Travelling to US with a criminal record in the UK

>My question is what’s the likelihood of being granted a visa at the embassy or would I have to wait for a waiver?

No-one here or anywhere else can tell you the chances of you being granted a visa on the day. Decisions are made within US law plus internal guidelines & regulations not in the public domain and are based on all the details (past & present) of each individual applicant and his/her criminal record.

'Theft by employee' is a CIMT. If the interviewing officer decides (in consultation with senior colleagues if necessary) that your conviction meets the criteria for that offence you will need a waiver:

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

>how many years do you think I would be granted if I needed a waiver?

Waiver validity can be any length though, imo, first waivers tend to be valid for 1 to 5 years. That decision is also made based on all the details of each individual applicant so there's no point in trying to guess in advance how long yours will be (if you even need one).

> we have no timescale as I would like to try get my visa first.

Very sensible.

Waiver processing via London is taking up to 9 months at the moment so my advice is to apply for a visa with that potential....though definitely not certain....delay in mind.

When answering questions about your offence don't entirely blame others. You were an adult at the time of the offence and, regardless of any 'coercion', you made the decision to take money from the till. The interviewing officer will want to know that you accept responsibility for your past wrong choices.

Good luck with your visa application! :-)

[ Edit: Edited on 15 Jun 2024, 06:38 GMT by leics2 ]

Leics thank you so much for your detailed reply! I’ll be sure to keep everyone up to date to help other

Petrova16:

You're more than welcome. I hope your visa application goes well.

Hello, I have some update to share. I'll try and explain my background with US visa process over the years.

- 19 YO, arrested and cautioned for possession of a controlled substance, Class A.

Applied for a visa after this (mainly because of my line of work and anticipated potential opportunity to relocate later on)
Given 10 year visa.

- 23 YO, convicted of assault (imprisonment 16 month)

- 30 YO, applied for visa (work travel purposes)

Visa was denied at interview but the interview went well. Recommended for waiver.
About 6 months passed and US DHS declined my waiver.

- 35 YO, applied for visa (work travel purposes)
(This is the current application)

Early Oct 2023, attended US embassy. During the interview, the consular officer basically didn't ask me about the more serious offence. They said i was inconsistent about the drug possession explanation between my original visa approval and the current interview. I was scrambling a bit because it had been so long and I wasn't focussed on it at all since I have OAPA w/ custody. To cut a long story short, the consular officer said she didn't feel she could proceed with my request because she needed to speak to her senior, that I wouldn't hear back too soon but would eventually.

So I was a bit in limbo because I wasn't formally refused, nor was I denied or recommended for a waiver. I kind of scratched this off in my head because the interview dived a little bit and given my previous waiver request was declined.

About 6 weeks ago I checked the status on CEAC .... "Refused". It wasn't so much of a big surprise as explained above so I just left it.

I have now received an email asking to send my document (i.e. passport) in: "Please submit passport for visa issuance Please note that you have 30 days from today in which to resubmit your passport. If your passport is not received within this time your application will experience even further delays You are NOT required to submit any other additional supporting documents"

So, it looks like there has been some movement on my application after all. I checked CEAC again and it still states refused. My guess is that they probably recommended me for a waiver and it has been accepted. It has been close to 9 months since the interview.

I'll let people take what they want from my experience. It is clear the consular records are robust enough for an officer to pick up an interview from 10-15 years ago and check for consistency.

I didn't receive a waiver recommendation during my interview and haven't received any communication in the intervening period.

My issue now is two-fold. I need to travel to S.E Asia for work in 3 weeks and I also have a consular appointment elsewhere early August where it is imperative I have my passport. So I have two short slots where i can send my passport in. Quickly scanning here it looks like there are delays incurred on receiving a passport back with the visa.

Has anyone ever requested a deferment on sending the document in? I could send it 2nd week of August without any issues. It's going to be a nightmare getting in touch with them i think to request it.

I have recently had my visa issued, they had my passport for 29 days before it was returned, I emailed them though and just got a standard response if if you need it returning we can but it will delay your application.

I have linked another forum somewhere back in my posts that had others who are going through the process. Some have had it back in a week and others same as me 3/4 weeks.

Thanks, I did e-mail the consulate and to my surprise they responded within about 10 minutes indicating i could send my document immediately after my constrained dates.

Hi folks ...

As its been 5 years I'm a little stumped at what needs to go on the VCOU1 form ... is it every offence on my SAR or just the convictions.

1 arrest
10 charges
Only answered to 8 in court
With 1 sentence of 4 months YOI

Thanks

> As its been 5 years I'm a little stumped at what needs to go on the VCOU1 form ... is it every offence on my SAR or just the convictions.

I agree that the VCU 01 Section 2 advice is a bit 'woolly' but the actual wording of Section 2 is very clear:

'If you have been arrested or summoned for, charged with, indicted for, cautioned or convicted of a crime or other offense please give full details including place, date and nature of offense.' (my underline)

https://uk.usembassy.gov/vcu01_london/

You were formally charged with 10 offences so, imo, you should include them all even if 2 were dropped.

Imo it's better to put all relevant info on any form. If you detail everything you can't be suspected of trying to deliberately mislead.

[ Edit: Edited on 9 Jul 2024, 09:01 GMT by leics2 ]

Quoting leics2

> As its been 5 years I'm a little stumped at what needs to go on the VCOU1 form ... is it every offence on my SAR or just the convictions.

I agree that the VCU 01 Section 2 advice is a bit 'woolly' but the actual wording of Section 2 is very clear:

'If you have been arrested or summoned for, charged with, indicted for, cautioned or convicted of a crime or other offense please give full details including place, date and nature of offense.' (my underline)

https://uk.usembassy.gov/vcu01_london/

You were formally charged with 10 offences so, imo, you should include them all even if 2 were dropped.

Imo it's better to put all relevant info on any form. If you detail everything you can't be suspected of trying to deliberately mislead.

Thank you.

As there is only room for 6 lines on the form, would you suggest filling it out twice ?