Travelling to US with a criminal record in the UK

@amrandomlol400

If you were cautioned but not arrested then you have nothing to worry about. The real concern is for those that were arrested but not charged and were in fact innocent of any crime, they too are expected to disclose their arrest, no matter how innocent they are/were and were nothing more than part of a police investigation - it's usual in the UK to be detained under arrest whilst enquiries are made in order for the police to be able to hold on to a suspect whether it be in the cells or under police bail. Often a number of arrests will be made even if there is only one suspect. Also we must not forget the number of malicious allegations made to the police on a daily basis, these too can lead to an arrest. It's not my business to know why you would want to go through all the trouble of visiting the USA, there are many beautiful and wonderful places in the world that don't/won't make you suffer for life for one small mistake whether it be yours or the police's.

Well I got arrest but it was minor am only on castion so I was just wondering if I need to worry if it only minor then it shouldn't be a prroblem

So if its minor and nothing that's bad then ill be safe well am going to. Madrid

It was minor and am going to madrid so I just wanna know exspeally if it only small

Was your crime a crime of 'moral turpitude' ? The USA's definition of what a crime of 'moral turpitude is varies from state to state, but a very basic, but not entirely reliable guide would be that any crime committed against a person or a crime that can result in harming persons may be considered a crime of moral turpitude (assault, rape, etc), where as a case of criminal damage may not be considered to be a crime of moral turpitude.

see here if you are uncertain: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_turpitude

And scroll down the page to see what the USA generally considers to be crimes of moral turpitude.

I however consider some of the US entry rules to be cruel and contrary to our basic human rights in that even for the most minor offense, and even innocent people who were arrested and released without charge may be banned entry into the US. I'm lucky that so far I have no arrest record, but let's face it that in this day and age it really is a matter of luck. I say this because I personally witnessed a woman make a false allegation of indecent assault against a man, he was nowhere near her, she was clearly not mentally healthy, but the police were obliged to arrest him while they made their investigation. Myself and at least 4 other witnesses explained that he did nothing. he was released without charge, however he will never be allowed entry into the US. This is wrong, cruel, medieval, even arrogant, as well as offensive to the judicial systems of the rest of the world. Good luck in your research.

[ Edit: Edited on 17-May-2012, at 05:18 by Tightrope ]

hi read through as much of this thread as poss!! BUT has anyone actually got a visa or am I going to be wasting more money then I already have? Boyf has criminal convictions :/ HELP flight booked and paid for!!!

Quoting Vintageshoes

Hillbob, is there any chance of me getting stopped?

hi there neither of them got stopped we all booked for the same holiday.. id done a crime related to drug when 19(now 32) so i applied for a visa through emabassy... they messed me about cost me alot of money and time, for a 5minute interview to tell me they wont let me in. they asked me to bring my criminal record with me to the meeting which tells me they didnt have it on file.. my 2 friends both with drink driving offences decided to risk it and do the waiver. both fot throu fine with no problems. My wife was with them as it was a friends wedding and she told me all of this... They were asked a few questions about where they were going and who they were seeing and that was it. im just gutted i was honest now because i missed out.

and just to add to the above... you always run the risk of getting stopped and spot checked where ever you go... but the way my mates looked at it, was at least they tried ( and they succeeded)

Hi everyone,

despite the fact that there are numerous reports about people being turned away at US border (for minor convictions), I am surprised to find replys advising on ticking NO in ESTA form.

If US and UK criminal conviction databases aren't connected and the fingerprinting/passport scanning is only for ID verification purposes, then how come there are people still turned away for tiny shoplifting charges or brawl at a bar years ago?

I don't believe that a "unlucky random check" is the answer here. Too many of those.

One thing for sure, you won't get past US customs if you've ever had the slightest drug conviction (however small) but you shouldn't worry about DUI.

The rest is mistery and gamble.

[ Edit: Edited on 31-May-2012, at 07:21 by dacar007 ]