Criminal convictions can count against you in immigration matters. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) can (and does) appeal to courts to deport people or refuse them visas or citizenship due to their criminal history. While you might not consider yourself a criminal, if you are convicted of driving under the influence (DUI), you will be in the eyes of the law.
DUIs are one of the most common ways that normally law-abiding people can pick up a record. Often it’s just down to misjudging their drinks.
Fortunately, there are several ways to contest a DUI.
Challenge the police’s justification for stopping and arresting you
The law sets out the requirements that police officers must comply with to stop someone. Typically they need to believe you have broken the law. It could be as simple as seeing a faulty turn signal or calculating that you are traveling a few miles an hour over the speed limit.
If you can show that your signals were working fine or that you were well under the speed limit, a court might decide the police did not have sufficient cause to stop you and throw out the charge you face. A similar thing could occur if the police cannot show they met the higher standards of suspicion needed to arrest you.
Challenge any tests carried out
While police tests for alcohol are reasonably reliable, they are not perfect. Breathalyzers can read too high, and the police can judge field sobriety tests too harshly or fail to adequately explain what to do.
If one of those options won’t work for you, there are still others to consider. Get legal help to do so and protect your immigration chances.