A twenty-year Green Card holder from the UK has a 27 year old son that lived with her in the US until 2000. He had a felony conviction as a juvenile and was placed on probation until age 21, but the court records indicate he completed probation successfully and was honorably released from the probation at age 19. He was apparently not aware of the release. At age 20, he was charged with a misdemeanor cannabis possession charge. Believing he was still on probation, the subject left the country for the UK and has lived there with no legal problems since that time. He wants to come to the US to visit his mother in FL. The warrant that was issued when he failed to appear on the misdemeanor possession charge has been purged from the system and no longer appears on the records. The question: Does he have to disclose the juvenile felony conviction when he applies to come here from the UK?
Optional Information: Clearwater, FloridaAlready Tried: Checked county court records, warrant control in county where charged with misd, county court records where juvenile probation was released.
As a rule of thumb, all criminal convictions must be disclosed when applying for entry to the U.S. However, given the fact that it was a juvenile offense, it will not have an effect bearing on his admissibility.
The other charge however, even if purged from the State systems, may still be valid and outstanding in State Department and Homeland Security records. If he had a simple possession charge (i.e. less than 30 grams of marijuana), he would have been better off appearing and taking a "rap on the knuckles" as simple possession is not a deportable/removable offese. However, since he failed to appear and a warrant issued, that in and of itself could render him inadmissible and even subject to arrest upon arrival. The outstanding issue/question is whether Immigration has a record of the outstanding warrant. Unfortunately, there is no way to determine that without testing the system.
Experience: 8 years practice experience, published in State Bar Journal