# Had charges on me before 5 years



## vb007 (Oct 24, 2013)

Hi,

I worked in the US from 2001 to 2008 on H1 Visas. During that period, in 2007 my wife put up domestic violence charges on me since she did not want the divorce. The judge put me on probation and the charges were dismissed in 2008. My ex wife still lives in the US with my kids and I moved back to india in 2008 after that. I already had requested to purge all the records and the judge granted the request as well. I applied twice for business visas in 2010 and 2011 since i was already working for an American company. The visas got rejected. Now I am looking forward to marry a US citizen. It has already been more than 5 years. So will those records affect my immigration as a dependent of a US citizen? 

Any help or insight into this matter is appreciated.

Thank You.
VB


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## mamasue (Oct 7, 2008)

One of the experts may correct me if I'm wrong.....but as far as I remember, crimes don't get 'spent' in the USA.... and it will definitely affect your immigration.
A good immigration lawyer would probably be helpful.


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## vb007 (Oct 24, 2013)

mamasue said:


> One of the experts may correct me if I'm wrong.....but as far as I remember, crimes don't get 'spent' in the USA.... and it will definitely affect your immigration.
> A good immigration lawyer would probably be helpful.


Thanks Mamasue. But like I said, I was only charged, the case was dismissed and so did the judge order the records purged. I was only put on probation because of those charges. I was not convicted or given any sentence.


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## Davis1 (Feb 20, 2009)

getting probation mean you were found guilty ... 
you must declare the case on any application 
no matter if its been expunged


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## vb007 (Oct 24, 2013)

Davis1 said:


> getting probation mean you were found guilty ...
> you must declare the case on any application
> no matter if its been expunged


 Thanks Davis. But I really do not think that getting a probation means I was found guilty. And yeah. I am not going to not declare. Of course, I will declare any information needed on the form, and I am not going to hide anything, but its weird if what you said is true. That's not fair to any innocent person. And like I said, I was never given any sentence to go for community service or anything similar which is normally given to a convict.  So if that's true, it is very unfair of the system I would say.


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## Davis1 (Feb 20, 2009)

I worked in courts for many years and never saw an innocent man get probation 
but you will have to get a US police report anyway ... that may be give more info


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

vb007 said:


> Thanks Davis. But I really do not think that getting a probation means I was found guilty. And yeah. I am not going to not declare. Of course, I will declare any information needed on the form, and I am not going to hide anything, but its weird if what you said is true. That's not fair to any innocent person. And like I said, I was never given any sentence to go for community service or anything similar which is normally given to a convict.  So if that's true, it is very unfair of the system I would say.


I am not sure what you are asking here. You should have the documentation and so should your immigration attorney. If you are not using one you may want to pull your state and fed background check.

Fair is a term for the sand box.


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## vb007 (Oct 24, 2013)

Davis1 said:


> I worked in courts for many years and never saw an innocent man get probation
> but you will have to get a US police report anyway ... that may be give more info


I do have a police report and the court judgement stating that there was I was put on probation and the case was dismissed and the reason being no abuse. The police report only states the incident and the story that a woman would give. In this case what ever my ex wife gave them. So that is the reason I got confused when you said that being on probation means that a person is guilty. And like I said, the court order clearly states - No Abuse and the case was dismissed.


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## vb007 (Oct 24, 2013)

twostep said:


> I am not sure what you are asking here. You should have the documentation and so should your immigration attorney. If you are not using one you may want to pull your state and fed background check.
> 
> Fair is a term for the sand box.


My question is - Is there anyone on the forum who's gone through such an experience and if yes, how they dealt with the situation.


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## EVHB (Feb 11, 2008)

vb007 said:


> My ex wife still lives in the US with my kids and I moved back to india in 2008 after that.
> ...
> I applied twice for business visas in 2010 and 2011 since i was already working for an American company. The visas got rejected.
> ...
> Now I am looking forward to marry a US citizen. It has already been more than 5 years. So will those records affect my immigration as a dependent of a US citizen?


Were your business visa turned down because of the (alleged) charges? Or they thought you hadn't enough ties to your home country (because of your children living in the US and you had lived and worked there before)?


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## vb007 (Oct 24, 2013)

EVHB said:


> Were your business visa turned down because of the (alleged) charges? Or they thought you hadn't enough ties to your home country (because of your children living in the US and you had lived and worked there before)?



Not sure why they declined. They just hand out generic letters stating no obvious reason for a denial. And it's very diplomatically drafted.


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

Do you mean probation or a restraining order? There's a big difference between those two concepts in the U.S. Probation is only possible if you've been found guilty (or a functional equivalent such as "no contest"). I agree with the other posters that the U.S. will interpret probation as a finding of guilt.

Restraining orders are different, or at least they could be. A restraining order requires you to behave a certain way, such as not approaching within 100 feet of an ex-spouse. However, a judge can issue a restraining order without any finding of guilt.

Anyway, I'm very much guessing here, but the word "probation" has a specific meaning in the U.S., and it's probably not a helpful one.


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## vb007 (Oct 24, 2013)

BBCWatcher said:


> Do you mean probation or a restraining order? There's a big difference between those two concepts in the U.S. Probation is only possible if you've been found guilty (or a functional equivalent such as "no contest"). I agree with the other posters that the U.S. will interpret probation as a finding of guilt.
> 
> Restraining orders are different, or at least they could be. A restraining order requires you to behave a certain way, such as not approaching within 100 feet of an ex-spouse. However, a judge can issue a restraining order without any finding of guilt.
> 
> Anyway, I'm very much guessing here, but the word "probation" has a specific meaning in the U.S., and it's probably not a helpful one.


So here's the thing. I did have a restraining order as well on me. My ex did not leave one stone unturned to get me to my knees but I never gave in. The judge eventually did give me 2 days a week custody for the kids as well. And then put me on probation. So I was trying to find out here if anyone has been in such a situation and what were their experiences with it.


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