Hi

I am new on this site, I have a spouse that has 2 convictions, both for simple possession of marijuana from the UK. They are from 2000 and 2001. Due to these 2 convictions this makes my spouse inadmissible to the United States. We have a child and have been living apart and it's making life unbearable.

Does anyone on this site know of any really good UK lawyers that know how to re-open and remove one of the convictions. Does anyone know of any other similar cases to my spouses?

In the US there is a law called "post conviction relief", which allows you to remove certain crimes. Additionally, the lawyers here have very good tactics and skills on how to work the system.

I need help in finding a fantastic criminal lawyer in the UK that will be able to find a "loop hole" and push this case back open and get the charge dropped or dismissed.

I wasn't sure of what section to post this question in, but if any of the administrators know where else they can post this question then please do so.

I am desperate please help!

Hi RN1234 

Welcome to theForum.

Sadly, the only way to have convictions removed in the UK is to appeal them in Court. There is a very small window of opportunity to do this and after 17 years I'm afraid that you've left it too late. 

There is no such thing as 'post conviction relief' here so this wouldn't be an option for you.

I don't know if anybody on theForum has had similar experiences but I believe you'd be better employing a really good immigration lawyer to plead your case in getting him into the US rather than looking for a criminal lawyer to get convictions removed.

Good luck.

Debs  

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Thanks Debbie for the response. I have spent thousands of dollars in the US with some of the top attorneys, but the law is the law in the US and there is no way of getting around two drug charges. That's why if we were able to remove one from the UK then there are waivers within the US that we can use.

So because it's been 16 years since the last charge, you cannot re-open the case, due to time? What laws are there in place for UK citizens with convictions then?

What kind of a country wants to hurt their own citizens and not allow them to move on with their lives? Everyone makes mistakes and learns from them and wants to move on, but can't because it seem to haunt them everywhere they go because the correct laws are not on place.

Is anything being done about this?

Hi 

You're right in what you say in that the laws around criminal records in the UK is quite draconian. It has only been very recently that the Government have recognised that something needs to be done to enable people to move on with their lives and leave their previous mistakes in the past. Unlock continually lobby and challenge the government for a fairer and more inclusive society. We've recently assisted with a High Court case looking at legislation which enables old and minor cautions and convictions to be filtered from criminal record checks and enabling youth cautions and convictions to be removed from the police national computer. Unless they've been personally affected as a result of having a criminal record, then many people don't see why the system should change.   

The UK's Rehabilitation of Offenders Act allows individuals to not have to disclose their cautions and convictions to employers, insurers etc after a set period of time. However, this legislation is only recognised in the UK and is not adopted in it's entirety elsewhere in the world. 

If changes in legislation in the UK enabled non-disclosure of your partners two drug charges, then currently US immigration would still require details of them as they insist that anybody wanting to live or work in the US has a police certificate.  

I certainly appreciate how difficult your situation must be. Dealing with the intricate laws of one country is bad enough but you're having to battle the legislation of two.

Best wishes

Debs  

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