Criminal Convictions and Immigration Law

Criminal convictions can have very serious effects on the immigration status of a non-citizen. This applies to all aliens, including permanent residents who have been in the US for many years.

Criminal convictions can affect immigration status in one of two ways. First, a conviction can make an alien deportable, thus allowing the INS to file removal proceedings to ask an Immigration Judge to enter a removal order against the alien. Secondly, a conviction can make an alien “inadmissible” which means that the alien might be prevented from legalizing their status in the US or from entering the US, even though they may have an approved petition through a qualifying relationship to a family member or employer.

Whether a conviction will affect an alien’s immigration status can be very complicated and may depend on several things, including the type of offense, the sentence imposed by the criminal court, and the law that the alien was charged with violating, whether state or federal. The number of convictions which an alien has, as well as the dates of the convictions, may also affect whether an alien is charged with being deportable or inadmissible by the INS. Also, because these laws are retroactive, an alien who was convicted of an offense 20 years ago may face the same bad immigration consequences as an alien who was convicted of the same offense today.

Aliens may also be charged with being deportable or inadmissible if the INS can prove that they have admitted to committing certain offenses, even if the alien was not actually convicted of the offense and the charges were dropped. If you have any questions about whether an offense you have committed or been convicted of will effect your immigration status, you should consult an experienced immigration attorney immediately.