U.S. Code » Title 18 » Part PART II— CRIMINAL PROCEDURE › Chapter CHAPTER 229— POSTSENTENCE ADMINISTRATION › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER A— PROBATION

18 U.S.C. § 3607

Special probation and expungement procedures for drug possessors

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(a)Pre-judgment Probation.—If a person found guilty of an offense described in section 404 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 844)—(1) has not, prior to the commission of such offense, been convicted of violating a Federal or State law relating to controlled substances; and(2) has not previously been the subject of a disposition under this subsection;the court may, with the consent of such person, place him on probation for a term of not more than one year without entering a judgment of conviction. At any time before the expiration of the term of probation, if the person has not violated a condition of his probation, the court may, without entering a judgment of conviction, dismiss the proceedings against the person and discharge him from probation. At the expiration of the term of probation, if the person has not violated a condition of his probation, the court shall, without entering a judgment of conviction, dismiss the proceedings against the person and discharge him from probation. If the person violates a condition of his probation, the court shall proceed in accordance with the provisions of section 3565.(b)Record of Disposition.—A nonpublic record of a disposition under subsection (a), or a conviction that is the subject of an expungement order under subsection (c), shall be retained by the Department of Justice solely for the purpose of use by the courts in determining in any subsequent proceeding whether a person qualifies for the disposition provided in subsection (a) or the expungement provided in subsection (c). A disposition under subsection (a), or a conviction that is the subject of an expungement order under subsection (c), shall not be considered a conviction for the purpose of a disqualification or a disability imposed by law upon conviction of a crime, or for any other purpose.(c)Expungement of Record of Disposition.—If the case against a person found guilty of an offense under section 404 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 844) is the subject of a disposition under subsection (a), and the person was less than twenty-one years old at the time of the offense, the court shall enter an expungement order upon the application of such person. The expungement order shall direct that there be expunged from all official records, except the nonpublic records referred to in subsection (b), all references to his arrest for the offense, the institution of criminal proceedings against him, and the results thereof. The effect of the order shall be to restore such person, in the contemplation of the law, to the status he occupied before such arrest or institution of criminal proceedings. A person concerning whom such an order has been entered shall not be held thereafter under any provision of law to be guilty of perjury, false swearing, or making a false statement by reason of his failure to recite or acknowledge such arrests or institution of criminal proceedings, or the results thereof, in response to an inquiry made of him for any purpose.(Added Pub. L. 98–473, title II, § 212(a)(2), Oct. 12, 1984, 98 Stat. 2003.)Statutory Notes and Related SubsidiariesEffective Date

Section effective Nov. 1, 1987, and applicable only to offenses committed after the taking effect of this section, see section 235(a)(1) of Pub. L. 98–473, set out as a note under section 3551 of this title.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 161 cases (13 in the last 5 years), 1989–2026 · leading case: Salazar, 23 I. & N. Dec. 223 (BIA 2002).
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Salazar, 23 I. & N. Dec. 223 (BIA 2002). · cites it 28× “Finally, the Immigration Judge determined that because the respondent was a first-time drug offender with a state deferred adjudication, she would have been eligible for federal first offender treatment pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3607 (1994) if she were prosecuted in federal court,…”
Ramirez-Altamirano v. Holder, 563 F.3d 800 (9th Cir. 2009). · cites it 22× “2000), which held that federal drug convictions expunged under the Federal First Offender Act ("FFOA"), 18 U.S.C. § 3607 , could not be used for immigration purposes, 222 F.”
Fernandez-Bernal v. Attorney Gen. of the United States, 257 F.3d 1304 (11th Cir. 2001). · cites it 6× “He claims that had he been prosecuted under federal law, he would have been eligible for relief under the Federal First Offender Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3607 (“FFOA”), which instructs that a disposition under its provisions is “not .”
Byron Paredes-Urrestarazu v. U.S. Immigr. & Naturalization Serv., 36 F.3d 801 (9th Cir. 1994). · cites it 9× “§ 844 (b)(1), and its successor provision codified at 18 U.S.C. § 3607 , has provided a mechanism very similar to the *811 California diversion program.”
Ramirez-Altamirano v. Mukasey, 554 F.3d 786 (9th Cir. 2009). · cites it 22× “2000), which held that federal drug convictions expunged under the Federal First Offender Act ("FFOA"), 18 U.S.C. § 3607 , could not be used for immigration purposes, 222 F.”
Jerry Villavicencio-Rojas v. Loretta E. Lynch, 811 F.3d 1216 (9th Cir. 2016). · cites it 9× “The panel held that the IJ erred in concluding that Villavicencio’s two possession counts barred him from first- offender treatment under the Federal First Offender Act (“FFOA”), 18 U.S.C. § 3607 (a). The panel held that the two counts, for possession of marijuana and possession…”
Daniel Humberto Chavez-Perez v. John Ashcroft, Attorney Gen., 386 F.3d 1284 (9th Cir. 2004). · cites it 5× “2000), Chavez-Perez argued that his conviction was the functional equivalent of those federal convictions that qualify for expungement under the Federal First Offender Act (FFOA), 18 U.S.C. § 3607 . He asserted that the Equal Protection Clause forbids his removal based on a…”
Fidencio Resendiz-Alcaraz v. U.S. Attorney Gen., 383 F.3d 1262 (11th Cir. 2004). · cites it 4× “In his view, he did not “commitQ a criminal offense” as *1267 specified in § 1252(a)(2)(C), as his state conviction was expunged under a rehabilitation scheme similar to the Federal First Offender Act (FFOA), 18 U.S.C. § 3607 . 2 We disagree. State convictions satisfy §…”
Elkins v. Comfort, 392 F.3d 1159 (10th Cir. 2004). · cites it 4× “1 As yet unresolved in this circuit is whether the Federal First Offender Act (FFOA), 18 U.S.C. § 3607 , overrides § 1182. Under the FFOA a first-time offender of 21 U.”
Manrique, 21 I. & N. Dec. 58 (BIA 1995). · cites it 8× “Department of Justice Executive Office for Immigration Review Board of Immigration Appeals As a matter of policy in cases dealing with drug-related convictions under state law, any alien who has been accorded rehabilitative treatment pursuant to a state statute will not be…”
Jose Lopez-Vasquez v. Eric H. Holder Jr., 706 F.3d 1072 (9th Cir. 2013). · cites it 2× “See 18 U.S.C. § 3607 . Under the FFOA, a federal court can put first-time drug offenders who are convicted of simple possession under 21 U.”
Rice v. Holder, 597 F.3d 952 (9th Cir. 2010). · cites it 6× “It held, first, that he would not have been eligible for relief under the Federal First Offender Act (FFOA), 18 U.S.C. § 3607 , for the offense of being under the influence of a controlled substance because the FFOA applies only to simple possession offenses.”
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