Criminal record and obtaining a US visa

[Dave Noble]

Not sure what do to - If I knew this before buying plane tickets I would have put off trip until I could have all spent

The simple and sensible thing to do is to follow the correct procedure and apply for a visa. If it is granted, all well and good , if not then you may be able to get a refund from the airline ( some fares do allow for refund for visa refusal )

Going and lying on an entry form to the USA seems the worst possible idea

 

[zetski210]

...I have one unspent charge for drink driving...

This is not classified as moral turpitude and you do not need to declare this on the VWP or upon entry to the US.

...My older spent charges (I have 3) one for cannabis possession, one for implements and one for wilful damage they CAN NOT access...

These are classified as moral turpitude, they need to be declared and you will be ineligable to travel on the VWP.

 

[jeffro]

The simple and sensible thing to do is to follow the correct procedure and apply for a visa. If it is granted, all well and good , if not then you may be able to get a refund from the airline ( some fares do allow for refund for visa refusal )

Going and lying on an entry form to the USA seems the worst possible idea

Yeah I understand this and after consideration will be taking visa avenue or cancelling trip. I guess I was answering question arrising many times through out this thread being what can the USA actually check.

I think after reading the up to date website mentioned previoulsy its 100% that spent records cannot be checked from any country and unspent records I think its a 100% they can be checked as outlined in website. (if they pull you aside for a RCMP computer criminal record search.)

 

[jeffro]

This is not classified as moral turpitude and you do not need to declare this on the VWP or upon entry to the US.


These are classified as moral turpitude, they need to be declared and you will be ineligable to travel on the VWP.

Thing is VWP also asks point blank if you have criminal record with drink driving will be recorded as..

The website I mentioned discusses it - allthough not classified as moral turpitude will still cause refusal if detected on entry

 

[Dave Noble]

Yeah I understand this and after consideration will be taking visa avenue or cancelling trip. I guess I was answering question arrising many times through out this thread being what can the USA actually check.

Applying for a visa seems a better option unless you have booked a ticket which has no cancellation penalty

Dave

 

[JohnK]

In my case I have one unspent charge for drink driving from 8 1/2 years ago.

How serious was the drink driving? Jail sentence?

If not then I would not worry about declaring drink driving charges, even if you were arrested, where all that has happened is licence suspension and a fine. I was told by US immigration in 2007 not to answer "Yes" to that question anytime I enter the USA in the future.

 

[rakem]

Hey,

Been reading this thread with great interest as I'm in a similar situation to a lot of people on here.

I want to go to the USA for my honeymoon in May next year. Around 5 years ago i was arrested for cannabis and ecstasy possession. Went to court, no conviction.

I'm in the process of getting my criminal history from the Police at the moment, which I will take along to the inevitable meeting since I will be denied entry under the VMP.

Just had a couple of questions

1)What other documents should i take along to the meeting?
2)If my entry gets approved, how long is it valid for?
3)Thoughts on my chances on getting approved?

Cheers!

p.s I was actually in America two years ago before all this VWP came about, I filled out the immigration card on the plane, answered 'yes' to the relevant question about being arrested and was let into the country without any problems.

 

[tinytots]

Ok, sorry i know this is getting repetitous but we want to go to usa in jan 11. I myself have a minor dui from 11 yrs ago with no conviction recorded, i am thinking i
should be fine to not get a visa. My husband however has a GBH charged from 9years ago which he did a few month in jail for. He is going to go for a interview. We have acessed the web site to arrange for a interview but before we organise one just wondering if it is best to get all the stuff we need prior to booking an interview or if there will be plenty of time after allocation of appt. Basically i want to know how long till u get an interview. This is a for a work conference for 7days.

 

[zetski210]

...just wondering if it is best to get all the stuff we need prior to booking an interview or if there will be plenty of time after allocation of appt. Basically i want to know how long till u get an interview...

You will need a police record check, which will take a couple of weeks (depending on which state you are in). Other than that, the only other thing you will need are all the forms which you can download from the consulate website.
I took in some other documents like a letter from my employer, letter from my professor and acceptance letter to a conference, but they were not interested in any of those.

Make sure you have the police check procedure underway and allow a couple of weeks for that to arrive, but other than that, you should be good to go.

You husband will be denied a VISA straight up and depending on the attitude of the interview officer, they may apply for a waiver of ineligibility which will take a minimum of 6 weeks. They will hold his passport for this time and there is nothing you can do to speed up that process, or any way of finding out the status.

Good luck!

 

[NM]

Ok, sorry i know this is getting repetitous but we want to go to usa in jan 11. I myself have a minor dui from 11 yrs ago with no conviction recorded, i am thinking i
should be fine to not get a visa. My husband however has a GBH charged from 9years ago which he did a few month in jail for. He is going to go for a interview. We have acessed the web site to arrange for a interview but before we organise one just wondering if it is best to get all the stuff we need prior to booking an interview or if there will be plenty of time after allocation of appt. Basically i want to know how long till u get an interview. This is a for a work conference for 7days.

Note that the approach that seems to be taken by the US government is that ANY charge/arrest for a crime involving moral turpitude means the applicant is automatically ineligible for a visa to enter the USA and the application will be rejected. However, if the officer evaluating the application believes there are grounds they may submit a request for an exception to the refusal which means your application (including passport) are sent to the USA for review and possible visa issue.

So expect that the initial application will be rejected because the applicant is ineligible for a visitor's visa. But also expect that its possible the next step may be consideration of an exception and eventual visa issue. Several people have described their experience with this process earlier in this thread.

 

[Alanslegal]

If you have had your visa application rejected, fear not - as there are soooo many other wonderful places in the world you can still visit.

 

[etoc11]

update to thread posted 23 Feb 2010

This has been a long and drawn out process. It is nearly 4 months since first posting. During that time passport needed reissuing, police documentation needed to be produced. That was sent in last week and a reply with "denial of visa" was returned with the passport. Though it does have options for obtaining a waiver.

So now another set of hoops to jump through.

Going off what is in the US State Dept site (travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/ineligibilities/ineligibilities_1364.html) "Classes of Aliens Ineligible to Receive Visas" if you fall under any of the "Ineligibilities" then you are refused, they cannot make a decision at the consulate level. If the offences are recent or fall under certain sections of ineligibility you will not be offered to apply for further consideration. So now we go through the next steps, at least we can.

We have a booking for late September so still 3 months (12 weeks) and this could take 6-8 weeks going off other reports.

Will keep everyone posted further. Can be stressful but have to hang in there. Anyone else had this issue? How long did this next step take?

 

[Maca44]

This has nothing to do with entering the USA with a criminal record, but is relevant to entering the US in any event. Noticed this in the Nine news website.
Almost 1200 Aussies denied entry to the US

Almost 1200 Aussies denied entry to the US

A foreign visitor is processed by a US Customs and Border Protection agent at an airport in Los Angeles. (Getty Images)

Standing before the US customs officer inspecting your passport, you steal a glance at the exit for passengers going to collect their luggage at the carousel.

But any excitement soon dissolves into a sense of foreboding as the officer directs you down a different corridor — to the Customs and Border Protection rooms.

 

[rakem]

So the following text is a quote from the link a few posts above

"(2) Criminal and related grounds.-

(A) Conviction of certain crimes.-

(i) In general.-Except as provided in clause (ii), any alien convicted of, or who admits having committed, or who admits committing acts which constitute the essential elements of-

(I) a crime involving moral turpitude (other than a purely political offense or an attempt or conspiracy to commit such a crime), or

(II) a violation of (or a conspiracy or attempt to violate) any law or regulation of a State, the United States, or a foreign country relating to a controlled substance (as defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802)), is inadmissible.

(ii) Exception.-Clause (i)(I) shall not apply to an alien who committed only one crime if-

(I) the crime was committed when the alien was under 18 years of age, and the crime was committed (and the alien released from any confinement to a prison or correctional institution imposed for the crime) more than 5 years before the date of application for a visa or other documentation and the date of application for admission to the United States, or

(II) the maximum penalty possible for the crime of which the alien was convicted (or which the alien admits having committed or of which the acts that the alien admits having committed constituted the essential elements) did not exceed imprisonment for one year and, if the alien was convicted of such crime, the alien was not sentenced to a term of imprisonment in excess of 6 months (regardless of the extent to which the sentence was ultimately executed)."


So am i correct in understanding that if someone was arrested for possession more than 5 years ago then they should be OK to be granted a visa and travel to America?

 

[zetski210]

So the following text is a quote from the link a few posts above

"(2) Criminal and related grounds.-

(A) Conviction of certain crimes.-

(i) In general.-Except as provided in clause (ii), any alien convicted of, or who admits having committed, or who admits committing acts which constitute the essential elements of-

(I) a crime involving moral turpitude (other than a purely political offense or an attempt or conspiracy to commit such a crime), or

(II) a violation of (or a conspiracy or attempt to violate) any law or regulation of a State, the United States, or a foreign country relating to a controlled substance (as defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802)), is inadmissible.

(ii) Exception.-Clause (i)(I) shall not apply to an alien who committed only one crime if-

(I) the crime was committed when the alien was under 18 years of age, and the crime was committed (and the alien released from any confinement to a prison or correctional institution imposed for the crime) more than 5 years before the date of application for a visa or other documentation and the date of application for admission to the United States, or

(II) the maximum penalty possible for the crime of which the alien was convicted (or which the alien admits having committed or of which the acts that the alien admits having committed constituted the essential elements) did not exceed imprisonment for one year and, if the alien was convicted of such crime, the alien was not sentenced to a term of imprisonment in excess of 6 months (regardless of the extent to which the sentence was ultimately executed)."


So am i correct in understanding that if someone was arrested for possession more than 5 years ago then they should be OK to be granted a visa and travel to America?

No, the "5-year" clause only refers to (i) (I) which relates to moral turpitude and is only relevant if the crime occured when the person was under 18 AND more than 5 years ago.

Posession is listed as (i) (II) and is not covered by the "5-year" clause.

 

[rakem]

Well i got my court records today. In 2004 I was arrested on two counts of possession (woops) faced court, case dismissed with no conviction. Had to pay a $60 court fee and that's it.

Booked my interview at the US consulate on 12th July.... fingers crossed they let me in otherwise my honeymoon plans will be quite ruined.

 

[Jamesc_williams]

Hi all,

attended US Consulate early this week with National Fingerprint Record and Court Documents along with all work history financial information etc. Interviewer had no interest in docs except Police Record and Court Docs. I was denied a visa on moral turpitude grounds to an offence in 1989 for which i wasnt even fined. I have only 2 offences this one and a DUI in 1990. Interviewer requested a waiver of ineligibilty and advised this would take some 4 weeks. Like another thread comment I have booked flights in early September and am now quiet concerned will not get my passbook back by this time as if denied will go elsewhere as can cancel flights and use credits. Does anyone know how long this will actually take?? Good luck to all those in similar positions. I only booked flights as have travelled to US before with no problems did not realise had to go through all this b...s... now.

 

[rakem]

I was denied a visa on moral turpitude grounds to an offence in 1989 for which i wasnt even fined. I have only 2 offences this one and a DUI in 1990.

****... still paying for things that happened 20 years ago? Freaking ridiculous.
Got my interview on Monday 12th.... nervous as hell.

 

[Skyring]

****... still paying for things that happened 20 years ago? Freaking ridiculous.
Got my interview on Monday 12th.... nervous as hell.

Spent convictions - none of this would show up in the records unless they went deep. The whole thing's a shambles. They have a question on the form:
Do you advocate the overthrow of the United States government by force or subversion?
Just who do they think is going to answer "Yes" to this question?

Mind you though, my mother-in-law, innocent as she is, thought for a minute and circled "force".

 

[Dave Noble]

Spent convictions - none of this would show up in the records unless they went deep. The whole thing's a shambles. They have a question on the form:
Do you advocate the overthrow of the United States government by force or subversion?
Just who do they think is going to answer "Yes" to this question?

Mind you though, my mother-in-law, innocent as she is, thought for a minute and circled "force".

As far as US goes, spent conviction in Australia is irrelevent, it is based on their criteria. If the crime was long enough ago then they will request a waiver for admission.

As far as the lame joke about overthrowing the US , that doesn't exist on the I94W anyway just some comedian's joke that is on the internet .