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Can I apply for U.S. citizenship with a 15 year old conviction that's been expunged from my record?
Anonymous5 views2 answers
My current status is permanent resident since 1997. I was convicted of felony theft in early 2000 at age 18, complied with everything the court ordered and paid all my fines. Had my case expunged by a judge in early 2007 for complying with everything and having a perfectly clean record since my conviction date. It's been 8 years since then and now I want to apply for citizenship... CAN I? Would I be able to get approved for citizenship or is it a bad idea for me to even apply? I've had a clean record since my conviction, not even a parking ticket in 15 years.
Giacomo Jacques BeharImmigration AttorneySan Diego, CACA licensed ·
Expungments are worthless for Immigration purposes since the mid-90ies. In deciding whether or not you have the required good moral character for citizenship purposes USCIS has the unfettered discretion to look 'beyond" the statutory last 5 year period before you apply for citizenship. Best for you to take your criminal conviction paperwork to an experienced immigration lawyer to analyze.
The expungement doesn't help in the Immigration world. DHS looks at your record in whole, and the expungement isn't an eraser. It would help to contact a lawyer familiar with immigration and criminal law in that you could try to petition for a certificate of rehabilitation that would help because it is an eraser. Although difficult to obtain, it may be available to you.
I still recommend contacting a lawyer because there may be other ways for you to naturalize.
