Someone

Gentlemen, I know you give lots of helpful advices here and I have one
question for you. I really repent over the mistake.

I have a class C misdemeanor conviction(operating per se) with a year
unsupervised probation. It involves 60 day imposed/suspended sentence. It is
my understanding that simple minor DUI like this won't be considered as CIMT
nor as aggrav. felony. Can I think myself as admissible? What sort of
problem if any, should I expect at re-entry? I am seriously devating whether
I should retain a lawyer for this matter and your advice will be highly
appreciated. Thank you and wish you a Merry Christmas.

P.S. I would appreciate very much if you could recommend a competent and
experienced immigration lawyer in Chicago area. Thanks again.

Ingo Pakleppa

On Sun, 22 Dec 2002 21:27:58 +0000, Someone wrote:

    > Gentlemen, I know you give lots of helpful advices here and I have one
    > question for you. I really repent over the mistake.
    >
    > I have a class C misdemeanor conviction(operating per se) with a year
    > unsupervised probation. It involves 60 day imposed/suspended sentence.
    > It is my understanding that simple minor DUI like this won't be
    > considered as CIMT nor as aggrav. felony. Can I think myself as
    > admissible? What sort of problem if any, should I expect at re-entry? I
    > am seriously devating whether I should retain a lawyer for this matter
    > and your advice will be highly appreciated. Thank you and wish you a
    > Merry Christmas.
    >
    > P.S. I would appreciate very much if you could recommend a competent and
    > experienced immigration lawyer in Chicago area. Thanks again.

In most cases, a DUI is indeed harmless. Unfortunately, that is not always
the case, and may depend on state law, among other things. A couple of
years ago, INS deported DUIs from Texas but halted that practice after a
public outcry.

You should make sure that your immigration attorney also understands the
impact of criminal law - not all of them specialize in this area.

As for your other question, what problems to expect at reentry: you don't
say what status you have, so that is difficult to tell. Obviously, you are
not a tourist (they wouldn't be given probation). If you have a Green
Card, then you you wouldn't even be "admitted" after a short trip - you
would be able to return without any inadmissibility criteria applying. Of
course, if you were deportable, you could still be deported even without a
trip abroad (inadmissibility criteria and deportability criteria are
usually very similar, although there are exceptions).