[sak9645]

Never assume that expunging a record means that it won't show up on your USCIS clearance. There's a good chance that it will show up, no matter what you did.

HOWEVER, the good news is that, if you disclose the episode to your homestudy worker BEFORE you have your I-600A reviewed, it will generally not be grounds for rejection by either your homestudy worker or the USCIS, unless the episode pertained to something very serious, such as child molestation.

The social worker will usually require you to obtain a document from the court showing the disposition of the case. He/she will usually require you, as well, to write a letter explaining the event. It is in your best interests NOT to try to excuse yourself by saying something like, "Everyone smoked marijuana back then," or "My buddy said it wasn't stolen." Instead, it is best to admit fault, indicate that you feel bad about doing something so stupid, and mention that you never committed any other crimes in your life.

Most foreign countries won't have a problem with something minor that occurred a decade or more ago. I think there's an understanding that, especially when people are in high school and college, they sometimes do dumb things that they later come to regret.

As long as the crime did not involve violence or children, was not committed as the result of dependency on drugs or alcohol, was not classed as a felony, and wasn't part of an ongoing tendency to criminal behavior, the foreign government will usually be OK with it, as long as it was not repeated and as long as you showed that you understood it was wrong and were remorseful.

Certain countries may have a problem with convictions involving drugs or alcohol, but even there, if you had just one arrest and no indication of an ongoing substance abuse problem, you can often be excused. As an example, many people have managed to adopt internationally despite a DUI arrest ten or more years previously.

Sharon