For all practical purposes, there is no such thing as an expungement of a conviction for immigration purposes. In reviewing the character and fitness of an immigrant along the different steps from permanent residency to citizenship, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services looks to see if the petitioner has ever been convicted of a crime.

Even if the immigrant was convicted, made restitution, and as part of a plea agreement had the court record expunged, that initial conviction will still appear on the immigrant's record and the immigrant may well find him/herself in deportation proceedings (as was the case of Padilla v. Kentucky (2010)). In Padilla, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Padilla has received ineffective assistance of counsel because he had not been warned of the possible immigration consequences of his guilty plea.