Criminal Inadmissability?

[ashwin35]

Hello,

I received an ITA under Express Entry but am wondering if it's advisable to proceed with the application or not. Here's my situation:

In Dec 2009, I received a ticket for speeding 92/55 and reckless driving in the state of North Carolina. I was not arrested. Was given a ticket with these 2 charges. The reckless driving charge was voluntarily dismissed by the DA. The speeding charge was also reduced to 70/55 (infraction - regular traffic ticket) and $100 fine and $130 court fees were paid. So in summary, I have no convictions on any criminal charges.

While this doesn't show up in the FBI check (since I was neither arrested nor convicted), some 3rd party background verification services have taken up the charge and disposition info from court records.

Question is:
Should I even mention this in my PR application? Has anyone had experience (or know someone) obtaining PR with a dismissed charge?

I'd hate to apply and get denied because it then becomes a headache when applying for tourist/visitor visas for few other countries which ask if we've ever been denied a visa by any country.

Would be great to hear your thoughts. Thanks!

 

[LifeDreamer]

You are admissible.

You will have to tick yes to having been arrested, charged or convicted in the declaration section and provide the short summary as you have put here. You will need to get court certified documents confirming your reckless driving charge was dismissed without any alternative sentence/diversion involved. This document is required for your PR processing, and you should keep multiple copies of this locked away in a safe place soon before the court gets to destroy your case file. You'll thank me for it when you get older.

Be advised that you will be also requested by the case officer to provide North Carolina state police certificate along with the FBI summary check.

Should I even mention this in my PR application?

If you don't you will be refused on grounds of misrepresentation which is worse than a simple refusal. Canada does not have routine access to minor traffic violations at their port of entry if they were not already on FBI systems. However, if applying for PR, such cases or traces thereof can be revealed to Canadian officials because of the depth of the background check involved and the nature of criminal records in the U.S. being public information. This will especially be the case if you happened to live or study in North Carolina in the past.

I'd hate to apply and get denied because it then becomes a headache when applying for tourist/visitor visas for few other countries which ask if we've ever been denied a visa by any country.

If you were refused, it will be for a different reason other than your dropped charge of reckless driving. I am not giving you a prediction here I am %100 certain your previous case will have no effect on your PR application other than providing said documents.

Also, I'm not aware of any countries that ask for a world-wide disclosure of rejected visas in the past other than the U.S. and Canada.

 

[ashwin35]

Thanks! Here's an update:

I completed my application and just recently received PPR. So, PR is almost granted and will be confirmed once I mail my passport.

Here's what I proactively did:
1. For my dismissed reckless driving citation, I already had the court documents and receipt for fine along with a letter from my then attorney who handled that case. I then retained Campbell Cohen to prepare a legal memo explaining why I was not inadmissible. Their memo also referenced and included the court documents and letter from my previous attorney who handled the traffic case.
2. In addition to the FBI report, I proactively included PCC for NJ (my state of residence for the past 10+ years) and NC (state where I had received this citation) - both showed that I did not have any criminal record.

In addition to this, I got an additional document request for India PCC and for any country/state I've resided in for more than 6 months. So I provided India PCC and also obtained NY state PCC (since I spent 2 years going to school there).

Processing of my application took longer but I just received PPR this past week.

 

[naten]

Thanks! Here's an update:

I completed my application and just recently received PPR. So, PR is almost granted and will be confirmed once I mail my passport.

Here's what I proactively did:
1. For my dismissed reckless driving citation, I already had the court documents and receipt for fine along with a letter from my then attorney who handled that case. I then retained Campbell Cohen to prepare a legal memo explaining why I was not inadmissible. Their memo also referenced and included the court documents and letter from my previous attorney who handled the traffic case.
2. In addition to the FBI report, I proactively included PCC for NJ (my state of residence for the past 10+ years) and NC (state where I had received this citation) - both showed that I did not have any criminal record.

In addition to this, I got an additional document request for India PCC and for any country/state I've resided in for more than 6 months. So I provided India PCC and also obtained NY state PCC (since I spent 2 years going to school there).

Processing of my application took longer but I just received PPR this past week.

Congrats and thanks for being back and reporting your case!!!

 

[rajivv]

You are admissible.

You will have to tick yes to having been arrested, charged or convicted in the declaration section and provide the short summary as you have put here. You will need to get court certified documents confirming your reckless driving charge was dismissed without any alternative sentence/diversion involved. This document is required for your PR processing, and you should keep multiple copies of this locked away in a safe place soon before the court gets to destroy your case file. You'll thank me for it when you get older.

Be advised that you will be also requested by the case officer to provide North Carolina state police certificate along with the FBI summary check.



If you don't you will be refused on grounds of misrepresentation which is worse than a simple refusal. Canada does not have routine access to minor traffic violations at their port of entry if they were not already on FBI systems. However, if applying for PR, such cases or traces thereof can be revealed to Canadian officials because of the depth of the background check involved and the nature of criminal records in the U.S. being public information. This will especially be the case if you happened to live or study in North Carolina in the past.



If you were refused, it will be for a different reason other than your dropped charge of reckless driving. I am not giving you a prediction here I am %100 certain your previous case will have no effect on your PR application other than providing said documents.

Also, I'm not aware of any countries that ask for a world-wide disclosure of rejected visas in the past other than the U.S. and Canada.

hi does peace bond signing lead to inadmissibility? Can you share

 

[rajivv]

You are admissible.

You will have to tick yes to having been arrested, charged or convicted in the declaration section and provide the short summary as you have put here. You will need to get court certified documents confirming your reckless driving charge was dismissed without any alternative sentence/diversion involved. This document is required for your PR processing, and you should keep multiple copies of this locked away in a safe place soon before the court gets to destroy your case file. You'll thank me for it when you get older.

Be advised that you will be also requested by the case officer to provide North Carolina state police certificate along with the FBI summary check.



If you don't you will be refused on grounds of misrepresentation which is worse than a simple refusal. Canada does not have routine access to minor traffic violations at their port of entry if they were not already on FBI systems. However, if applying for PR, such cases or traces thereof can be revealed to Canadian officials because of the depth of the background check involved and the nature of criminal records in the U.S. being public information. This will especially be the case if you happened to live or study in North Carolina in the past.



If you were refused, it will be for a different reason other than your dropped charge of reckless driving. I am not giving you a prediction here I am %100 certain your previous case will have no effect on your PR application other than providing said documents.

Also, I'm not aware of any countries that ask for a world-wide disclosure of rejected visas in the past other than the U.S. and Canada.

Hi,
would peace bonds and signing recognizance , lead to inadmissibility in future applications?

 

[ashwin35]

Sorry, I don’t know what “peace bonds and signing recognizance” means. If you can provide a detailed description of your case/situation/charges and outcome (including jurisdiction, criminal record check results et al) then those who may have been in a similar situation can share their experience.

 

[ashwin35]

If you need help, please take the effort to describe your case. See my original post for my case. Nobody’s judging you here. You don’t have to explain that it was self defense. Explain when it happened, where, the official charge, whether you went to court, what the disposition was if any, what’s the maximum penalty for such a charge if convicted vs what you got if any…and any other pertinent information.