Committing a crime of moral turpitude can create immigration problems for person and possible cause a person to be placed in removal proceedings in two different ways:
1) Committing a crime of moral turpitude within the first five years or your admission to the United States
2) Committing two (2) or more crimes of moral turpitude that did not arise out of a single scheme of criminal misconduct at any time after your admission to the United States.
Determining what is a crime of moral turpitude is complex and not well defined under United States immigration laws. The most common elements of a crime of moral turpitude include fraud, larceny and intention to harm a person or things. In otherwords, those crimes involving dishonesty and theft most likely will also be considered these types of crimes. Crimes of moral turpitude can sometimes be defeated for immigration purposes through the requirement to file a special waiver through USCIS or through the immigration court. If you have any type of crime and plan to file immigration applications or travel, it is very important to obtain proper legal advice before proceeding to avoid any unfortunate consequences.
