我住在康州， 明年3月要申请入籍，现在准备填表。发现 N-400 Part 12部分问题22-26（criminal）需要您的帮助。 去年秋天我在KOHLS store有过不太好的经历，被店里的保安认为shoplifting，当时叫来了警察。警察没有给我上手拷，没有按指纹，没有照相，好像说了我这回不arrest你，你要到court。给了我一张Larceny 的ticket。我找了律师，期间我做了30个小时的community service，两个月后到法庭上，我交了30 小时 community service证明 和 100 donation，我只回答了一两句，就结束了。律师告诉我，“the prosecutor dropped the case and there would not be any criminal record or any criminal conviction。”
下面是我感到不好回答的地方，还请多多帮忙，谢谢了！
"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."
我的问题：my case was dropped by the prosecutor, 是不是我应该从来就没有record了， 也就不存在 "sealed, expunged, or otherwise cleared"的说法了？
-- 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
我的问题：because my case was dropped by the prosecutor, so I have not committed a crime or offense, 对吗?
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
我的问题：去年秋天我在KOHLS store时，警察没有给我上手拷，没有按指纹，没有照相， 这个算是arrest吗？今天我问了我当时的律师， 他说“ 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
我的问题：because my case was dropped, so I have not been charged with a crime or offense, 对吗?
25. Have you EVER been convicted of a crime or offense?
My answer: NO
我的问题：because my case was dropped, so I have not been convicted of a crime or offense, 对吗?
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
我的问题：我的 30 hours of community service is not an alternative sentencing or a rehabilitative program, 对吗?
-- 移民律师不是USCIS, 要找到能够权威解答你的问题的也很难. 我的经验是, 要找就多找几位, 再踪和评判他们的回答.
