Are you ready for a fresh start? Everyone makes mistakes, but some mistakes are more serious than others. If you are arrested or charged with a crime, a criminal record is opened. Even if you are cleared of the charges – or never even officially charged, are found to be not guilty or are convicted and serve your penalty- the criminal record remains a part of your history. A criminal record can haunt you for years, and even decades, and comes to light during a routine criminal background check:
• job application
• apartment rental applications or a home mortgage
• professional licenses
• credit cards or loans
• education facilities
• immigration applications
• filing for citizenship
Expungement is a chance for a fresh start. Under Illinois law, you could be eligible to have your criminal record expunged (destroyed) or sealed so that no one can access it. If your criminal record is expunged, it will no longer show up in police or court records during a criminal background check.
Under Illinois law, some crimes qualify for expungement, others may qualify for sealing, and some crimes cannot be either sealed nor expunged.
Note: If you have an expungement and are applying for immigration benefits and are asked about any previous arrests or criminal history by an immigration official, you must reveal your criminal history even if it is expunged or sealed. You should consult an immigration attorney on how to proceed in your situation.
Whether your criminal history qualifies for expungement or sealing depends on:
Many misdemeanor and felony convictions do qualify for expungement or sealing. Some of the criminal records that are eligible for expungement in Illinois are:
Some crimes, including domestic battery, animal crimes, and most sex offenses, do not qualify for expungement or sealing in Illinois. An experienced criminal law and expungement attorney can evaluate your case to determine if you qualify for expungement, and if so, what the process and cost would be to help you get the best outcome for your situation.
Everyone makes mistakes – but some mistakes can last years, or even forever. If you have a criminal conviction in your history but it has been legally expunged, and a potential employer or loan officer asks you if you’ve ever been convicted or charged with a crime, you can legally answer “no.”
If you are an immigrant with a criminal record who wants to change your legal status or become a United States citizen, you should never tell an immigration official that you do not have a criminal record. Expungement does not apply to immigration applications.
At Godoy Law Office, we want to help you clean up your criminal record and all your court and arrest records. Mario Godoy began his criminal attorney career at the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office. While with the State’s Attorney, he clerked for the misdemeanor, felony, and civil divisions of that office. As a criminal prosecutor, Attorney Mario Godoy prosecuted battery, DUI, and drug cases. For a consultation regarding your immigration law concerns, Contact Us online or call us at 630-912-0322.
Se habla español.
AREAS WE SERVE: Godoy Law Office serves the entire Chicago, Illinois area, including DuPage, Cook, Kane, Will, and Lake Counties
Immigration Attorney Mario Godoy has years of experience guiding clients with immigration issues through the immigration process along with guiding clients through the criminal case. Godoy focuses on family-based immigration law, business immigration law, removal defense, and criminal defense representation of immigrants. A criminal charge or conviction can be devastating to your immigration case. With over a decade of immigration law experience and memories of family members who were deported due to bad legal advice, Godoy is committed to helping other immigrant families receive the legal justice they deserve. As a legal entrepreneur who practices immigration law, criminal law, estate and probate law, and running two successful law firms, Mario Godoy understands the importance of keeping families together and making a home and future in America.
