Legal Question in Immigration Law in California

Re: can a person eligible to become a citizen after felony is reduced

Filing the 1203.4 form is to get the court to give you an expungement and not a reduction to a misdemeanor. If successful, your guilty plea or conviction is withdrawn under California law, better than a reduction to a misdemeanor. However, an expunged conviction still counts for immigration purposes, so it won't help in the citizenship application. It still counts as a regular conviction.

Your conviction seems to be CA Penal Code section 245, which is assault with a deadly weapon. This is a "crime of violence" under immigration laws. That's probably serious enough to deny you citizenship, especially if convicted within the five-year before filing the citizenship application. You might have to wait until the conviction is outside the five-year period and also show sufficient rehabilitation.

Liem Doan, Esq.

Note: The above response is provided for legal information only and is not legal advice. Such advice can only be rendered after a client-attorney relationship has been expressly established.