Legal Question in Immigration Law in Illinois

Hi,

In 2008 I was caught driving without a Driver License, been handcuffed, taken to the police station, taken pictures and fingerprinted. I was bailed out and then the case was "thrown out " in court before the hearing even began, meaning that my lawyer talked with the judge (and maybe with the police officer, too ?!?) and then the judge said the case was dismissed. I was asked nothing, I pleaded nothing, I paid no fines, I was just witnessing them talk. My lawyer did tell me afterwards to absolutely make sure I don't drive without a DL ever again because if so, I will not be forgiven again, or something like that. Now I am applying for an adjustment of status from OOS to a permanent resident (Green Card). Form I-485, Part 3.C Question 1b asks if I ever been arrested, cited, charged, indicted, convicted, fined, or impressioned for breaking or violating any law or ordinance, excluding traffic violations.

How would you as a lawyer answer this question? Would you check Yes or No? If Yes, some lawyers say that that is grounds for inadmissibility, in which case I wonder if it even makes sense to apply if by checking Yes I open a can of worms and harm myself. For that reason I tend to check "No". But if I check No, wouldn't USCIS find out about me having an arrest record or something when they run the background check on me? (Remember, I was fingerprinted and mug shot). But then again, the question say "excluding traffic violations", so, I'm not sure how to proceed here.

If you were my lawyer, what would you advise me to check ?

Thanks,

John

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