criminal inadmissibility

[rigmarole9000]

Making a topic devoted to this because someone else suggested it.

I'm unsure if criminal inadmissibility will be a problem for me or not. I was found guilty of one crime in the US (Failure To Maintain Control Of Vehicle), for which I paid a fine last year. It was prosecuted summarily in a traffic courtroom. I drove a car off the road during a storm, causing no damage to anyone or anything except for my vehicle. However, I'm aware that this could be considered "reckless driving" and could thus make me criminally inadmissible.

On top of that, four years have passed since my charges of Destruction Of Property and Disorderly Conduct were dropped. The charges occurred after I turned 18 and were dealt with summarily, I believe it was in traffic court. I was not found guilty, but I think CIC is able to consider even dropped charges as crimes. The charges were from misbehavior in a classroom at school. I did not actually destroy any property, but I did disrupt the classroom, make a mess, and argue with the teacher.

Is is still worth a try to become a permanent resident? If I hired a lawyer, would it increase my chances? It would be very difficult for me to hire a lawyer, but if it will help get me with my spouse, I might do it. I don't have any idea how CIC deals with foreign criminal records, beyond what it says on their website.

 

[bartjones]

Making a topic devoted to this because someone else suggested it.

I'm unsure if criminal inadmissibility will be a problem for me or not. I was found guilty of one crime in the US (Failure To Maintain Control Of Vehicle), for which I paid a fine last year. It was prosecuted summarily in a traffic courtroom. I drove a car off the road during a storm, causing no damage to anyone or anything except for my vehicle. However, I'm aware that this could be considered "reckless driving" and could thus make me criminally inadmissible.

On top of that, four years have passed since my charges of Destruction Of Property and Disorderly Conduct were dropped. The charges occurred after I turned 18 and were dealt with summarily, I believe it was in traffic court. I was not found guilty, but I think CIC is able to consider even dropped charges as crimes. The charges were from misbehavior in a classroom at school. I did not actually destroy any property, but I did disrupt the classroom, make a mess, and argue with the teacher.

Is is still worth a try to become a permanent resident? If I hired a lawyer, would it increase my chances? It would be very difficult for me to hire a lawyer, but if it will help get me with my spouse, I might do it. I don't have any idea how CIC deals with foreign criminal records, beyond what it says on their website.

You can only be held criminally inadmissible for a crime you were convicted of, so assuming you are correct and you were never convicted, the Destruction Of Property and Disorderly Conduct charge will not be an issue for you.

As far as the Failure To Maintain Control Of Vehicle is concerned, it's possible that CIC may equate that to dangerous or reckless driving under the Canadian Criminal Code. That will depend on the circumstances. Assuming they are as you've described (sliding off the road during a storm) I seriously doubt they would make that finding.

Do you know if any of this shows up on your criminal background check?

The important thing is to be honest and up front about it. You can overcome criminal issues a lot easier than you can overcome allegations of misrepresentation. Good luck.

 

[rigmarole9000]

I haven't seen my criminal background so I don't even know what will show up on it. It will take 3 - 5 months to order it. I'm certainly willing to explain the circumstances to CIC but I'm not sure how to do that. Should I devote a notarized letter to it on the application, or something like that?

 

[bartjones]

You don't need a notarized letter. Just a simple letter, enclosed with your application, explaining the background should be fine. If none of it shows up on your FBI check, I doubt CIC will care about it.

 

[rigmarole9000]

Thank you! I feel more relieved about this. It was really getting me worried.

 

[Kayaker]

Although, even if it doesn't show up on the FBI record, it's best to mention it, right? (correct me if I'm wrong)

CIC will do their own background checks (separate from your police certificate) so if they find something you haven't disclosed, you can get in trouble for misrepresentation. But if you explain it upfront, you should be quite fine, I think.

 

[bartjones]

Although, even if it doesn't show up on the FBI record, it's best to mention it, right? (correct me if I'm wrong)

He will need to mention it because the questionnaire asks if you've ever been detained, incarcerated or put in jail. Presumably, he was detained on the driving offence, so he needs to answer in the affirmative and then provide an explanation.

 

[rhcohen2014]

He will need to mention it because the questionnaire asks if you've ever been detained, incarcerated or put in jail. Presumably, he was detained on the driving offence, so he needs to answer in the affirmative and then provide an explanation.

not necessarily. he could have received a ticket at the scene and required to report to court at a later date. that's usually how traffic incidents are handled in the US (at least the states i've lived in) if it was a legitimate accident, and he wasn't under the influence of anything, caused harm to others, or got pissy with the cops. if this is the case, most likely he wouldn't have been detained (ie: cuffed and brought to the police station). therefore, he wouldn't need to say yes to that question.

 

[rigmarole9000]

I wasn't arrested for the driving accident.

I believe I was placed under arrest at school for the other incident and arrested again later when I made an error and missed the initial court session. I don't know whether either of those arrests will be on my record, or if they could be used against me.

I should add that I've never been incarcerated.

 

[rhcohen2014]

I wasn't arrested for the driving accident.

I believe I was placed under arrest at school for the other incident and arrested again later when I made an error and missed the initial court session. I don't know whether either of those arrests will be on my record, or if they could be used against me.

I should add that I've never been incarcerated.

no matter if it's on your fbi record or not, you would HAVE to say yes to the question that specifically asks if you've been detained, etc. etc. not doing so would be misrepresentation (lying), and it's best to just say yes, and explain the matter and the results. like said above, they may dismiss the info if it doesn't equate criminally in canada. if you are truthful, they are more likely to work with you. i'm sure you already know this.

 

[rigmarole9000]

I'm considering consulting an attorney in my US state to see if I can get my past charges expunged. Maybe it would help if I can give CIC proof that the charges are expunged? I'm not going to deliberately misrepresent my record, of course, and I know doing that could cause a lot of trouble.

 

[bartjones]

I'm considering consulting an attorney in my US state to see if I can get my past charges expunged. Maybe it would help if I can give CIC proof that the charges are expunged? I'm not going to deliberately misrepresent my record, of course, and I know doing that could cause a lot of trouble.

Probably not. I wouldn't waste the money on getting a lawyer to do this.

I think if you are up front about things you will be fine. The Failure To Maintain Control Of Vehicle will probably be seen as a simple traffic offence with no Canadian criminal equivalent and you were never convicted on the other charges. The chances any of this will result in CIC refusing your PR application are pretty slim.

 

[kristinaa]

Do visa officers check an applicant's rap sheet? I don't have a criminal record but I have police interactions (either I'm the complainant or the subject of complaint) at least every quarter in the past 3 years.

My mischief (damage to properties worth over $5000) charge among other more serious offenses were dropped but it appeared on my police certificate, labeled as dropped. I explained it in detail on the application form. the complainant was my mother in law. I included the file number, which court house, names of my lawyer, the crown, and the judge. My trial went on for days but I wrote the first day as the main date.

 

[bartjones]

Do visa officers check an applicant's rap sheet? I don't have a criminal record but I have police interactions (either I'm the complaint or the subject of complaint) at least every quarter in the past 3 years.

My mischief (damage to properties worth over $5000) charge among other more serious offenses were dropped but it appeared on my police certificate, labeled as dropped. I explained it in detail on the application form. the complainant was my mother in law. I included the file number, which court house, names of my lawyer, the crown, and the judge. My trial went on for days but I wrote the first day as the main date.

Not sure what you mean by 'rap sheet'. If you were never convicted of an offence, you're not criminally inadmissible.

If you're bi-polar and have violent tendencies, I'd be more concerned about being found inadmissible on health grounds.

 

[kristinaa]

Not sure what you mean by 'rap sheet'. If you weren't convicted of an offence, you're not criminally inadmissible.

If you're bi-polar and have violent tendencies, I'd be more concerned about being found inadmissible on health grounds.

I have aspergers syndrome. There's no actual diagnosis that I'm bipolar. I do have records of angry tweets that made its way to the police and i was hospitalised on another occasion and my mother in law took advantage of that. I don't have violent tendencies lol. All my charges used to be my mother in law's past charges and she knew what to say to convince the police that I was liable. She had her records expunged but my lawyer was able to unearth her past charges and convictions. Old records don't usually count as court evidence but it was cool that that fact was made known to public.