Jade

My fiance was charged with 2 counts of "obtaining money by false pretenses" (passing a bad check) in Canada in Oct 1996. This is considered a crime of moral turpitude. We were told originally that he could apply for a waiver after 5 years to be able to come into the USA again. When we asked for the paperwork for the fiance visa were were advised he didn't need to fill out the paperwork for the waiver since the K1 would take care of that. Everything that I've seen about moral turpitude says he can't get a visa...however I'm not sure if there is a time line involved (5 years since last conviction) or if he can never get a visa/enter the USA. We have been told so many things by different INS employees we're not sure what to believe anymore. Do we need to see about a pardon from Canada? Even if the charges were pardoned would they be expunged from his criminal history in the eyes of the US? Does it make a difference if we apply for the fiance visa or go ahead and get married in Canada and try for the relative (spouse) visa? Will he ever be able to live in the US because of the "moral turpitude" charges?

Samstag22

Hi, it depends what the equavalence of those charges and conviction would be in
the U.S. If it is an offense for which he could or did receive less than
180days of any kind of punishments (probation, jail, etc.), he should be
eligible for a waiver.