What is a Crime Involving Moral Turpitude (CIMT) and What are Some Examples under New York Law?

Although not explicitly defined in our immigration laws, a crime involving moral turpitude ("CIMT") has been classified as any crime or offense that involves a depraved or immoral act. Likewise, it can also be any conduct that is inherently vile and "contrary to the duties owed between persons or to society in general." Although most often these types of offenses are expected to come with an "evil intent," it is not necessarily a requirement and a CIMT may even be found where recklessness is involved. Ultimately, a CIMT analysis (i.e., determining whether your offense is a CIMT) will come into play whenever a non-citizen is charged with or convicted of a crime or offense. A CIMT conviction can render a non-citizen as inadmissible, deportable, and/or ineligible to naturalize, with each resulting in their own unfortunate consequences.

If you're a non-citizen who has encountered the criminal justice system, there is a strong possibility that you will need to familiarize yourself with CIMTs and whether your charge or conviction will affect your immigration status or your ability to obtain immigration benefits. The most common scenarios when a CIMT analysis will present itself are when you are applying for an immigration benefit, renewing an immigration benefit or when you're placed into deportation/removal proceedings.

So, in a very basic example, let's say you were issued a green card and 6 months later, you are convicted of 1st degree robbery (a CIMT). What will likely happen is either the Department of Homeland Security will discover your conviction on their own and place you into deportation proceedings or upon renewing your green card, you will be asked to submit biometrics (i.e., fingerprints), which will reveal your robbery conviction during the background check. The officer reviewing your case may request a legal brief proving why your conviction is not a CIMT or refer you to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for deportation.

While there are many crimes/offenses that are clearly CIMTs, such as, murder, rape, robbery and larceny, there are countless others that fall into a grey area. For these offenses, immigration attorneys will often look to case law to see how the courts have interpreted the specific statute under which you were charged/convicted. Courts will look to the language of the statute to determine whether it involves morally depraved, vile or corrupt conduct. In doing so, they will reach a conclusion as to whether that particular crime/offense is a CIMT. If your offense is considered a CIMT by a court, then you will likely be subject to the consequences mentioned above.

It is important to note that when it comes to our immigration system, all charges, convictions, and arrests, are relevant when reviewing your applications/petitions. This is true whether your criminal case was expunged, dismissed, sealed, etc. Even if your defense attorney, a prosecutor or judge tells you that you don't have to worry about the charge/conviction, you will still be required to address it and the potential consequences the offense has on your immigration status/benefits.

Below are some examples of clearly defined CIMTs as well as some offenses that are probably CIMTs, but haven't been explicitly declared as such under New York case law.

EXAMPLES OF CIMTs UNDER NEW YORK LAW

Murder
Aggravated Manslaughter
Special Victims Crimes (e.g., Rape, Criminal Sexual Act, Forcible Touching, Sexual Abuse, etc.)
Aggravated Assault
Aggravated DWI/DUI
Burglary (If the record of conviction shows that the intended crime to be committed once inside was a CIMT)
Arson
Petit Larceny & Grand Larceny
Robbery
Forgery, Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument
Tampering with Public Records
Offering a False Instrument for Filing
Perjury
Prostitution

EXAMPLES OF PROBABLE CIMTs UNDER NEW YORK LAW

Criminal Possession of a Weapon
Conspiracy, Attempt, Solicitation (If underlying offense is a CIMT) (Ex. attempted robbery)
Assault on a Police Officer
Menacing
Stalking
Kidnapping

If you are looking to file for immigration benefits and believe that you may have been convicted of a CIMT and would like to set up a consultation, please schedule one today using the button at the top of our website or by giving us a call. Our experienced immigration attorneys are here to provide the advice you need.

Disclaimer: This blog post and similar posts are not to be considered as providing legal advice. The discussion here is meant for educational and informational purposes only and shall not create an attorney-client relationship with the readers of this content.