Immigration Site

My wife entered the US legally nearly 20 years ago as a child. She has an ITIN, I claim her on my taxes, she hasnt worked illegally since entering the country, and we have a valid marriage license in Texas. She was convicted of a second degree felony (possession) in 2008 and did the deferred adjudication rout. Her probation will terminate early this April. The offense occurred January 2008, I met her Summer 2008, we married December 2008. I have 2 questions:

1) She was a child when she came here, and remembers little about her journey. I presume she came here legally with inspection as she flew here on an international flight (most likely a visitors visa?). As this was decades ago, she doesnt have the actual passport that has the visa stamp in it. She does have a renewed newer passport, just not the original one. How can I prove that she entered legally with out that stamped passport? That cant be the only record of her entrance into the country. Where can I go to get some kind of corroborating records for such an old entry. With out that shes a full illegal and will have to leave the country for 10 years I think before she can come back in a legal manner, whereas in reality she overstayed her visa and I can simply apply for her greencard/adjustment of status.

2) How does the felony in 2008 work against her? Will this cause outright denial of my petition for her? In Texas deferred adjudication is a deceitful joke and might as well be a conviction with a big guilty stamp on your record. Unfortunately I didnt know her back then so I couldnt advise her AGAINST that. She has no other criminal felonies or misdemeanors. Since it was a felony I cant file for records to be sealed until 3 years after April. But I dont think that would make a difference because I believe USCIS can still use expunged records against you. So, how will this affect my filing for her green card? Is there a statute of limitations or a limit to how far back USCIS will count things like this? Or are these eternal?

She is double doomed to definite deportation.

I dont think you read my post fully. No offense but if the answer was that black and white I wouldve discovered that in my own research. We have an immigration lawyer (my sister) who claims that this isnt grounds for an outright denial but it will have some affect. I was looking for answers regarding the degree of this affect.

I should state that Im a criminal defense attorney. I specialize in juveniles, but I know the law none the less. As for her criminal court issues:

The felony charge is an implied conviction as far as Texas employment goes, but under state law deferred adjudication is not filed as a conviction, and the case is dismissed after completion or early termination of probation and records are sealed/expunged. Theres a BIG difference between a felony indictment and a felony conviction. Its about a 2-10 years of jail time and a $10,000 hole in your wallet difference. She was eligible for deferred adjudication because she was a first time offender and was in possession of a small amount.

From what the lawyer told me, crimes of moral turpitude that justify outright denial without chance for appeal are convictions on AGGRAVATED felony indictments as defined by USCIS/immigration law, and generally on the Texas state level those are first degree felonies or enhanced first degree felonies (the key being intent to sell/distribute/traffic when concerning controlled substances). Her charge was for possession of a controlled substance 4-200g which is a second degree felony, no charge of intent do sell/distribute/traffic was brought against her and as such her crime is NOT an aggravated felony in the eyes of USCIS. Plus she is a first time offender with a perfect probationary period and an appeal is warranted as opposed to outright denial. I wouldnt be applying for a green card for her if I knew it was going to get rejected and she was going to be deported (aggravated felony).....

However, I am not an immigration lawyer, and know very little about first hand experience with USCIS and immigration law in general beyond my own research. Like I said, I know the felony indictment will have an affect on USCIS decision, most obviously that this will not be an automatic process anymore. USCIS in their infinite wisdom CAN treat a plea of guilty as a conviction IF they choose to do so, however with the appeals process and the facts of her case I believe theres a decent chance of overcoming that obstacle.

You know, there ARE people with felony indictments who gain citizenship right? People assume felony = aggravated felony. The great nation of double standards. Almost kill someone while DUI? Join our nation! Stole less than 5000 dollars? Join our nation! Couple ounces of weed? Join our nation! 1 gram of a controlled substance? Sorry! The whole crimes of moral turpitude clause is simple a legal mechanism for enabling and legalizing selective treatment of immigrants. If I was an immigration lawyer, dealing with USCIS would probably want to make me emigrate...

My original question was: If anyone had experience with lower felonies they werent convicted of and how it affected their process, if they were approved or denied, and how old their offense was when applied.

EDIT: As for the visa question in my first post, disregard. The US Consular in her originating country can provide a copy of the application and departure papers and Homeland Security claims they can originate the I-94 equivalent issued to her on entry in 1992. Finally, theyre good for something. And as for what she was thinking, my user name is not Miss Cleo, cant help you out with that one.

Mr. Attorney,

Your wife has problems ahead of her, she might as well forget about the GC for couple of years, because her offense reeks deportation. If she was convicted of stealing candy at a local store, her chances of adjusting her status are almost zero. She should have committed this offense maybe 10 years ago. Sorry I couldnt offer you any better advise.