What could Thursday’s guilty verdict on a charge of sexual abuse of a minor in the Dominican Republic mean for Rays shortstop Wander Franco’s future as a major leaguer?

What are the potential implications of the conviction for his ability to return to the United States?

Immigration attorney Danielle Hernandez said that a conviction related to a child is a serious issue under immigration law.

Franco, who signed an 11-year deal with the Rays worth $182 million in November 2021, doesn’t have any real chance of returning to the US. with a new visa, she said.

“I do not think he would be compliant with his visa status,” Hernandez said. “The U.S. Customs and Border Protection would have to know about it, but a crime against a child like that is considered a CIMT, or crime involving moral turpitude. If he has a green card it can get taken away, and with a non-immigrant visa it will be a violation.”

Franco was involved in a relationship with a then-14-year-old girl that began in December 2022. He was 21. A three-judge panel found Franco, now 24, guilty and gave him a two-year suspended sentence.

Lisette Sanchez, an immigration attorney in Tampa, said that even an acquittal on appeal may not be enough to bring Franco back to the United States.

In her opinion, his existing conviction, unless formally overturned, continues to render him inadmissible.

“If the appellate court somehow expunged or overturned the conviction, only then might he be eligible to apply for a new visa,” Sanchez said. “But as things stand, with a conviction in place, it is nearly impossible for him to obtain legal entry.”

Franco’s attorneys could file an appeal in a higher court five days after the sentence is formally issued on July 27.

Irina Ventura, Franco’s lawyer, told Dominican media outlets outside the courtroom Thursday that justice was not served because the defense had expected a full acquittal for Franco.

Prosecutors had requested a five-year prison sentence against Franco and a 10-year sentence against the girl’s mother, who was found guilty of sexually trafficking her daughter and will serve the full term.

“You saw the hearings, and you saw that the most controversial and fundamental points of Wander’s defense were not addressed in the decision,” Ventura said. “We have to wait for the written ruling in order to evaluate the grounds for the appeal.”

Immigration attorney J. Tony Lopez said that in Franco’s case, a guilty conviction would revoke any current visa and bar him from obtaining future permits of any kind, including the P-1 athlete visa commonly used by foreign-born professional athletes.

Even with a favorable outcome in court during an appeal, Lopez said, Franco’s return to the U.S. would not be guaranteed, as the likelihood of being allowed back could be very low.