Hi,I am british, my father is american, my mother british, we lived in US for 11 years on greencard, We moved back to UK when I was 15 years old for 15 years, they moved back to US 7 years ago leaving me behind in the UK. All of my schooling was done in the US,I still have my old greencard and SSN. My Dad has just filed an I-130 for me, my question is I had a little trouble with the police when I was about 20yrs old, arrested for criminal damage and was given a fine. Will this stop me being approved for a greencard? I have had no other dealings with the police, not even a parking ticket! I am getting very worried about this, Please can you advise if it will be ok? Also how long will it take roughly, my dad works for the department of labor and is the one sponsoring me. Thank you in advance.

First, in terms of processing times, if you are single, you can expect to wait approximately 5 years to get your green card and 8+ years if you are married.

As for the criminal matter, whether it will affect your application is a more complicated analysis and requires examining the provision of UK criminal law that you were convicted of, the analogous US criminal law provision, and the exact terms of your sentence/fine.

One final matter, if you were born to a US citizen father, have you explored the option that you may already be a US citizen? US citizenship law has changed repeatedly over the years, and the transmission requirements depend upon your year of birth, but if you haven’t done so already, you should double check that you are not already a US citizen.

If you’d like to further your case with me, please contact my office to schedule a consultation. You can contact us by e-mail (E.Weiner@immigration-aux-usa.com) or by phone at + 1 617 889 0215 (US) or by leaving a message at + 33 6 67 88 73 85 (France).

Edward Weiner
Attorney at Law

E-mail: E.Weiner@immigration-aux-usa.com
Internet Site: http://www.immigration-aux-usa.com/