Record is sealed – but feds still know
QDoes the recently enacted New York law allowing for sealing criminal records help immigrants wanting to become U.S. citizens or defend themselves against deportation? I read that under a law that took effect on Oct. 7, I can get my criminal record sealed. I have a 35-year-old conviction in New York for crimes that arose from a domestic violence incident. I am almost 74 and I have been living in the Untied States since 1968.
Name withheld, Port Saint Lucie, Fla. New York’s new law won’t help you. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and other federal law enforcement agencies will consider you convicted, even if New York State seals them. Those agencies will have access to your records.
Under the New York law, you can get certain criminal records sealed. Some crimes, including sex offenses and violent felonies, are not eligible for sealing. The law allows sealing for up to two eligible offenses, but not more than one felony. Ten years must have passed since the individual was sentenced. Sealed records are not available to the public nor through normal employer background checks. However, they remain available to law enforcement agencies. I failed to file tax returns for a few years when I was self-employed. Can I nevertheless become a U.S. citizen? I have been a
AQpermanent resident since 1965. I am willing to file my returns and pay back taxes, but that could take years. Can I still become a U.S. citizen while owing money to the IRS?
Carlos Reynoso, New York If you arrange and comply with an IRS payment schedule, you can naturalize. To naturalize, a permanent resident must have complied with U.S. tax laws for the past five years, or three years under the special rules for the spouse of a U.S. citizen. Permanent residents who earned so little that the law did not require filing a return can naturalize despite not having filed. Those required to file returns, but who failed to do so, can file late, arrange a payment plan with the IRS, and USCIS will approve your naturalization application.
Allan Wernick is an attorney and director of the City University of New York’s Citizenship Now project. Send questions and comments to Allan Wernick, New York Daily News, 4 New York Plaza, New York, NY 10004 or email to questions@allanwernick.com. Follow him on Twitter @awernick.
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