Travelling to US with a criminal record in the UK

Thank you so much for your reply.

When i said hijack, I should have said post not thread

Yes, I suspect the officer was just trying to get me out of his booth and get the next guy in!

I must have been lucky the last two times, as I've only shown the police certificate previously.

Very frustrating that they take each application as a brand new one, and dont seem to account for renewals and the fact that I've had a visa(s) continuously since 1994.

The VCU1 is a concern to me now then. Depending on what the SAR says, I may send a new VCU1 in with the SAR, ensuring it matches completely. They've said I can send the additional information by courier and wont need another interview, so there wont be an option to explain in person.

What do you think?

thanks again for all the advice

[ Edit: Edited on 10 Jul 2024, 15:10 GMT by Mustangmatt ]

>When i said hijack, I should have said post not thread

You weren't hijacking a post either! Lots of people post on this thread (and other threads) in the middle of 'conversations'.

>Very frustrating that they take each application as a brand new one,

There's no point in being frustrated. It is as it is. Every country has the absolute right to set whatever requirements for entry it wishes.

>Depending on what the SAR says, I may send a new VCU1 in with the SAR, ensuring it matches completely.

There's nothing to be lost by sending in a new VCU imo though I doubt it will be particularly helpful. because you didn't declare all your offences when you got your previous visas. It's possible they'll want to interview you again when they see the disparity but much depends on your personal circumstances, the other offences and your age when you committed them. Internal guidelines and regulations are not in the public domain so the only way to find out is to send in the paperwork then see what happens.

Do come back and let us know how things go. It's helpful for others (and 'paying it forward'). :-)

[ Edit: Edited on 10 Jul 2024, 18:17 GMT by leics2 ]

Quoting leics2

>Depending on what the SAR says, I may send a new VCU1 in with the SAR, ensuring it matches completely.

There's nothing to be lost by sending in a new VCU imo though I doubt it will be particularly helpful. because you didn't declare all your offences when you got your previous visas. It's possible they'll want to interview you again when they see the disparity but much depends on your personal circumstances, the other offences and your age when you committed them. Internal guidelines and regulations are not in the public domain so the only way to find out is to send in the paperwork then see what happens.

Do come back and let us know how things go. It's helpful for others (and 'paying it forward'). :-)

Yes, i certainly will let you know how its progressing.

Just another question please. On the refusal letter, it says they will unlock my account within two days of me emailing them, so I can access courier details. I emailed them on Monday evening to say the documents have been requested, but when I log in its still giving me the pop up message about visa being refused.
Any idea how long it takes them to unlock the application please?

>Any idea how long it takes them to unlock the application please?

Sorry, no.

If you don't see any change within e.g. 24/48 hours it might be worth clearing your computer's history/cache and the bookmark/favourite & cookies for the site? Sometimes computers get 'stuck' on previous pages Sorry, I'm not v techie and don't know the right words but it's happened to me more than once on secure sites I need to log into.

Or you could try emailing them again? Tech systems aren't perfect.....

Quoting leics2

>Any idea how long it takes them to unlock the application please?

Sorry, no.

If you don't see any change within e.g. 24/48 hours it might be worth clearing your computer's history/cache and the bookmark/favourite & cookies for the site? Sometimes computers get 'stuck' on previous pages Sorry, I'm not v techie and don't know the right words but it's happened to me more than once on secure sites I need to log into.

Or you could try emailing them again? Tech systems aren't perfect.....

here we go - update just received by email!

And actual clarification from the embassy on the SAR, which i hope is useful to others.

Thank you for submitting your application for a nonimmigrant visa.

Please be advised, that in order to continue processing your US visa application, you are required to obtain and submit a police Subject Access report (Please note that this document is not the same as an ACPO Police Certificate). This police report is obtained from the ACRO Criminal Records Office by completing an application form which can be downloaded from their website at https://www.acro.police.uk/s/

For enquiries concerning the completion of this form, contact information can be found at Contact Us (acro.police.uk).

When you are in possession of the certificate you may submit this document in the form of a .PDF to (email address removed by me in case they dont want this being made public).

My application is still locked, so it looks like I can ignore original instructions on the form, and just email them, which is great. Just hope that the SAR matches my VCU1. Will keep you informed.

Hi, just to pre-warn you, the SAR is going to reveal everything they have on record on you, including arrests, cautions, charges (even original charges if they were disposed of during court hearing), disposals (including of original charges, i.e. disposed of by alternative charge), remand and custody periods and end of sentence etc.

Mustangmatt:

Nice (though not in the least surprising) to see written confirmation that the info I've always given about the SAR is exactly the same as the advice given by the US embassy!

Hope things get sorted for you fairly quickly....

Roofio: I've already made that point to this poster ....and many other posters on this thread and elsewhere.

The fact that the SAR gives all details of an individual's criminal record is exactly why the US authorities need it. The US doea not recognise 'step-downs', expungements or pardons from any other jurisdiction: it needs all details of the criminal record (however far in the past and/or however minor the offence) in order to make a visa decision.

It is as it is.

[ Edit: Edited on 11 Jul 2024, 12:12 GMT by leics2 ]

Hey! You won’t remember me, as the last time I posted was in 2018/9 - it was around going to the US with a CIMT from about 14 years ago now. Back then I went off of some advice in here, I remember you Leics2, down the ESTA route and had the best holiday of my life.

I’m due to return next year for a friends wedding, looks like things have changed since then … does everyone have to go down the VISA route now? Concerned as I’ve already had an ESTA now…

Noticed they’ve since added that the UK rehabilitation act does not apply too so any advice would be most helpful!

Cheers

Thanks Roofio and Leics2

i 'just' have two arrests (criminal damage - no further action) and the one that resulted in a caution (threatening behaviour). All three were before the two convictions, and over 30 years ago.

From what I've read on here, it looks like embassy officials judge you on honesty and disclosure, rather than the length of time since the arrests and minor nature of crimes, so I could be screwed for not having disclosed them previously.

I could argue that, yes the VCU1 states arrests and cautions, but the boxes then refer to magistrates/crown and sentences, which wont apply to arrests and cautions, but I guess that would be futile.

The ACRO website says The Subject Access Disclosure may also include details of any arrest that did not result in a conviction.

I'll just have to keep everything crossed, and pray the the SAR only shows the convictions. Its a long shot