Asked 12 months ago - Tampa, FL
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Good afternoon everyone
I am 24 years old and applying for US citizenship. I meet all the requirements; the only problem is that I was arrested last year for domestic violence(misdemeanor).I did not have enough money to hire a lawyer so I went with public lawyers and they told me to plead innocent which I did. My girlfriend (now fiancée) dropped the charges and at the end they were dismissed and this year I got them sealed. Now that I am applying for citizenship, the instructions say I must provide record of the arrest as well as court certification of having the charges dismissed, but I cannot get these documents! I went to the courthouse and they told me that once these records are sealed, I can't get any of the information, for citizenship purposes or otherwise. What should I do?
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If the case was just sealed, and not expunged, what we do is file a motion to unseal the file so we can get the necessary copies. Once we are done with the citizenship process then we get them sealed again. If you want me to take care of the unsealing and the citizenship process I would be happy to do that for you. It is very important to get them unsealed before you file anything with Immigration because there are some situations where even though you do not have a conviction under Florida law you have a conviction under Immigration law which is different. If you do, a domestic violence conviction will result in the denial of the citizenship and the commencement of deportation proceedings.
If you would like me to take care of everything, the legal fee is $1500 plus $200 in costs and the filing fees. This includes unsealing he criminal case, filing the citizenship application, and going with you to the interview.
Talk to the lawyer that helped you get them sealed. He/she probably has a copy pre-seal.
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Franco Capriotti - Senior Legal Counsel & Former Professor of Immigration Law - Capriotti International Law - franco@capriotti.com
Our services are not limited by State, nor International bounderies. Our licenses allow us to represent people worldwide.
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Do not rely completely on information you get on any website. It is always wise to consult personally with an immigration attorney before taking action.
Consider contacting one of the attorneys on Avvo, or www.ailalawyer.com - If you are low income go here: www.justice.gov/eoir/probono/states.htm or http://www.immigrationlawhelp.org/
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Capriotti International Law
www.capriotti.com
franco@capriotti.com
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