Hi,
I am a Ph.D. student on F1 visa. Unfortunately, something horrible happened to me. I live in Virginia. one day I was giving a ride to someone. she started smoking marijuana in my car, and left the filter with a tiny bit of marijuana in the ashtray of my car, after she left. I didnt see it at that moment. stoped for gas and when I was leaving forgot to turn on the light. got stoped by police (because the lights were off). Told me, my light was off. went to his car and i could smell marijuana in the car and saw the leftover of the marijuana roll in the ashtray, so i paniced. He asked if I have any marijuana in my car. I thought being honest may be the best I should do, so i gave him the tiny leftover of the roll and told him it's not mine, he asked me to step out of the car and gave me a summons for possession. After the incident i contacted a lawyer. he asked from the court for the community service for me (as the first offender) and probation for a year, so after a year if everything goes well the court will drop my charge. Now i'm close to graduation, and I am stressed out. I don't know how bad is my situation and will this be a big problem for me if i'm searching for a postdoc position (my visa will change from H1 to J1) or applying for OPT. I don't know if it is necessary to talk to a lawer again. if so, should I talk to a criminal defense lawyer or immigration lawyer? what is the chance that a lawyer can help me to solve this problem?
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