Travelling to US with a criminal record in the UK

My brother is in a different situation.
he was arrested and charged for an offence.
He was offered a caution but refused it. Now he is awaiting
Trial . Let me reiterate - his charge is not major like
rape terrorism drink driving Fraud drugs possession murder gbh or anything sexual
Now he wants to go to the USA in a few months
So what i want to know is that though he has not been convicted or been cautioned but arrested
And court pending , what are the ramifications of a visa being granted ?

I think your brother has 3 choices. 1. Stay home. 2. Apply for a visa and tell them about the arrest. 3. Use the VWP and tick 'NO' to all questions about arrests & convictions.

I doubt your brother will be happy with option 1. Option 2 will probably lead to a denial of visa, you just have take your chances. He will certainly be on the US radar from now on with this option. Option 3 entails risk but as 'CheersT' will tell you, READ POST #22!! The UK has not shared minor arrests/convictions with the US. I did find this post that might help. Good luck to your brother on whatever decision he makes.

Thanks
the explanation of crimes involving moral terpitude is poor when applying for the waiver.
Is it subjective. One can argue that their crime to their eyes was not.
it needs a better definition.
An interesting read here that details what constitute a crime involving moral terpitude.
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=559272

It lists all crimes that have denied a visa , and crimes that havnt.

Any comments ?

Comment- Mike has actually given you the 3 options your brother has if he wants to visit the US. But, you also say he is still awaiting 'court'. Until he has basically been through the court system procedures and a decision has been made about his punishment or no punishment for the unspecified crime(s), there are no real usable answers to your question. Your brother was arrested for something the British government felt was a crime. You state he refused the 'caution' he was offered. Until this situation is resolved, your brother should stay home for the moment.

Granted, the UK and US do not share minor violations at this time. But, if this issue is not resolved before he visits, there is always the chance he will be placed back on a plane at his own expense. Resolve the court case first, then decide if the box should be checked or not. Again, too little information for anyone to truly give any type of accurate information.

On that note, this is a travel-related website and not one that deals with legal issues. What you are getting are opinions only, not facts. Please keep that in mind.

Right sorry to bring up this thread again! But was wondering if anyone could help me.
I've been offered the chance to go to florida with family on friday (19th aug) as dad has dropped out but there being a slight problem I've got 3 convictions for possession of cannabis (1 in 2001 and 2 in 2008).
Before I knew what we we're doing my mum had filled in wvp and ticked yes to convictions and obviously this was rejected so we filled out the first part of the visa process (the online form) that asked a lot off questions, but now we found out it takes a few weeks to get visa if all straight forward so no chance of getting one before they go, so my question to you knowledgeable lot is can I apply for another wvp and tick no this time to convictions or will it flag up now as was already denied and filled in the visa form?

Thanks iws

I think you user name says it all. I am afraid you have sealed your fate on visiting the US. Your previous attempt to use the VWP and its rejection will be on record from now on. I have read that there is a process to appeal the rejection. With 3 separate convictions however, I doubt the US officials will now vote 'yes' and give you a visa.

I think you will need legal advice at this point if you are still keen on visiting the US. Good luck.

Quoting vegasmike6

I think you user name says it all. I am afraid you have sealed your fate on visiting the US. Your previous attempt to use the VWP and its rejection will be on record from now on. I have read that there is a process to appeal the rejection. With 3 separate convictions however, I doubt the US officials will now vote 'yes' and give you a visa.

I think you will need legal advice at this point if you are still keen on visiting the US. Good luck.

Thanks for the reply vegasmike6
Just as I thought no chance this time as it less than a week away! but there was no way I was going to tick no on the vwp form and then get to america and be denied entry and turned around, as have read on here and other places that people have done this and got away with it several times but also read about people doing it and getting there and having fingerprints taken / interrogation and their records coming up and being denied entry and escorted out of the country! And couldn't take the risk as would of been travelling with family and would not want to put them through the embarrassment.
if I ever got the chance to go to america again what would be the correct procedure to follow with my 3 convictions and being denied vwp. You mention legal advice where would be my first port of call before going to embassy to see what they said?? Solicitor?

Thanks again

I took a quick look at legal advice and saw this one. It might be worth a call to see if they could help with your situation.

Hi, i read all of the posts here on the forum, but i ve got i question and i would be really really thankful if anyone can give some advice.

well ,i am originally russian, and i ve been studying in uk for like 5 years. i know that what i am gonna write here its totally stupid and i am so much regreting for it day since then, but 2 years ago i got caught shoplifting in h&m,like 40 pounds. they took me to the police station ,took my fingerprints, fotos and so on. i just dont know why i did it, its was not that i didnt have money or something, it was just, i dont even know what was it, but i just did it and i would never do it again in my life. well, i was in a police station for an hour than they told me to go home,i asked them if this would be a problem for travelling they said no.
2 days later, i left to russia, and since then i didnt go to uk, as i finished my studies and start working here in my home country.
now, i ve got a job in cyprus, and i ve got a visa now for 3 mnths, as ill be staying there to obtain a work permit. they want from me clear criminal record back from my country and i ve got it. only thing that bothers me ,is it possible that cyprus police or govermenta can see about my record in uk or something???
i would appriciate so much if anyone could give me any advice, i know i did very wrongful act, and it thought me that i would never in my life do something like that again.

thank you very very much.
please to judge me, i know i was young and extremely stupid:/
cheers
kate

Kate,
And here I thought only men did stupid s**t!! Kate, almost all of us have done something stupid and have carried on with our lives. You did a stupid thing and got to share it with all of us on TP!!

As I think you know, none of us are lawyers and cannot give legal advice. Kate, I would take the UK police at their word. There is no record that will keep you from traveling to another country. They let you go and and said in effect: 'no problem'. The only country that will know about this is the UK and they sent you home. Relax and put this episode behind you. Now: "Go and sin no more".

[ Edit: Edited on 30-Aug-2011, at 11:13 by vegasmike6 ]