Ashmann

Here is the situation:
- Someone was charged in 1986 with a misdemeanor, but the judge dismissed the charges.

- In 1993, that person applied for green card and he answered "No" to the question "Have you ever been charged, etc." because his criminal attorney told him in 1986 that he could answer "No" if he is ever asked that question.

- Now, that person wants to file N-400 (Naturalization Form), but wants to answer "Yes" to the question as the new form explicitly spells it out without any room for interpretations.

- Will INS bring the old I-485 form and match the answers?

- Does the correction of the answer on N-400 wipe out the wrong answer on I-485?

- Is there any hope or will that person be arrested on the spot by INS? Assuming the wrong answer on I-485 constitutes perjury, hasn't the Statute of Limitations ran already and the person wants to correct the mistake?
Thanks

Aaron Sergeant

you can be arrested and charged with 1st degree mass murder, or the Holocust. it doesn't matter, what matters is weather you were convicted or not, if you were not convicted of a crime (either because you were innocent, or the judge threw it out) then ergo, the you were not held accountable for a crime, so there is no crime, (get what I mean?) so if the question is, were you arrested then put yes, if the question is were you charged, put yes, if the question is were you convicted, then the answer is NO. there for the INS cannot deport you for a crime you were not "held accountable" for.

Ashmann

Well, the person was charged, but he was not arrested as he was allowed to go home that night without posting bail and at no time the police ever held him. The case was frivolous, that's why the judge dismissed it. Anyway, the question is about the discrepancy between the green card application and the citizenship application. If the person misinterpreted the question on the green card application based on his criminal defense attorney’s advice. His lawyer told him that he could answer “No� because the charges were dismissed and this is as if he was never charged. Now he wants to answer it correctly; does this create a problem for him? This is basically the question. He knows that he must answer "Yes" to the question about "have you ever been charged" and "No" to "have you ever been convicted?" Since he answered "No" on the green card application about 9 years ago, does this constitute perjury? If so, would the statute of limitations expire on it and he can safely correct the situation?

Aaron Sergeant

if you are taken to the Police station in cuffs, then you were arrested, if you went volountarily then what you did was "submit yourself to arrest" in law, seizure and detention of a person, either to bring him before a court body or official, or to otherwise secure the administration of the law. if you were made to stand before a judge, then you were arrested.
get in touch with the lawyer that advised you about what to put on the form, get proof that he advised you to do that, at least you'll have proof to explain the discrepency, but at the end of the day, the conviction is what matters, and if you proved that you did not lie with intent. or were mistaken, then you will be OK.