5 Ways to IMPROVE an FBI Background Check with a California Criminal Record [For 2nd Citizenship]
- Parviz Malakouti-Fitzgerald, Esq.
- Jul 7
- 4 min read
By Parviz Malakouti-Fitzgerald, Esq.
Having a criminal record as an American applying for second citizenship can seriously derail your plans.
That’s because as an American applying for second citizenship, you usually have to submit your FBI background check (IdHS). This typically applies whether you are applying for citizenship by investment (such as in St. Kitts, Turkey or Grenada, etc.), by descent (such as in Slovakia, Poland or Croatia, etc.), or through naturalization after a period of residency.
If you have an arrest, charge or conviction your FBI IdHS will typically show that criminal record, and that’s where people run into trouble. That criminal record can be held against the applicant, and even be the cause for a citizenship denial.
Fortunately, there are certain ways to try to rehabilitate your FBI background check. Rehabilitation of an FBI background check is just one of the strategies that exist for Americans with a criminal record pursuing second citizenship. At Malakouti Law, we’ve helped many Americans improve their FBI background check for the purpose of applying for foreign citizenship or residency.
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Article Outline:
If you’re from California, here are the paths you might have available to improve your FBI IdHS background check.
California Misdemeanor Conviction
If you have a California misdemeanor conviction, there’s a good chance you can obtain a PC 1203.4 dismissal. This dismissal is commonly known as an “expungement.” After you’ve obtained an expungement, we can go through a process to challenge your California Department of Justice (“CalDOJ”) and FBI IdHS to demand an update to reflect that the California misdemeanor conviction has been “SET ASIDE AND DISMISSED.” as shown below.
We also update and improve our clients’ CalDOJ background check as well as part of the process. The CalDOJ background check is used for a variety of different government background checks within California (certain employment, professional licensing such as for law, medicine, real estate agent, nursing, etc.).
California Juvenile Record
Some people had a brush with the law when they were a juvenile.
Fortunately, a California juvenile record is one of the only types of criminal record in California that once sealed can be entirely removed from your FBI IdHS, as if it never existed.
In this case, after screening the client for eligibility, we petition to seal their juvenile record, argue the case in a hearing if necessary, and then go through a challenge of the client’s CalDOJ and FBI background check through both the California Department of Justice and the FBI CJIS. When the process is successful, the FBI IdHS is updated to show no record whatsoever, which yields the results below.
California Incomplete Disposition
Some people have incomplete disposition (i.e. dismissal, conviction) information on their FBI IdHS.
In this scenario, sometimes an FBI IdHS shows their arrest and charges, but nothing afterwards. This is an incomplete disposition. There are two big reasons an incomplete disposition can be a problem. The first is because it can give the appearance to the person reading the record that the case is still open because there is no final disposition shown (either a conviction, dismissal or something else).
The second big problem an incomplete disposition can present is sometimes the initial charges are much graver and more numerous than what the person was eventually convicted of after a plea bargain. The way we deal with a California incomplete disposition is by ordering your CalDOJ & FBI IdHS, as well as your court records and then challenging the CalDOJ & FBI background checks to show the final disposition.
This results in an improved FBI IdHS that the client can present for their foreign citizenship or residency application.
Incorrect Personal Information
Some people have wonky personal information listed on their FBI IdHS.
We’ve had clients who had an incorrect citizenship listed (Singapore instead of Russia), incorrect race, and incomplete names.
To fix the incomplete personal information on an FBI IdHS, we have to first identify the criminal justice agency that contributed the faulty information to the FBI Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS). The CJIS is the sub-agency that generates the FBI background check. Once we’ve identified the agency who made the mistake, we challenge our clients’ CalDOJ & FBI IdHS with information about the mistaken submission until we get the FBI IdHS corrected and updated.
California Incorrect Conviction Information
Some people have a conviction listed on their FBI IdHS that simply does not belong to them.
It’s a mistake. This is a problem, especially if the conviction listed is for a much worse crime (such as rape, murder, manslaughter, sexual abuse of minors) than what a person was convicted of.
We’ve dealt with these cases. As with the incorrect personal information, through record requests, we identify the criminal justice agency that contributed the faulty information to the FBI CJIS. We inform the agency and then we initiate our record challenges with the CalDOJ and the FBI CJIS.
Request a Consultation with Malakouti Law
The above mentioned solutions are not all the options available for someone with a California criminal record. These are just the issues and options we see most commonly.
At Malakouti Law, we help people know if there’s anything that can be done to improve their FBI background check. And then we help them do it.
Click here to book a consultation with us.
Each immigration and citizenship case is particular and you should consult with a qualified immigration and citizenship lawyer about your case before taking any steps. The Law Office of Parviz Malakouti does not guarantee the accuracy of information presented nor assume responsibility for actions taken in reliance of this information. The information in this page could become outdated. Attorney marketing.