Criminal Defense of Immigrants

(A)  In General.  Any disposition of a criminal case in which no plea of guilty or no contest is entered, and in which the defendant makes no admission of sufficient facts to warrant a finding of guilty, cannot constitute a conviction for immigration purposes (so long as no formal judgment of guilt and sentence are entered).  See § § 7.21, et seq., supra.  There are many different “non-conviction” dispositions in the different jurisdictions that therefore do not constitute convictions, so long as the requirements of a “conviction” under immigration law are not met.  Under certain circumstances, it is possible to negotiate for and obtain these alternative dispositions in many cases, thus saving the client from having a “conviction” for immigration purposes.