band wagon and offered our opinions on the issue. The OP has read them all and has been offered good advice on how to proceed .... retain the services of good attorneys before attending the court date.

Bear in mind, the complusive shoplifting might be a sign of mental illness. Only he knows if he does this on a regular basis and only got caught this time. If so, he needs professional help to determine the reason why he does it and intervention to stop his doing it again.

So folk, let us allow him to deal with the issue at hand.

llfenms

Yes, thank you all for your insightful advice, which I will take and I will not ever do this again. I have been a complete fool and am extremely lucky that the law and immigration allow one mistake and a chance to correct it.

Thank you.