Criminal conviction after B1/B2 visa

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There is an exception for petty offences, known as the sentencing exception or petty offence exception, whereby a crime involving moral turpitude does not trigger inadmissibility if the maximum available sentence does not exceed one year's imprisonment, and the actual sentence does not exceed six months' imprisonment. Since you were not imprisoned, all you need to determine is the maximum period of imprisonment for the offence. If it is less than one year, then it does not matter whether it is a CIMT. There is a fairly thorough discussion in Part 9 of the Foreign Affairs Manual, the official State Department guidance for visa officers.

(Note that if you received a suspended sentence of imprisonment, you must take it into account even if you were not actually imprisoned. If the suspended sentence was longer than six months, the exception does not apply.)

The statutory basis of this exception is codified at 8 USC 1182(a)(2)(A)(ii)(II).

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