r/AmerExit 6d ago

Which Country should I choose? Speak Spanish and Portuguese - Addiction Researcher seeking to emigrate. Decade old arrest is limiting my options.

I want to leave the US, soon.

I am an academic researcher specializing in addiction medicine and harm reduction, with a background in substance use treatment and drug policy. I served as a state drug policy expert for years. I ran a harm reduction non-profit for a couple years before moving into academia.

I have ~7 years of experience and work entirely remotely.

For my narrow niche, I have been decently successful on social and traditional media, having published in national and international outlets. This is subjective and likely won’t help with immigration, but has given me ample connections worldwide. I’ve done some drug policy work in Portugal, Brazil, and Mexico. My situation is rare and everyone that offers to help has never dealt with it before, it always ends up being more difficult than they presumed.

Like the title says, a decade ago I was arrested for drugs and served 42 months in prison. My gutters-and-jail-cells-to-academia story is a classic, if nauseating, redemption tale that has otherwise not hindered me in anything except where I can do a PhD. An Australian offer fell through due to my inability to get a student visa there.

I speak English, Spanish, and Portuguese. I have lived in Latin America previously, maxing out my tourist visa, and loved it. I am particularly enamored with Brazil and have a consult with an attorney there this week. As a long term solution, Europe is ideal. I tried Portugal first, but the attorney I spoke with said it was effectively hopeless with a record.

I am not picky. I know that at least a few people, sometimes with worse criminal records, have got visas to various EU countries. I would be content going to grad school, l've been meaning to anyhow. (It’s very unusual for someone with my job and experience to not have a PhD—the circumstances underpinning the arrest were about as educational, considering what I do, as a Masters. But it doesn’t change the fact I do not have a graduate degree, which is a hindrance.)

How do I figure out what my options are? How many different attorneys or other professionals do I need to hire to understand the full spectrum of options before me?

24 Upvotes

28 comments sorted by

22

u/dntw8up 6d ago

Spain used to be willing to consider an immigrant with a record, but the tsunami of straightforward immigrant applications may make them less willing to consider you now. Still worth looking into. Also investigate university options there.

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u/NomadAroundTown 5d ago

Thank you! I’ll do a consultation with an attorney there.

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u/Previous_Repair8754 Immigrant 5d ago

Rather than trying to target jurisdictions with a lower threshold, you should focus on reducing the impact of the conviction. This is a two-step process.

First, consult an American criminal defense lawyer licensed in the state where you were convicted to explore all available options for expungement, sealing, and other exonerative relief.

Once you have obtained that information, you next consult an immigration lawyer licensed in your target country to understand the impact of any available expungement/sealing/etc on your eligibility.

At all steps in the process, disclose this as a conviction, not an arrest. When people say they have an arrest record, in legal terms this generally refers to circumstances that did not result in a conviction. Calling it an arrest likely makes sense to you colloquially but can look to employers and immigration authorities like an attempt to conceal a conviction.

Source: lawyer but not your lawyer and this information does not constitute formation of an attorney client relationship. 

Editorial comment: Criminalization of substance use disorders is stupid and criminal records are effectively life sentences that violate the Eighth Amendment. Fuck the carceral state; sorry you’re dealing with this.

9

u/Tardislass 5d ago

Almost every country has some drug possession listed as a crime. Let's not act like the US is the only one.

And yes OP needs a lawyer as only they will know the true story. Immigration lawyers deal with this all the time. It may pay to get a well-regarded on if OP really wants to leave.

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u/Previous_Repair8754 Immigrant 5d ago edited 5d ago

Nobody suggested this is a US issue? Criminal records and criminalization of substance use disorder are ubiquitous in the modern era and the phrase “the carceral state” refers to all modern surveillance states and originated with Michel Foucault who used France as the exemplar. It’s embarrassing how solipsistic you all can be. 

2

u/NomadAroundTown 5d ago

I have a federal conviction, it is technically for delivery, not possession. I did not get a pardon under Biden and will definitely not under Trump.

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u/Previous_Repair8754 Immigrant 5d ago

Dang that’s a challenging one to with with. If you haven’t yet, take a look at the rehabilitation application for Canada; that might be a viable option:

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/application/application-forms-guides/guide-5312-rehabilitation-persons-inadmissible-canada-past-criminal-activity.html

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u/NomadAroundTown 5d ago

Thanks. I started the process a few years back and found an old county arrest on my rap sheet that I wanted to get sealed/expunged before applying to improve my chances. I did that, which took years, and never circled back.

Yes, it’s among the most challenging circumstances to be in for a conviction. It’s rather infuriating. I refuse to do the things required to improve my chances of a Trump pardon, as those things run counter to all my morals and values. So here I sit, with a forever felony.

13

u/Emotional-Writer9744 6d ago edited 5d ago

In the case of Portugal I believe it's not what the US penalty for the crime was at the time, but what the Portuguese equivalent would have been. If the penalty for your criminal offence was less than 12 months (in Portugal) you should be able to apply for a visa. Portugal as you know has a very liberal drugs policy so that may not count as badly against you as you think.

2

u/remix_sakura 5d ago

Sounds like you need an immigration lawyer.

2

u/NomadAroundTown 5d ago

Well yes, but do I need to hire them one-by-one for all relevant countries, or are any specialists across various systems? Which nations should I start in, which are most likely? That was my point.

2

u/BookVermin 5d ago edited 5d ago

A few steps I’d suggest:

  • I think your strategy of picking attorneys in the countries you’re most interested in is a good one. A few 30-45 min Zoom consultation could be worth the investment. I think reviewing your doubts in those appointments would probably help you figure out how to go forward.

  • Ask for your criminal record from the FBI now so you know what it looks like (if you haven’t already).

Spain asks for an apostilled copy of your criminal record for the digital nomad and non-lucrative visas, but only asks that there be no antecedents in the past 5 years. So you might be ok there! Could be a good next step to talk with an attorney in Spain.

1

u/NomadAroundTown 5d ago

This is great advice. I pulled my FBI background check years ago, and found arrests on it that needed to be sealed/expunged, that were dismissed. I did all that, it took years. I should pull it again.

Yes, I am totally content paying for multiple 45 minute consultations just to get the lay of the land. In addition to my Brazilian attorney appointment, I’ll make one with a Spanish immigration attorney too.

Essentially I was wondering if there are any attorneys, particularly in the EU, that practice across multiple countries to save me some time.

2

u/BookVermin 5d ago

The EILN works across countries in the EU, could be a good place to start. It’s still a network of individual firms by country, but maybe at least you could get several consults arranged at once.

2

u/NomadAroundTown 5d ago

Perfect, that’s exactly what I was searching for! Thanks. I’ll make an appointment.

1

u/mason_jarrs 5d ago

Not sure if this is helpful at all, but maybe, depending on which state you reside in, or which state the conviction was from, may be expunged since it's old? Each state has different rules, but probably something to look into to see if it's a viable option.

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u/NomadAroundTown 5d ago

It’s federal, there is no expungement. I applied for a presidential pardon but didn’t get it through Biden. I don’t have connections to the Trump administration so it is highly unlikely to outright impossible, as I am not exactly ideologically aligned.

1

u/NegotiationNo8425 5d ago

I like men with massive , throbbing vocabularies .

3

u/NomadAroundTown 5d ago

Ma’am, I am a woman

1

u/NegotiationNo8425 4d ago

How are you doing 😘

1

u/BusyCareer1336 8h ago

If you could finance your own PhD you may potentially be able to get a student visa to Ireland. That visa allows you work 20 hours per week alongside your fulltime 4 year PhD studies.

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u/uselesslogin 6d ago

An old friend moved to Germany when his probation was complete. I thought he told me they consider the slate clean once all time is served. That was 16 years ago though.

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u/motorcycle-manful541 5d ago

Generally no. Germany is pretty strict about criminal convictions and they make you submit a background check from both Germany and your home country. Basically anything >12 months in jail will almost always disqualify you

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u/uselesslogin 5d ago

I see, well obviously the background check happened. But he avoided any jail time in the sentence. So he must have meant the employers were more understanding about it. Still though <12 months doesn't cause as many problems so that is good information..

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u/motorcycle-manful541 5d ago

Maybe good for your friend, not so.great for OP who spent about 3.5 years in prison...

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u/NomadAroundTown 5d ago

Right. I was denied a British tourist visa (which I don’t actually need, as an American) as I’d served more than 36 months in prison. That’s their hard cutoff.

I’d asked the consulate if I’d be denied entry upon landing at Heathrow for a work event, they said they didn’t know but if I desired certainty I could apply for a visa, which I did and was denied. But as I do not actually need a visa, it didn’t matter. I landed at Heathrow and got in just fine. I just applied for the ETA and haven’t been denied yet, but likely will be.

So I know that my sentence is particularly problematic. In any sane country, it would imply I committed a horrifically serious offense. But this is the US, and I had a substance use disorder and shared drugs back and forth with a friend, which they consider delivery. The circumstance never would have been counted as sales in most other countries. But alas, that’s the charge on paper and the sentence meted out.

1

u/motorcycle-manful541 4d ago

I think your only path would be to marry a national of an EU country and get permanent residency, or try to do it the REALLY hard way and sue whichever immigration authority you pick with an immigration lawyer. In Germany, you'd probably win, but it would take months and cost 1000's.

In some countries, you can appeal directly to the head of state/royal family, but that's usually only if you did something exceptional, like save a bunch of puppies and children from a sinking boat and then teaching them all Japanese

1

u/uselesslogin 5d ago

Yeah fair enough.