Sanford, FL Immigration Law Firms & Lawyers

An attorney – client relationship presupposes confidentiality on the part of the attorney. No attorney should report an undocumented immigrant that he or she is representing or has consulted with without first having secured that individual's permission to report him or her.Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.   T

Answer is that any arrest must always be disclosed to the immigration authorities forever. Even if you can expunge or seal the record via state law, the fact of arrest must always be disclosed in any paperwork dealing with the immigration authorities. Keep in mind that the immigration authorities often times assign different consequences to the same incident which the state law may permit you to not disclose. A big mistake that foreign nationals often make is that because their case was sealed or expunged, they believe that they are not required to admit its existence when applying for immigration benefits such as permanent residency or naturalization. This not correct. Always consult with a competent and licensed attorney if any of these issues arise and before you fail to disclose something that you should have disclosed. Any arrest in the period preceding the date of the submission of an application for naturalization (Form N-400) can result in adverse consequences on the issue of whether the applicant has established that she is a person of "good moral character" (GMC) consistent with US immigration law. Increasingly, we have been seeing many more denials of these types of applications - where there is a minor brush with the law during the period for which GMC must be established. Again, the best advice is to speak to someone who knows and can advise you before you make a decision to accept a plea. While the plea may not render you subject to deportation from the US it could result in the denial of an application for naturalization and could also cause trouble when you are traveling in and out of the US.