Well, there were surprisingly few records in the index - I read the whole thing, and there were no spellings that were remotely close to his. I suppose it could have been under an alias, in which case a non-fingerprint-based search isn’t going to do squat anyway. But there’s simply no way to do a fingerprint-based search this quickly, so all I can do for the moemnt is hope the Illinois State Police namecheck search turns up this particular arrest record and its disposition.
Really? I did not know that. So said client went through the expungement process (filled out the paperwork, sent the money and applications to CPD and Illinois State Police) after his non-conviction?
OK. So how do we know about the arrest record to begin with? What agency found it? Are we sure it’s Chicago Police and not a neighboring jurisdiction?
No, that was just a general comment on the immigration effects of expungements, not on anything involving this client specifically.
All I know is that it’s mentioned in a USCIS Request for Evidence issued in response to an application the guy filed to renew his Permanent Resident Card. (Fingerprints and an FBI background check are a standard part of the adjudications process for issuing a new green card, but then they should have been part of the original adjudication of his green card, even that far pre-9/11, and part of his subsequent application to renew his green card. Green cards used to be valid indefinitely, but for the past 10+ years, they need to be renewed every 10 years.)
So they provided the date of arrest and the charge, but nothing else, and so I have no idea what the specific source of the info is. I’m guessing it’s the FBI check.
OK, so the record hasn’t been expunged then. In theory it should still be out there. Because, if it were expunged, the Chicago Police Department would have expunged the arrest from its records and returned all identifying material to your client or his lawyer. The Illinois State Police, Bureau of Identification, would also have expunged this arrest. And the Circuit Court would seal the file and his name would have been erased from the official index.
Actually, now that seems to make sense, and I take back my first sentence. It seems quite possible that his attorney did file and process a petition for expungement, hence the lack of a paper trail for your client.
Now, I’m not sure what more you can do than say the result was a non-conviction, the record was expunged, and the only proof you have of expungement is that there is no record of his arrest in Chicago, no record of his court case in the official court index, and no record of his arrest at the Illinois State Police, Bureau of Identification. I mean, I really have no idea what more you could possibly do.
By the way, I’ve seen even expunged cases pop up on immigration-related background checks. I don’t know why, or the mechanics of how, but they do – it nearly cost a former co-worker of mine his green card.
I don’t even know whether he was represented at all in this criminal case. And he’s never mentioned anything about an expungement, and if he wasn’t convicted anyway, I’m not sure why he would bother.
Well, they could say a non-fingerprint based Illinois State Police search is useless. And hey, we’re talking about immigration here, which sometimes defies logic.
If he was convicted, he wouldn’t have the option of expunging in most cases. Only class 4 drug felonies and prostitution can be expunged, IIRC. Anything else and you’d need a pardon from the governor. (Good luck).
All the expungements I’ve done (only about a dozen) have been for clients who have had charges dropped against them or not guilty verdicts. It’s just generally a good idea to keep your name clean. If you’re convicted of an offense in the future and haven’t had a previously dismissed charged expunged, you can’t expunge it then. It stays in the record, regardless of the fact that it was expungeable at one time.