Visa holder’s worry over Puerto Rico trip
QIs it safe for an international student to travel to Puerto Rico? My daughter has invited a high school classmate to accompany us on a trip to Puerto Rico. The young woman is here on a student visa. She will be traveling with an Afghan passport.
Tim, Cold Spring, Putnam County If the student has F-1 international status, has complied with the conditions of that status and has not been convicted of a crime, she is fine to travel to Puerto Rico. A counselor at her school can confirm that she has maintained status.
Readers should note that U.S. law does not consider travel from the United States from Puerto Rico to the United States to be an “entry.” Still, Customs and Border Protection stations officers in airports in Puerto Rico will look for undocumented immigrants. So my advice would be different if the student was here without lawful status. I pleaded guilty to shoplifting. Will that conviction keep me from getting a green card? My son will soon become a U.S. citizen. Once he naturalizes, he wants to petition for me for permanent residence. More than 10 years ago, I did something for which I will forever be ashamed. I was arrested for shoplifting and pleaded guilty. I paid a fine, did community service and was told that if I stay out of trouble, my records would be sealed.
Name withheld, New York
AQAYou should get permanent residence despite your offense. Still, to be safe, have an immigration law expert review your criminal record before applying for permanent residence. That way, you can apply with confidence that you’ll get your green card and won’t end up in deportation proceedings. Though your record may have been sealed, because you paid a fine and did community service, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services considers you to have been convicted. However, under a “petty offense” exception, you can get permanent residence. Under the petty offense exception, a person convicted of a single crime involving moral turpitude, such as theft, is not barred from permanent residence if the maximum possible sentence for the crime is one year and where the person was sentenced to no more than six months in jail.