Criminal Records and Green Card Applications – Complete Guide

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Criminal Records and Green Card Applications

For many prospective permanent residents, the effect of a criminal record on a green card application is a serious issue.

This extensive guide will cover a variety of topics, including how criminal records impact green card applications, what offenses automatically disqualify applicants, the potential repercussions of felony convictions, the implications of having served time in jail, the criminal background check, and the potential for criminal ground inadmissibility waivers.

Does a Criminal Record Affect a Green Card?

Yes, a criminal background will negatively affect your green card application.

Immigration laws in the United States are strict when it comes to immigrant applicants who have criminal records.

Criminal record may result in a green card application denial.

For current permanent residents some criminal activity can lead to deportation, depending on the type and seriousness of the offense.

What Disqualifies You from Getting a Green Card?

A person may be ineligible for permanent residency (green card) if they have committed certain crimes.

These charges fall into two primary categories: aggravated felonies and crimes involving moral turpitude (CIMT).

Crimes Involving Moral Turpitude (CIMT): This category includes violent crimes, theft, and fraud, and are seen as morally repugnant. Multiple CIMT convictions or a single conviction carrying a certain punishment can disqualify an applicant.

Aggravated Felonies: According to U.S. immigration law, a wide variety of serious crimes, such as drug trafficking, murder, rape, and offenses involving firearms, are classified as aggravated felonies. A conviction for an aggravated felony usually results in the automatic denial of a green card and can also result in the deportation of an existing green card holder.

Other crimes that can lead to inadmissibility include:

Drug related offenses, especially drug trafficking
Crimes involving controlled substances (simple possession of marijuana is an exemption in some cases)
Money laundering
Crimes against children and domestic violence

Can You Lose Your Green Card for a Felony?

Yes, if convicted of a certain felony, green card holders may lose their status as lawful permanent residents.

Conviction for an aggravated felony is a ground for deportation (removal) and termination of the permanent resident status.

A felony conviction’s effects on your immigration status are contingent upon the type of the offense committed, the length of sentence, and other variables.

Deportation may result after several convictions or from a combination of CIMTs, even if the felony does not qualify as an aggravated felony.

Can You Get a Green Card if You Have Been in Jail?

A person’s criminal history does not automatically bar them from obtaining a green card.

The underlying criminal conviction that resulted in the jail sentence, however, is crucial.

The type of offense, the sentence length, and the applicant’s behavior since release will be closely examined by USCIS.

The application may be positively impacted by community service projects and rehabilitation initiatives.

However, denial is highly probable for some convictions, especially those related to CIMTs or other serious offenses.

Green Card Criminal Background Check

Every applicant who filed an Adjustment of Status (Form I-485) or immigrant visa application (Form DS-260) must pass a comprehensive criminal background check as part of the application process.

This involves taking fingerprints and looking through criminal history databases that the FBI and other law enforcement agencies keep on file.

This background check is completed to make sure the applicant does not have a criminal record that would prevent them from entering the country or endanger public safety or national security.

The following actions can be taken as part of the background check process:

Fingerprinting: To have their fingerprints taken, applicants must show up for a biometrics appointment.

FBI Name Check: To find any criminal records connected to the applicant, the FBI runs a name check against its database.

Examination of Local, State, and Federal Records: Any applicant who has criminal records, must provide certified copies of all police and court records of criminal charges, arrests, or convictions.

Interviews and Supplementary Information: Applicants may be interviewed about their criminal history during the interview.

Can I Get a Waiver to Excuse My Criminal Record?

Applicants with criminal records may be eligible to seek inadmissibility waivers.

The nature of the offense and other factors determine whether a waiver is available. Form I-601, Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility, can be filed with USCIS to obtain a waiver for the following:

A crime involving moral turpitude (CIMT)
A controlled substance violation of the laws and regulations of any country or U.S. state related to a single offense of simple possession of 30 grams or less of marijuana;
Two or more convictions, other than purely political ones, for which the sentences to confinement were a total of five years or more
Prostitution;
Unlawful commercialized vice whether or not related to prostitution; and
Certain aliens involved in serious criminal activity who have asserted immunity from prosecution.

To obtain a waiver, you will need to prove that your qualifying US citizen or permanent resident will experience extreme hardship if your waiver is denied.