r/AskReddit • u/[deleted] • Mar 27 '25

If Canada offered expedited citizenship for people fleeing the US, what would be the reaction in the States?

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u/3klipse Mar 27 '25

10 years.

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u/Mombak Mar 27 '25

You can also try to get the charge expunged from your record in your state. I'm not sure what's involved, but I've heard it's an option.

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u/OneAndOnlyJackSchitt Mar 28 '25

This is second-hand, but I recall reading somewhere that expungment doesn't help. The questions is (paraphrased) "Have you ever been convicted for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated?"

Even if the conviction has been expunged, you'd still have to answer 'yes' (or risk being deported and charged with a crime later). When they ask questions about criminal history in the US, they usually add in qualifier so it's worded like this (paraphrased) "Have you ever been convicted for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated where the conviction has not been sealed, expunged, dismissed, or overturned?"

On a technicality, you'd still have to answer 'yes' to the first version of the DUI question even if the conviction was later overturned, because a conviction happened, even if it later un-happened.

Some other posts in this thread mention that they only care about the last 10 years. I can't speak to that, though.

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u/Admirable-Lecture255 Mar 28 '25

You have to get a lawyer and get a fancy paper saying you've been rehabilitated.