Travelling to US with a criminal record in the UK

Quoting epcman

Question to Tee21k

do you consider being “ arrested in June 2021 for commercial supply” to be "Having been arrested or convicted for a crime that resulted in serious damage to property, or serious harm to another person or government authority?"

Well I wouldn’t consider it “harm” or “serious damage” but if they’re being technical, it may be considered harm because it’s drugs and the amount was technically supply so it could be harm to the community? But I’m just not sure.

Is there a correct answer to that question for drug supply charges? Anyone have experience with this ?

Is there a correct answer to that question for drug supply charges? Anyone have experience with this ?

According to this page - https://unlock.org.uk/advice/identifying-whether-my-offence-is-a-crime-involving-moral-turpitude-cimt/ - supply is a Crime Involving Moral Turpitude and presumably makes you ineligible.

Tee21k:

As well as the more general 'serious harm' question there is an Esta question which specifically relates to illegal drugs. It is:

>Have you ever violated any law related to possessing, using, or distributing illegal drugs?

From what you say...and unless you lie.... you clearly cannot answer 'No'. If you answer 'Yes' the application will automatically be denied.

>What are my chances of being granted entry into the USA?

what are my first steps into trying and how do I do it?

will I need to wait longer?

Assuming you don't lie on the Esta (a US criminal offence) you'll need to apply for a visa.

Your offence is very recent. Personally, I doubt enough time has passed to convince an interviewing officer that you are now a responsible, law-abiding citizen. Imo you would have a much better chance of a successful visa application if you waited a few years......but there's nothing to stop you applying now if you wish. If your visa is denied the interviewing officer will tell you if and when it's worth applying again.

This page tells you exactly what you need to do:

https://uk.usembassy.gov/visas/tourism-visitor/how-to-apply/

> is there a Canada forum that anyone knows about for the same thing?

TP has a Canada forum but I'm not aware of any similar thread.

Canada operates a system similar to Esta for UK (and some other) citizens. It's called eTA:

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/visit-canada/eta.html

This page has lots of useful information about the eTA & people with criminal records:

https://unlock.org.uk/advice/travelling-canada/

Imo your conviction and its recent date make it likely your eTA application will be refused so you'll need to apply for a visa.

[ Edit: Edited on 27 Jul 2024, 19:34 GMT by leics2 ]

Justsellingtech:

>My only question is, how can I fill in the DS160 accurately unless I have the dates of arrest etc?
I cant get that without Acro / SAR?

If you can't recall exact dates then you'll need to apply for an Acro before you make your visa application. Apply for an SAR at the same time,

ACRO: https://www.acro.police.uk/s/acro-services/police-certificates

SAR: https://www.acro.police.uk/s/acro-services/subject-access

My confusion was that I did not take “commercial supply’ as drugs. Obviously if that was said my answer would be different.

Quoting leics2

Tee21k:

As well as the more general 'serious harm' question there is an Esta question which specifically relates to illegal drugs. It is:

>Have you ever violated any law related to possessing, using, or distributing illegal drugs?

From what you say...and unless you lie.... you clearly cannot answer 'No'. If you answer 'Yes' the application will automatically be denied.

>What are my chances of being granted entry into the USA?

what are my first steps into trying and how do I do it?

will I need to wait longer?

Assuming you don't lie on the Esta (a US criminal offence) you'll need to apply for a visa.

Your offence is very recent. Personally, I doubt enough time has passed to convince an interviewing officer that you are now a responsible, law-abiding citizen. Imo you would have a much better chance of a successful visa application if you waited a few years......but there's nothing to stop you applying now if you wish. If your visa is denied the interviewing officer will tell you if and when it's worth applying again.

This page tells you exactly what you need to do:

https://uk.usembassy.gov/visas/tourism-visitor/how-to-apply/

> is there a Canada forum that anyone knows about for the same thing?

TP has a Canada forum but I'm not aware of any similar thread.

Canada operates a system similar to Esta for UK (and some other) citizens. It's called eTA:

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/visit-canada/eta.html

This page has lots of useful information about the eTA & people with criminal records:

https://unlock.org.uk/advice/travelling-canada/

Imo your conviction and its recent date make it likely your eTA application will be refused so you'll need to apply for a visa.

Thank you so much for the information. I’m actually from Australia but I’ll try my best to research this information. Also - do you know if we are only transiting through the USA for other country destinations, do we still require an ESTA or visa? I have been flying to other countries and spending more money transiting through different ways (where it would be cheaper to transit through the USA) only because I thought I wasn’t allowed to step foot in the USA even for transiting without an esta

[ Edit: - ]

Hi all

I am new here and just wanted to say how useful and informative this thread has been.
Thanks to everyone who has contributed, especially leics2.

I wanted to ask as I haven't gone through the whole thread but maybe someone who has been across it for a while.
Has anyone here attended the embassy interview and had their VISA denied or not recommended a waiver of inadmissibility?
I've only seen cases on this thread of people having success and being granted waivers

I have on my record possession of a class A, which resulted in a discharge. It was 8 years ago, I take full responsibility and know it was a mistake and have regretted it since. Also it was a one time offence.

I know there's no definitive answer, but does anyone have a rough idea of my chances of being recommended for a waiver and if anyone has similar case rejected or approved?

Thank you!

Anon44:

>I've only seen cases on this thread of people having success and being granted waivers

Most people who post on this thread are successful but I think that says more about the people who post on this thread than the number of people who are denied visas!

I can vaguely recall one person who'd been denied a visa 3 times yet seemed to think he'd be able to get one because he had a new passport (maybe a new citizenship too?).

>does anyone have a rough idea of my chances of being recommended for a waiver

Simple possession of a controlled drug isn't a CIMT. Intent to supply is a CIMT.

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

A waiver is automatically required if an applicant has been convicted of a CIMT.

With only one non-CIMT offence which resulted in a discharge (whether absolute or conditional)....and assuming everything else is ok.... I think you have a good chance of being granted a visa. Good luck!

[ Edit: Edited on 31 Jul 2024, 19:01 GMT by leics2 ]

Tee 21k:

I assume you are an Australian citizen.

>do you know if we are only transiting through the USA for other country destinations, do we still require an ESTA or visa?

The official ESTA site ( https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta )seems to be down at the time of writing this but as far as I'm aware the US requires all transit passengers to hold an Esta or a US visa.

Official Esta site is sorted now:

>Do I need to apply if I'm only transiting the United States en route to another country?
Eligible nationals or citizens of countries that participate in the Visa Waiver Program require either a travel authorization or a visa to transit the United States. If a traveler is only planning to transit through the United States en route to another country, when he or she completes the travel authorization application in ESTA, the traveler should select "Yes" to the question "Is your travel to the US occurring in transit to another country?".

https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/faq