Hello everyone need just advice regarding citizenship application.
I fulfilled all the requirements to apply only one thing is bothering me. I got DUI in Nov 2015 and got convicted in January 2016 and my license for suspended for a year till January 2017.
As per court papers its considered as summary conviction.
Just worried about application for citizenship.
Any advice what should I do
Thanks and Good Luck everyone.
I have not seen a definitive answer about the impact on citizenship eligibility for summary convictions of hybrid offences, which includes driving while impaired.
Last I knew, under IRPA, for example, a hybrid offence (a criminal offence which may be prosecuted as either an indictable offence or as a summary offence) is considered an indictable offence even if it results in a summary conviction (my guess the reasoning is that since it is an offence which can be prosecuted by indictment, it is an "indictable" offence).
An immigration lawyer should easily know and be able to explain whether a summary conviction for a hybrid offence constitutes a prohibition. Obviously, if it does that would preclude eligibility for citizenship until a full four years has passed from the date of conviction.
There are other considerations to take into account:
For example, my understanding is that there is usually at least a period of probation for even the summary conviction. Any time spent on probation will
NOT COUNT toward meeting the physical presence requirement.
A consultation with a competent immigration lawyer should suffice to learn how this affects you in particular.
No need to hire a lawyer to represent you. But you will need to pay for a consultation (typically, last I knew, $300 to $600), and to prepare for it as well. Free consultations are worth as much as you pay for them. They rarely offer much more than general information. You need to prepare in the sense of making sure you have a copy of all your case-records, which might require going to the court and obtaining a copy of the disposition, and otherwise being able to succinctly present the relevant facts to the lawyer. You do not want to waste time and thus lots of dollars listening to a lawyer give you information you do not need. Be prepared to ask very specific questions based on actual information (which is why it is important to have a copy of all the relevant documents). In scheduling an appointment with a lawyer, be clear you need advice about how
YOUR summary conviction for driving while impaired will affect an application for citizenship . . . I put emphasis on "your summary conviction" because you do not need general information about these things, you need a lawyer to look at your paperwork, consider the facts in your specific case, including the disposition of the criminal case, and advise you about how that affects your eligibility for citizenship.
