It could be that your spouse, boyfriend, girlfriend or roommate is taking out a restraining order against you, and you didn’t do anything wrong. Perhaps your spouse has found someone else and wants you out of the picture. Maybe you married someone who is not an American, and he/she wants to stay in the country, but without you. What if you met someone with children, they moved into your house, and now they want to force you out? That person may have fabricated a story, such as you were physically abusive or they were concerned by the threat of immediate physical harm, and now you find a restraining order has been filed against you. The restraining order is not a criminal prosecution; it is civil. However, once it is in place, it will be on your probation record, and if you violate it in any way, he/she can take out criminal charges on you for violation of an abuse order. That is a criminal offense and can put you in jail. If you are in a panic and don’t know what to do, get legal advice.

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