Legal Question in Immigration Law in Florida

Re: Immigration Law - False Imprisonment

Dear Inquirer:

An applicant for citizenship must establish that he has been a person of good moral character for 5 years preceding the application (3 years if married to a US Citizen) and that

he is not deportable. The conviction you refer to may affect eligibility on both bases and filing without full examination of the issues is very dangerous.

I recommend that you email us at [email protected] or visit www.hanlonlawgroup.com if you would like to schedule a confidential consultation to discuss this matter further.

Re: Immigration Law - False Imprisonment

The answer is maybe. To be eligible for naturalization, among other things, you need to be a lawful permanent resident for 5 years and a person fo good moral character (GMC) for five years. There are some narrow exceptions to this. A conviction for false imprisonment during the five years will be a bar. In addition, under the Immigration Act, a conviction on or after November 28, 1990, for what is deemed an aggravated felony (AF) is a permanent bar to establishing GMC. Whether or not this conviction for false imprisonment is considered an AF requires an examination of the conviction record, including the judgement, charging document and plea minutes as well as the statutory language.

What is more important is whether the non-citizen with this conviction is deportable. This is not what you asked about, but must be considered before filing any applications for immigration benefits or traveling outside of the US. There are two grounds of deportation that must be considered: 1. Crimes involving moral turpitude (CIMT); and 2. AF.

Again, I would need to review the conviction record to determine whether the crime is either or both an AF or a CIMT. A conviction for a CIMT committed more then 5 years after admission is NOT a deportable offense but may trigger other negative immigration consequences (such as inadmissibility if one travels outside of the US). A conviction for an AF at any time, is a deportable offense.

Finally, you said �charged.� Does that mean the criminal case is still pending? If so, Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) will not naturalize anybody with an open criminal case. More importantly, as discussed above, there may be deportation or other negative immigration consequences as a result of a conviction for this charge. If the case is pending, it is strongly recommended that you retain an immigration lawyer to work with your criminal counsel, so you can pursue a strategy or defense that will have the least negative immigration consequences. All to often, defendants and even their criminal defense lawyers, fail to calculate the immigration consequences as part of the criminal defense and this is a mistake. If the case is open, now may be the time to negotiate with the prosecutor to find a charge or plea that avoids deportation.

In short, to fully answer this question, I would need to review the judgement, charging document (often called an indictment, information or complaint), the plea minutes or plea agreement and the statute. I also need to know the following: 1. When and how the person entered the US; 2. when and how they became a lawful permanent resident; 3. what immediate family they have in the US and their status (green card or citizens); 4. travel history; and, 5. whether there is any other criminal history.

This is complicated but we are very experienced in such matters. Please feel free to visit our website at www.bretzlaw.com. Thank you, Kerry Bretz, Bretz & Coven, LLP