Travelling to US with a criminal record in the UK

Thanks guys

This is my first US visa. I had a conditional caution from 2016 for cannabis and ketamine possession. My caution was since expunged so my ACRO reads “no trace”. I know the US doesn’t recognise pardons/expungements from other jurisdictions. They did not ask for any further documentation around my criminal record other than my current ACRO which is completely clean. I had begun a visa application in early 2020 before my caution was expunged, and in the DS-160 for that application I disclosed my caution. I never had an interview for the previous visa application due to the first covid lockdown, although one had been arranged.

An unusual situation to be in but that is my situation!

Thanks again for update anon just interesting to know how others have got on with their own circumstances but soo very happy for you that you managed to get sorted and can enjoy many more trips to the US over the next 10 years

Quoting anon_

Thanks guys

This is my first US visa. I had a conditional caution from 2016 for cannabis and ketamine possession. My caution was since expunged so my ACRO reads “no trace”. I know the US doesn’t recognise pardons/expungements from other jurisdictions. They did not ask for any further documentation around my criminal record other than my current ACRO which is completely clean. I had begun a visa application in early 2020 before my caution was expunged, and in the DS-160 for that application I disclosed my caution. I never had an interview for the previous visa application due to the first covid lockdown, although one had been arranged.

An unusual situation to be in but that is my situation!

I’m in a similar position with regards to the Acro coming back with a no trace. A long time ago I was accused of s.assault, police need to investigate any accusations and was quickly given an NFA! I have gone down the visa route due to reading this forum but I’m hoping that I will get a 10 year visa on the day. How likely is this?

>How likely is this?

I'm afraid no-one here or anywhere else can tell you. As I said above, the standard length of visa validity is 10 years if there are no issues but there is no compulsion for a visa to be issued for that length of time. The decision lies with the interviewing officer and, if appropriate, his/her superior officers.

Decisions about visa issuance and length of validity are based on all the details of each individual applicant's case. That includes present circumstances (employment, family, income etc), behaviour at interview and answers given to interview questions as well as details of any past criminal arrests/charges/convictions. Interviewing officers need to be convinced that applicants are responsible, law-abiding citizens who will cause no problems whilst in the US and who have 'compelling reasons' to return to the UK after their planned visit.

Hi all, hoping for some advice!
Me and my partner are hoping to visit the US in November for a 10 day holiday.

I have no arrests/convictions so should be fine with an ESTA however my partner has been arrested a couple of times and now worried he will not gain entry.

there are a couple of arrests for drunk and disorderly, no charges ever came from this.
Then in June 2019, he was arrested for criminal damage & arson. The arson was without intent as he dropped a cigarette which made a small burn mark on some carpet and the criminal damage was for the same burn mark and a broke cabinet at his own home address.
It went to magistrates Court and the magistrate was surprised it had got this far (particular given the cost of criminal damage was at £0) and so he only received a small fine and probation for 6 months, no other community orders and definitely no imprisonments.

we’ve completed the DS 160 form and now awaiting an appointment. Unfortunately it states there are no available appointments to book and to check back in a few days.

has anyone experienced this or know what the current timescales are like for London?

Do you think there is any chance it will be approved or is it an absolute no chance given it was only 4 years ago?

For context, other than the above he is an upstanding citizen with no other issues, has been in a decent job for over 10 years and the June incident really was a one off after some difficult times with family.

so I fully appreciate every case will be assessed independently and we will collate as much information as possible to support the interview but just looking for any advice/guidance from similar situations?

[ Edit: Edited on 10 Apr 2023, 02:34 GMT by Allie2808 ]

Quoting Allie2808

Hi all, hoping for some advice!
Me and my partner are hoping to visit the US in November for a 10 day holiday.

I have no arrests/convictions so should be fine with an ESTA however my partner has been arrested a couple of times and now worried he will not gain entry.

there are a couple of arrests for drunk and disorderly, no charges ever came from this.
Then in June 2019, he was arrested for criminal damage & arson. The arson was without intent as he dropped a cigarette which made a small burn mark on some carpet and the criminal damage was for the same burn mark and a broke cabinet at his own home address.
It went to magistrates Court and the magistrate was surprised it had got this far (particular given the cost of criminal damage was at £0) and so he only received a small fine and probation for 6 months, no other community orders and definitely no imprisonments.

we’ve completed the DS 160 form and now awaiting an appointment. Unfortunately it states there are no available appointments to book and to check back in a few days.

has anyone experienced this or know what the current timescales are like for London?

Do you think there is any chance it will be approved or is it an absolute no chance given it was only 4 years ago?

For context, other than the above he is an upstanding citizen with no other issues, has been in a decent job for over 10 years and the June incident really was a one off after some difficult times with family.

so I fully appreciate every case will be assessed independently and we will collate as much information as possible to support the interview but just looking for any advice/guidance from similar situations?

Similar to me, I had a drunk and disorderly treated with a community resolution and a false accusation of s.assault which was promptly nfa’d. I checked everyday and managed to get and appointment within a month. Dates just randomly appeared. The police certificate came back with no trace. The interview lasted about 3 minutes and he just asked why it says no trace and I said community resolution isn’t recorded on the PNC and the other was a false allegation which was also NFA. took my fingerprints and said visa approved and it was delivered back to be within 7 days with a 10 year visa. Huge relief.

Hi,
Looking for some advice. I have a ten year visa which expires in 2026. I haven't been to the states since 2016 but now I'm going in August. I have had a look at information on the US Embassy but wanted to check further regarding whether or not I need to complete an electronic version of the visa as my current one is in an old passport which I used with my current passport last time I travelled. Most of the information says I should be ok. Does anyone have any recent experience of this? My husband and children are travelling on an ESTA so they will be Ok. Thanks

>has anyone experienced this or know what the current timescales are like for London?

There's no way of knowing for certain what the current timescales are, whether for appointments or for visa issuance.

For appointments, the best advice is to keep checking the system, make the first appointment you can attend then check regularly for earlier cancellations which you can attend. As an example, first appointment a friend could book in November 2021 wasn't until late March 2022 but by checking regularly for cancellations he got an appointment less than 5 weeks after submitting his application.

> he only received a small fine and probation for 6 months

I am very surprised that the incident as you describe it involved not only an arrest but a subsequent charge ....and then resulted in a trial, a conviction, a fine and probation. I assume you are in the UK? Experience...and the CPS (Crown Prosecution Service) guidance linked below......suggests that a case would not have been pursued if the incident was as minor as described. I wonder if there is more to the incident than you are aware?

https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/criminal-damage

In the US, arson is usually a CIMT (crime involving moral turpitude), a US-specific legal concept. Your partner's other convictions would not usually be considered CIMT (assuming the damage was done to private property), The interviewing officer decides, based on details of the individual case and answers given at interview, whether a conviction would be considered a CIMT under US law.

Being convicted of a CIMT is an automatic bar to entry.

https://unlock.org.uk/advice/identifying-whether-my-offence-is-a-crime-involving-moral-turpitude-cimt/

If there is a CIMT conviction a 'waiver of ineligibility' will be almost always be required before a visa can be issued. Only the interviewing officer can decide whether to recommend an applicant for a waiver. The decision is based on US law, internal regulations and internal guidelines a well as all the details of the applicant, his/her crime and on how he/she presents at interview.

Processing a waiver adds a substantial length of time to normal visa issuance. Before the US Covid entry ban a waiver via London took 6-8 months. Post-Covid timescales were initially a bit shorter but seem to be lengthening as demand returns to the pre-pandemic norm.

>Do you think there is any chance it will be approved or is it an absolute no chance given it was only 4 years ago?

No-one here or anywhere else can tell you the chances of your partner being recommended for a waiver if required. I understand your desire to get an idea of your partner's chances but, frankly, without knowing all the details of the case and your partner's life...and we don't want to know....it is impossible to have any idea.

Generally, the greater the period of time since the last conviction the better but, as with the waiver of ineligibility, all visa decisions are based on US law, internal regulations and internal guidelines as well as all the details of the applicant, his/her crime, his/her life and how he/she presents at interview.

I wish you the bst of luck with your applications.

[ Edit: Edited on 10 Apr 2023, 07:50 GMT by leics2 ]

Thanks for your replies, most helpful.

unfortunately the incident was exactly as described as I was present but extremely mishandled at the time by the arresting officer! They even refused to allow any witness to provide a statement and failed to identify or provide evidence to the court of any criminal damage hence it the magistrate deeming any potential damage to be £0. however, being young, naive and mortified by what had happened, he just accepted it.

Fingers crossed for approval!

An update on my application for a waiver of ineligibility

Unfortunately, there isn't one.

To help those who don't want to scroll back pages and pages for cpntext... I attended my interview on the 5th of January having booked it back in August 2022. Our trip was planned for the 10tj of April, 2 weeks to celebrate my wife's 40yh with the kids.

My crime was back in 1999/2000 and involved moral turpitude, I had received a waiver in 2006 so was hoping a visa would be granted but as Leics has stated, it's a full bar, waiver required.

Officer told me that it 'wouldnt be that long: when I queried if it was 10-12 weeks (I'd read this from the Belfast site, London claims 6 months minimum) and that 'you'll be fine for April'

There still hasn't been an update despite attempting to get in touch with them (they really do mean it when they say they won't update you on progress) so we had to make the decision for my family to travel without me. We arranged for a family member to take my place but had to pay for an entire new flight for them which is a totally different story that airlines shouldnt be able to get away with.

So it looks like the timescales are back to pre COVID levels, it's frustrating that the officer who interviewed me wasn't better Informed as, If he had told me it was highly unlikely to be processed in time then I would have been able to reschedule my holiday for a smaller fee. Because I trusted his judgment I missed out.

I'll update when/if I finally hear about my waiver, hopefully I'll get to use it one day