Charges of drug use and possession with intent to deliver are common drug offenses, but they carry extremely serious consequences that can put your future and freedom at risk. If you are an immigrant facing a drug charge it can hurt your immigration status and result in severe consequences including denial of your immigration application and even deportation.
Good Moral Character
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) can deny an immigration application or a citizenship application based on the applicant’s previous “unlawful acts.” Immigration officers evaluate good moral character “on a case-by-case basis and provide guidance on that case-by-case analysis.”
Good moral character is a requirement for citizenship and is considered by immigration officers for a green card and other immigration applications. USCIS assumes that anyone under the age of 14 has good moral character. For anyone 14 years of age and over, good moral character is a non-negotiable requirement. Any crimes that are considered inadmissible under the Immigration and Nationality Act and that may make a person deportable could be considered as something that would cause a person considered not to have good moral character.
Drug charges and drunk driving are established examples of a lack of good moral character by USCIS. Marijuana use and convictions even in legalized states is still considered a federal crime and is a cause to deny an immigration application. Non-U.S. citizens who are convicted or even charge with drug offenses can be deported, and possession with intent to sell can result in a permanent ban from re-entering the United States.
An attorney with experience in criminal defense and immigration law will fight to minimize the negative impacts of a drug charge as they impact immigration status. If you are facing drug charges and concerned about the impact criminal charges can have on your immigration status, hiring an attorney with expertise in criminal defense and immigration law is your best defense. A criminal defense attorney who is not experienced with immigration law may not understand the implications of a drug conviction on your immigration status.
The Spanish-speaking attorneys of Godoy Law Office know how to fight for their clients in an immigration court just as well as they do in criminal court. Contact the experienced criminal defense attorneys at Godoy Law Office at 855-554-6369.
Godoy Law Office serves the entire Chicago, Illinois area including DuPage, Cook, Kane, Will, and Lake Counties.
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