class B misdemeanor

[eliza]

we live in Texas. We are a family of four ( 2 adults, 2 kids, 13 and 19 yrs old) Canadian citizens.
We have applied for permanent residence in USA and it seems it goes well; we have an interview in two weeks.
About a year ago, my son was charged for recreational use of marijuana; The judge classified it as a class B misdemeanor. ( little we knew; from where we come from, Vancouver, British Columbia, everybody grows pot on their balconies)

My husband's company lawyers deal with the green card. They asked us for $2500, to file a waiver for my son's case; we refused to pay, we filed the waiver ourselves for $250.
The waiver was received by the authorities (we got confirmation), my son has been issued a work permit and a social security card ( temporary, until we get the permanent residence)

Now, in view of this interview, the company lawyers strongly advice us to get legal couseling for my son's interview. I need to know if it's absolutely imperative.

His wrongs apart, my son is quite articulate and in my opinion, if the truly and accurately states his case, there shouldn't be anything that can lead him to refusal of green card, or ordering him out of USA. (but again, I'm a Canadian, what do I know?)

If he is denied however, can we appeal his case? I'm thimking: out of the 5 teenagers charged with less than 2 oz of marijuana, one of them got away with no fine, probation or suspension of DL. When we asked the lawyer "how come", he said " it's political and I can't say anything about it)

Any advice is welcome and I thank you well in advan

 

[Kane]

As far as the immigration issues are concerned, you'd have to talk to an immigration attorney about that. I know that criminal convictions often make people ineligible for residency/green cards/citizenship, etc. I don't know whether your son's case would interfere with him becoming a permanent resident.

As for the criminal case, if your son was convicted as a result of a plea bargain, his chances of (successfully) appealing are slim to none. What exactly was the disposition of the case?

 

[eliza]

reply

thanks for answering

when you say appeal, do you refer to my son's conviction, or appeal the denial of permanent residence, if it comes to that??

he is done and over with the drug charge; the judge ordered drug education classes and suspension of DL. he's done these and he's clear now

Also, how would I find out if he has the right to an appeal, in case his green card is denied; I'm thinking, he will go on his own to the interview, AND in case is negative- I was told sometimes it simply depends if the interviewer has a bad or a good day- we will hire an attorney

But I wanna make sure there is a right to an appeal; any ideas how do I find this out/

Thanks a million, again!

 

[seniorjudge]

On the immigration question, ask an immigration attorney.

There are some knowing people on this site when it comes to immigration problems.

Stay tuned and hope one is reading your post.

 

[eliza]

thank for the reply!

problem is I don't really trust their answer ( attorneys'). They are the ones who wanted be hired for $2500 for filing the waiver. and when we refused and did on our own for the 10th of their price**************.....well, they weren't too happy.

These are corporate attorneys whose services are discounted in the first place, because they work for such major corporations: My son's case woud be just a little opportunity for some extra cash.

And, of course they'll say "sure, hire us, we can't guarantee you anything, but we'll try our best"
I'm sorry, maybe I'm so biased when it comes to them lot
Do you happen to know if my son has the right to an appeal in case he's denied permanent residence

Thank you
eliza
.

 

[Kane]

Sorry, Eliza, I'm not an immigration atty, I don't know anything about applying for residency, or appealing a decision you don't like.

If you don't like or trust the company lawyers, talk to some other ones. If it's all lawyers you don't like, I don't know what to tell you.

I don't much trust mechanics, but I don't try to fix my car myself.

 

[Bretagne]

I know almost nothing about immigration law, except that there is a lot of subjectivity with respect to the "right" to "appeal" a decision. I strongly urge you to employ a good immigration attorney to help your son out. Looks like it's too late to "appeal" anything that happened to him criminally, and may be difficult (if not impossible) to expunge his record. If his case goes up in front of an admin law judge through the immigration process, he has no "rights" --as we would traditionally think of rights-- with respect to the ALJ's decision.

Also, I think that a $2,500 retainer to your husband's corporate counsel was a fair amount. You must have had to pay a filing fee of $250 and you must have filled out pleadings pro se. The cost would be higher for the attorney to handle it because there would have been some research and counsel would ensure that no clerical or other errors could affect your son's chances at permanent residency. If you have made such an error, the consequences could be dire. Or not, maybe it doesn't matter at all. But I would hire an attorney to handle something so important just for the security it would give me. Also, that attorney would have been in the best position to answer your pot question now.

Oh, and the one kid probably "got away" because he either (1) was the first to "tell" on the others, or (2) made a good deal with the prosecutor. So, it's not really like it's "political" per se. I get charges dropped all of the time because I can argue mitigating circumstances to prosecutors that I have good working relationships with--some are willing to give good kids a break the first time around in order to keep their record clean. Around here, I don't know a single prosecutor that would insist on tarnishing a kid's record over a small amount of pot. Such a blemish could prevent you from working for the federal government, or getting admitted to the local Bar association, or even visiting Canada!