Misdemeanor conviction 9 years ago and wants to apply for citizenship

You should definitely consult an immigration attorney on these issues. Obviously USCIS has some record of your criminal history. It is possible that your conviction will have no impact on your eligibility to obtain a new green card and naturalization (US citizenship), but you need someone to analyze this for you. The analysis will require information on your criminal history. Basically the immigration lawyer has to review your state law criminal history against the federal immigration laws which potentially can result in someone being removed (deported). You will need to track down whatever information you can about the shoplifting misdemeanor. The US criminal justice system is very decentralized, and it is not necessarily easy to find out information about where records are kept. One thing you can do is request a FBI identification record (criminal background check), which is potentially the same thing that USCIS has. Information on request an FBI background check is here: http://www.fbi.gov/hq/cjisd/fprequest.htm Other information can be found here: http://www.fbi.gov/hq/cjisd/nics/index.htm Also, I assume you know the STATE where the conviction occurred. You could consult a criminal lawyer in that state for advice, or even visit a state court in that state and discuss the matter (in person or by phone) with a clerk of the court. The state court system often has people come to it and ask for information, and unlike the US immigration system, where the information officers are notorious for giving bad information; clerks in state courts are generally well-regarded in giving helpful (and FREE) information. Particularly on where records may be kept. A good attorney in the Boston area I know is Liz Goss. If you contact Liz, she may not be able to handle your case, but she can give you a good referral. Her contact info is here: http://www.lawtgl.com/tgl_AU.asp