Q: If you have a visa status and you get charged with a crime, are you allowed to travel?
I have a friend who is on a visa in the US and is now being charged with assault and probation violation. She has e pending trial date. Is she allowed to leave the country, and if she does will she be allowed back in the states?
A: Your friend should schedule a consultation with a competent immigration attorney, and bring to the appointment copies of any documentation he/she has in connection with the criminal case. It would be very important for an immigration attorney to evaluate the potential negative immigration consequences of a conviction of the particular criminal statute(s) before the actual final disposition. Concerning the advisability of traveling abroad while the case is pending, that too could be evaluated at the consultation. If your friend has a criminal defense attorney who does not practice also immigration law, it would be advisable that the defense attorney speak with an immigration attorney.
A:
She can leave whenever she wants. The question is whether or not she’ll be allowed back in.
It depends on a number of factors. It depends on the crime. In addition, being charges with a crime and convicted of it are different things.
You don’t say whether or not she plans to leave prior to her trial date. That could impact her, too, as could the type of visa she has. She really needs to sit down with an immigration attorney to discuss her particular circumstances.
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