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Client was denied a non-immigrant visa by a consular’s office on the basis of a conviction that the client had previously sustained while in the U.S. Client retained the Attorney Chelico for representation. Attorney Chelico reviewed the case information and determined that while the conviction in the case could have been charged either as a felony or a misdemeanor, client’s conviction was for a misdemeanor. Ninth Circuit precedent case law holds that when such is the case, the conviction is a misdemeanor for all purposes including immigration. Attorney Chelico filed a brief with the consular’s office pointing to supporting law and argued that the conviction fell under the petty offense exception for which no waiver is required.

Case Results

After the consular’s office conducted administrative review, the prior decision denying the non-immigrant visa was reversed and client was issued the visa.