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Knudson and Associates

Knudson and Associates

Lakewood Colorado Immigration Lawyer | U S Citizenship

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Hail a Ride for the Holidays

December 17, 2021 By admin

Photo by olia danilevich from Pexels

The holiday season is always full of parties and social events at restaurants, bars, and other friends’ homes.  For non-citizens, it is a time to use extra care to avoid being arrested or charged with Driving Under the Influence (DUI) to preserve options for immigration benefits like residency, naturalization to become a U.S. citizen, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), and others.  Knudson & Associates encourages you to plan your ride home in advance with a designated driver who will not be drinking, or by planning to use a ride service like Uber, Lyft, taxi, or public transportation to get home.

DUIs (and other driving under the influence of alcohol-related offenses) are a negative discretionary factor for immigration when reviewing your eligibility for a particular benefit, like an application for a green card.  Immigration agencies may decide to deny an application based on that criminal history. 

A single DUI makes a DACA recipient ineligible for a renewal of that benefit, and may result in a revocation, meaning having your DACA taken away.  Two DUIs may make you unable to show “good moral character” for certain benefits that require it, like applying to become a U.S. citizen (naturalization) or applying for Cancellation of Removal in immigration court.

We encourage everyone to hail a ride for the holidays.  But non-citizens may suffer particularly harsh consequences from this type of mistake and need to be proactive in protecting their options and status in the U.S.

If you are non-citizen and are charged with a DUI or any other crime, make sure to speak with a knowledgeable immigration attorney before pleading guilty to any offense (this includes for a deferred judgment even if ultimately dismissed).  There may be immigration consequences associated with criminal convictions that are not intuitive.  Knudson & Associates is here to help.

Filed Under: Immigration

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