Slava Voynov’s Immigration Wrinkle to his Domestic Violence Charges

As the NFL continues to make headlines with its continued domestic violence issues, the NHL proved last month that domestic violence problems are not just limited to pro football. In October, Los Angeles Kings star defenseman Slava Voynov was arrested following a domestic dispute with his wife that required her to receive medical attention at the hospital. He has been suspended by the Kings since the arrest, and this week he was officially charged by the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office with a felony count of corporal injury to a spouse with serious bodily injury. While Mr. Voynov must face the criminal justice system much like the more publicized NFL cases, he has many additional issues relating to his immigration status.

Slava Voynov is a native, and presumable still a citizen, of Russia. Thus, he is probably in the United States under nonimmigrant status as an athlete, or possible as a legal permanent resident if the Kings petitioned for a green card for him. Since he is not a citizen, he will have to worry about two different issues relating to United States immigration.

First, if he is convicted of the charged offense, he would become immediately deportable under current immigration laws. Further, the charge is considered a crime of moral turpitude, such that Mr. Voynov would be inadmissible to return to the United States should he ever leave the U.S. with that charge on his record. The distinction between being deportable and being inadmissible my seem small, but could have serious ramifications for Mr. Voynov. It is conceivable that he may accept a plea on the case such that he is not deportable, but is inadmissible. This would mean that he could remain in the United States, but should he ever leave (like say for a game in Vancouver), he would not be allowed to return.

A final immigration issue that Mr. Voynov must face is with Canada. Even if he were to somehow avoid immigration issues in the United States by taking a plea to a lower charge, he would be inadmissible into Canada with a criminal conviction for domestic violence in the United States. This means that even if he is somehow able to lower the charges and remain in the United States, he may not be allowed to travel to any of the Canadian games, where the Kings currently play about 15% of their schedule, not including the playoffs. If this occurs, even if the Kings keep Mr. Voynov on their roster, they’d certainly have something to say about paying out the full 100% of his six-year, $25 million contract, of which five and a half years still remain.

While the charge is still pending and nothing may result from this, it should be obvious that, although less publicized than the NFL cases, Mr. Voynov’s domestic violence charge has MUCH more serious consequences for him.