Immigration, permanent residency, deportation for DUI marijuana possession

Chicago, IL Viewed 2896 times. Posted about 1 year ago in Immigration

U.S. Immigration and Deportation Issue?: Hello,

This is a question regarding an immigration issue my boyfriend is currently having. Basically he was in process for his citizenship application and during the process he got himself a DUI plus possession of marijuana.

This not only disqualified his citizenship application but they are now trying to combine a past record he has from 2003 for possession of marijuana with this recent incident of possession of marijuana and DUI to turn both into a felony which could result in him being deported.

The attorney he had a consultation with said that he qualifies for possible deportation (which will involve a minimum three months prison sentence before being deported) but whether they will serve him those papers or not is another thing which will depend on whether they succeed in combing the two conviction to make it a felony. Unfortunately the attorney is wanting to charge over $20,000 for fees which we cannot afford so we are hoping to obtain some advice from this site.

So right now he does not know what to expect as nothing is confirmed, we have no idea when or if he will be served deportation papers.

He grew up in America, he has had his permanent residency for over twenty years and his family all live in America- if he gets deported then he will have to return to Europe which he has no contacts.

If someone could please help us in anyway they can, with advice on what his rights are and the possible outcomes or options he has with a situation like this would be we would greatly appreciate any help/advice.

Also can someone tell us if he does get deported whether he will be allowed to re-apply to come back to live in the US after a certain amount of time or will he be banned from the country for good?

Thank you so much! - Is this your question? Add additional information

Answers (3)

Thuong-Tri Nguyen

This attorney is licensed in Washington. Posted about 1 year ago.

You and your boyfriend may have misunderstood. The government has no authority to combine non-felony convictions to make into a felony conviction. However, the government may have no need to do that since an alien who has certain multiple convictions, regardless of the crime's levels, may be subject to deportation.

The easiest way for the government to gain an order to deport your boyfriend seems to be his drug convictions. Whether a drug crime is classified as a felony or something less is irrelevant in immigration law. As the statute is written, any drug conviction, except for a minor marijuana conviction for self-use, is a basis for deportation. Your boyfriend seems to have two convictions for marijuana. Moreover, as the statute is written, there is no statute of limitations in the application of this statute. Thus, a drug conviction of decades ago may be a basis for deportation. (Convictions before the present INA, 1996, may be subject to court review.)

The Immigration and Nationality Act may be accessed through links at www.uscis.gov . Below is an excerpt of INA 237.

The times to worry about a crime's effect on immigration status is first before committing the crime and at the latest at the trial court. Once there is a guilty plea or a conviction, there usually is not much that can be done to alleviate the immigration consequences.

Whether you boyfriend has any good options depends on his specific facts. It is good that he has consulted an attorney. If your boyfriend wants, he can get a second opinion.

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INA: ACT 237 - GENERAL CLASSES OF DEPORTABLE ALIENS

(a) Classes of Deportable Aliens.-Any alien (including an alien crewman) in and admitted to the United States shall, upon the order of the Attorney General, be removed if the alien is within one or more of the following classes of deportable aliens:

(2) Criminal offenses

(A) General crimes

(ii) Multiple criminal convictions.-Any alien who at any time after admission is convicted of two or more crimes involving moral turpitude, not arising out of a single scheme of criminal misconduct, regardless of whether confined therefor and regardless of whether the convictions were in a single trial, is deportable.

(B) Controlled substances.-

(i) Conviction.-Any alien who at any time after admission has been convicted of a violation of (or a conspiracy or attempt to violate) any law or regulation of a State, the United States, or a foreign country relating to a controlled substance (as defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802)), other than a single offense involving possession for one's own use of 30 grams or less of marijuana, is deportable.

none

Posted 6 months ago.

with 2 convictions he's deportable

chances are he'll be picked up by immigration after he does his jail/prison time

not sure if it'll work with an aggravated felony but things he can try:
file a 212c (cancellation of removal)
file for adjustment of status
and probably other things that i don't know

after he's deported the only thing he can try is to get the u.s. attorney general to allow him back in (basically beg the a.g.)