Conviction for Possessing Gun While in U.S. on H-1B Visa Upheld

The conviction of an Australian who was working in Hawaii under an H-1B visa, for being a nonimmigrant in possession of a firearm, was upheld by the Ninth Circuit even though the jurors were read an erroneous instruction.

Melvyn Gear was considered a nonimmigrant because his H-1B visa granted him permission to work in a specialty job in the U.S. for a limited period of time.

After Gear divorced his Australian wife and remarried in Hawaii, a federal agent received a tip that his ex-wife shipped him gun parts from Australia. Gear first told the agent he couldn’t have a ...