Travelling to the US with UK police community resolution

Hello,
I am graduating university next year and have had some opportunities to potentially start my career in America and work there for a short while (Hopefully longer in the future🤞🏻)however i have been arrested before and given a community resolution for 2 offences (Criminal Damage and Common Assault)

I have researched, and as the criminal damage was in my relatives house which is my address i live in (It was actually a cheap item i bought someone and accidentally broke) and there was no malicious intent then it wouldn’t be a crime of moral turpitude, same for common assault.

However, i received a police community resolution for these 2 offences, and that resolution was a cannabis awareness course. I had smoked cannabis that day and i think they may of smelled it, and I stupidly admitted to smoking a joint when i was being taken in the police car
From a US point of view, surely they wouldn’t be able to know i Admitted this? As it was only said during conversation on the way to the station and not in the interview.

The attempted charges were ONLY ‘Criminal Damage’ and ‘Common Assault’ and at no point was i ever further arrested for any law to do with a controlled substance. I haven’t received a ‘Cannabis Warning’ either, as this CR was for the 2 attempted charges.

I am confused as I know the US see community resolutions as admissions of guilt, but the awareness course was the ‘punishment’ for the CD and Assault as weird as that sounds. The house was never searched and neither was I, they was only interested in the CD & Assault, but i am getting anxious that my future plans may be in danger because of the resolution.

I know i can’t get a definite answer here, but based on the paragraph at the bottom, if it showed saying ‘Cannabis Awareness Course’ on my police report as a resolution for Criminal Damage and Assault, would you think i would be inadmissible to the US under those circumstances of no actual substance crime being admitted?

“Persons who (1) have a conviction for, or who (2) admit to having committed acts that constitute the essential elements of, a violation of any law or regulation of a state, the US or a foreign country relating to a controlled substance, are inadmissible”

Thanks very much in advance,

[ Edit: Edited on 16 Apr 2023, 02:53 GMT by JasonStatus ]

For general info:

A community resolution order is an admission of guilt in the UK as well as the US but is not a caution or conviction.

https://unlock.org.uk/advice/community-resolution-order/

As far as I am aware the details of such orders are not held on PNC records but the date/time of your arrest could be. The only way to be 100% sure is to get a police report.

>would you think i would be inadmissible to the US under those circumstances of no actual substance crime being admitted?

By accepting the community resolution order and attending the course you legally acknowldged your guilt. Using illegal drugs is a violation of the law (UK as well as US) and you admitted doing so.

You are right that drug violations are a bar to US entry but there are other factors to consider:

1. All visa decisions are made on an individual basis. The interviewing officer, working within US law and internal regulations and guidelines, considers all the details of an applicant and how he/she presents at interview then decides whether that applicant is admissible.

2. If an applicant is not considered eligible for a visa the interviewing officer can recommend a 'waiver of ineligibility' be granted. Waiver processing takes additional time (usually months rather than weeks) but if an interviewing officer makes such a recommendation the chance of a waiver being granted is very high indeed. This is particularly the case with very minor offences.

3. Even though the use of cannabis is illegal under US Federal law many states have legalised its recreational use. That fact may or may not make a difference to how such offences are treated: I do not know.

A visa application requires a police certificate dated within the previous 6 months but if you want to put your mind at rest there's no reason...apart from paying twice.... why you shouldn't get one prior to any job offer or making a visa application. At the time of writing the official site is down because of a cyber attack but there is a contact point for applications:

https://www.acro.police.uk/

Personally I'd advise you to be absolutely 100% honest with any potential employer, with your visa application and with the interviewing officer but that's your decision.

I wish you the best of luck for the future.

[ Edit: Edited on 16 Apr 2023, 07:26 GMT by leics2 ]

Thank you for your response.

That’s the bit that confused me, as i know the Cannabis Awareness Course is basically admission of being involved with weed in most cases, as it’s something that’s usually given if you’ve done a crime involving weed, but i haven’t violated or admitted to violate any drug laws. I admitted to the Criminal Damage and Assault and the course was the punishment for CD & assault, and the police wasn’t trying to prosecute me for anything to do with drugs.

As visa declarations are on an individual basis, if my police report does say ‘Cannabis Awareness Course’ would i be able to go into detail about the situation? For example, saying my mental health wasn’t the best at that time (Which is true) and they gave me that course to ‘Inform’ me about substances? To prevent it in the first place.

I only admitted to smoking a joint when i was in the police car, and like i said no further charges were brought on it was said and then almost forgotten about, at most it might of been written down on a officers notepad (Not in a statement) but the only thing the police wanted to prosecute me for (And the only things on the papers i signed) was Criminal Damage & Assault

>i haven’t violated or admitted to violate any drug laws.

Legally, you did that when, in the presence of police officers, you admitted to previously smoking a joint.

>As visa declarations are on an individual basis, if my police report does say ‘Cannabis Awareness Course’ would i be able to go into detail about the situation?

You can expect to be asked about the offences during the interview. The officer will want you to give all the details he/she requires to make a decision. He/she will also be looking for you to fully acknowledge and take full responsibility for your part in the relevant events. Criticising the police's action, the order you received or the course you undertook really isn't a good idea, however much you may feel it justified.