Marijuana and Immigration Law Consequences for Lawful Permanent Residents
- The information in this blog is not a substitute for seeking the legal opinion and/or legal representation of an experienced immigration lawyer who is fully aware of lawful permanent resident’s background and personal circumstances. Immigration law is prone to frequent changes in the law that can affect the validity of the information provided herein. For any immigration law issue I recommend attorney Sufen Hilf of the law firm Hilf & Hilf, PLC.
With the increasing legalization by States for marijuana there is a false perception that Federal law is also more tolerant. The federal penalty for possession of marijuana (as a first time marijuana conviction only) is a misdemeanor with up to 1 year of incarceration and a maximum fine of $1000. The federal penalty for selling or distributing less than 50 kilograms of marijuana is a felony that carries up to 5 years of incarceration and a maximum fine of $250,000. At the time of this blog marijuana is classified under Federal law as a schedule 1 substance.
Immigration law is similarly in opposition to marijuana use, possession, distribution, sales, or cultivation. Moreover, any sort of a diversionary sentence in State court in which the alien pled guilty before a Judge is still viewed as as a conviction. It does not matter if the State considers the conviction as expunged, sealed, or not entered into a public record.