Whether a criminal case that ended with a violent-conduct citation could affect re-entry
I’m planning to visit Korea this summer, and I’m reaching out because I’m wondering if a criminal case could affect my re-entry.
Last year I got caught up in a fight and received a citation from police for violent conduct, but I wasn’t taken to the police station for questioning or fingerprinted. Afterward, I received a notice to appear in court by a certain date, and through a separate criminal defense attorney, I requested a No Contest plea from the prosecutor, and the judge ruled that if there’s no offense within 1 year, the case would be dismissed.
I wanted to visit Korea this time, so I did an FBI Background Check, and since I wasn’t fingerprinted, it came back with no record at all — I’d like to know if having no FBI record could still work against me at the entry inspection when returning from Korea. Also, if there’s no record now, but the police or court later update the case after the dismissal, could that still create a limitation on entry even though it’s dismissed?
Since the case was dismissed, if you get a copy of the disposition criminal record and carry it with you, there shouldn’t be any problem. It should be fine to just travel without it, but if you’re worried, please make a copy and carry it with you.
A Certificate of Disposition is an official court document affixed with the Court Seal that says what happened in a criminal case. It says the crime you were charged with, what you were convicted of, the date you were convicted, and the sentence you got.