我住在康州， 明年3月要申請入籍，現在準備填表。發現 N-400 Part 12部分問題22-26（criminal）需要您的幫助。 去年秋天我在KOHLS store有過不太好的經曆，被店裏的保安認為shoplifting，當時叫來了警察。警察沒有給我上手拷，沒有按指紋，沒有照相，好像說了我這回不arrest你，你要到court。給了我一張Larceny 的ticket。我找了律師，期間我做了30個小時的community service，兩個月後到法庭上，我交了30 小時 community service證明 和 100 donation，我隻回答了一兩句，就結束了。律師告訴我，“the prosecutor dropped the case and there would not be any criminal record or any criminal conviction。”
下麵是我感到不好回答的地方，還請多多幫忙，謝謝了！
"If any of Item Numbers 22.-28. apply to you, you must answer "YES" even if you records have been sealed, expunged, or otherwise cleared. You must disclose this information even if someone, including a judge, law enforcement officer, or attorney, told you that it no longer constitutes a record or told you that you do not have to disclose the information."
我的問題：my case was dropped by the prosecutor, 是不是我應該從來就沒有record了， 也就不存在 "sealed, expunged, or otherwise cleared"的說法了？
-- Dropped may be otherwise cleared
22. Have you EVER committed, assisted in committing, or attempted to commit, a crime or offense for which you were NOT arrested?
My answer: NO
-- You had the ticket
我的問題：because my case was dropped by the prosecutor, so I have not committed a crime or offense, 對嗎?
23. Have you EVER been arrested, cited, detained by any law enforcement officer (including immigration official or any official of the US armed forces) for any reason?
My answer: NO
-- Cited, not arrested
我的問題：去年秋天我在KOHLS store時，警察沒有給我上手拷，沒有按指紋，沒有照相， 這個算是arrest嗎？今天我問了我當時的律師， 他說“ That being said, under Connecticut law and statute you are allowed to say you have never been arrested. That is a legal fiction. And, you are dealing with federal law which is different from Connecticut. ”
24. Have you EVER been charged with committing, attempting to commit, or assisting in committing a crime or offense?
My answer: NO
我的問題：because my case was dropped, so I have not been charged with a crime or offense, 對嗎?
25. Have you EVER been convicted of a crime or offense?
My answer: NO
我的問題：because my case was dropped, so I have not been convicted of a crime or offense, 對嗎?
26. Have you EVER been placed in an alternative sentencing or a rehabilitative program (for example, diversion, deferred prosecution, withheld adjudication, deferred adjudication)?
My answer: NO
-- You did the community service
我的問題：我的 30 hours of community service is not an alternative sentencing or a rehabilitative program, 對嗎?
-- 移民律師不是USCIS, 要找到能夠權威解答你的問題的也很難. 我的經驗是, 要找就多找幾位, 再蹤和評判他們的回答.
