Can You Be Deported for a Misdemeanor Conviction?

Immigration Law Doesn't Use the Word "Misdemeanor"

The deportability grounds live in INA § 237(a)(2), and none of the categories there reference whether a state calls something a misdemeanor or a felony. Each ground has its own federal definition, built around the elements of the offense, the maximum sentence the statute allows, or in some cases the actual sentence a judge imposed. A conviction can be a low-level misdemeanor under state law and still fall squarely inside one of these categories.

A Single Crime Involving Moral Turpitude Can Be Enough

Under INA § 237(a)(2)(A)(i), a single crime involving moral turpitude, generally an offense involving fraud, theft, or intent to cause serious harm, makes someone deportable if it was committed within five years after admission and is an offense for which a sentence of one year or longer may be imposed.

The word "may" is the part people miss. This isn't about what sentence you actually got. It's about the maximum sentence the statute allows, whether or not the judge ever came close to imposing it. A number of states have specifically capped certain misdemeanors at 364 days, rather than the more common 365 or "up to one year," precisely to keep those offenses under this federal threshold. If your state hasn't done that for the specific statute you were convicted under, an ordinary misdemeanor theft or fraud charge, resolved with probation and no custody time at all, can still satisfy this ground.

Two Minor Convictions Can Do What One Can't

INA § 237(a)(2)(A)(ii) covers a different situation: two or more crimes involving moral turpitude, not arising from a single scheme of criminal misconduct, at any point after admission. There's no five-year window here and no sentence threshold at all. Two separate, unrelated misdemeanor convictions, each minor on its own, can combine to create deportability where either one alone would not have.

"Aggravated Felony" Doesn't Require the State to Call It a Felony

This is the category that surprises people most. "Aggravated felony" under INA § 101(a)(43) is the most severe classification in immigration law, carrying the fewest options for relief, and several of its categories are defined entirely by the sentence a judge imposed, not by the state's own label for the crime. A theft offense, including receipt of stolen property, or a burglary offense qualifies as an aggravated felony under § 101(a)(43)(G) if the term of imprisonment imposed was one year or longer, even if that sentence was fully suspended and no time was ever served. The same one-year threshold applies to crimes of violence under § 101(a)(43)(F). A state misdemeanor conviction with a suspended one-year sentence can become an aggravated felony for immigration purposes, a classification most people assume only applies to serious felonies.

Certain Categories Are Deportable Regardless of Severity

A handful of grounds don't run through the moral turpitude or aggravated felony analysis at all, and they're commonly charged as misdemeanors at the state level:

- Domestic violence, stalking, child abuse, neglect, or abandonment, and protective order violations are deportable offenses under INA § 237(a)(2)(E), regardless of whether the underlying conviction was a misdemeanor.
- Firearms offenses, including certain possession and purchase offenses, are deportable under INA § 237(a)(2)(C).
- Controlled substance convictions are deportable under INA § 237(a)(2)(B)(i), with one narrow exception: a single conviction for possession of 30 grams or less of marijuana for personal use. Every other drug conviction, including ones tied to substances that are legal under state law, remains a federal ground of deportability, because federal law controls this analysis, not state law. Marijuana legalization at the state level has no bearing on this federal ground.

A Plea Deal or Diversion Doesn't Always Mean No Conviction

Immigration law defines "conviction" more broadly than most people expect. Under INA § 101(a)(48)(A), a conviction exists if a judge or jury found the person guilty, or the person pled guilty or no contest, or admitted facts sufficient to support a finding of guilt, and some form of punishment, penalty, or restraint on liberty was ordered, even unsupervised probation. Deferred adjudication programs generally meet this definition and count as convictions for immigration purposes, even in states where they don't count as convictions under state law. Genuine pretrial diversion, where no plea or finding of guilt is entered at all, generally does not count. Expungement, in most circumstances, does not erase the immigration consequence of a qualifying conviction.

A Pattern Worth Understanding Before It's a Problem

The most common version of this problem I see isn't a case where someone knowingly took a serious risk. It's a case where a criminal defense attorney, doing their job well by the standards of the criminal court, resolved a case efficiently with a plea to a low-level misdemeanor and moved on. The client walks away believing the matter is closed, because in the criminal system, it is. The immigration analysis is a separate body of law with its own definitions, and it doesn't ask what the criminal court called the offense.

Under Padilla v. Kentucky, 559 U.S. 356 (2010), the Supreme Court held that criminal defense attorneys have a Sixth Amendment duty to advise noncitizen clients about the deportation consequences of a guilty plea. If that advice was never given, or was wrong, there may be a basis to revisit the plea through post-conviction relief. That possibility is worth exploring before assuming an old plea is permanent.

What to Do If You Have Any Criminal History and Immigration Status to Protect

Get the actual charging documents, plea agreement, and sentencing record, not just your own summary of what happened. The specific statute you were convicted under, and the exact sentence imposed, determine the outcome far more than how serious the incident felt at the time. Have that record reviewed by an immigration attorney before you file any application with USCIS, before any consular interview, and before you travel outside the United States. If a new criminal matter is pending, get immigration advice before any plea is entered, not after.

If you have a misdemeanor conviction, old or recent, and you're not sure what it means for your immigration case, contact Law Offices of Shawn S. Sedaghat at (818) 382-3333.

This article discusses general legal principles and does not describe any specific client or matter. Nothing here constitutes legal advice or creates an attorney-client relationship. Whether a specific conviction triggers deportability depends on the exact statute of conviction and record of conviction, and requires individualized review.

Shawn S. Sedaghat is an immigration attorney at Law Offices of Shawn S. Sedaghat focused on deportation defense, immigration appeals, asylum, family-based immigration, and employment-based immigration. He is the firm’s founder and principal attorney and has more than 30 years of experience handling U.S. immigration matters.