Travelling to US with a criminal record in the UK

Quoting Ooberj

thanks for sharing your experience. i hope you get your waiver sorted in due course.

interesting to hear that you had a stepped down letter with your police certificate. I received my police certificate with 'no trace', and nothing else. The CO asked for the stepped down letter and refused my visa (temporarily) on the basis that I didnt have one.

I rang ACRO when i got home, and only option was the SAR which i've now sent in to the embassy. Bricking it now that they'll still ask for a stepped down letter. In which case i'm screwed as i cant get one, and the clock is ticking on my travel plans (yes, i know, i shouldnt have booked before I had the visa).

Quoting Mustangmatt

Quoting Ooberj

thanks for sharing your experience. i hope you get your waiver sorted in due course.

interesting to hear that you had a stepped down letter with your police certificate. I received my police certificate with 'no trace', and nothing else. The CO asked for the stepped down letter and refused my visa (temporarily) on the basis that I didnt have one.

I rang ACRO when i got home, and only option was the SAR which i've now sent in to the embassy. Bricking it now that they'll still ask for a stepped down letter. In which case i'm screwed as i cant get one, and the clock is ticking on my travel plans (yes, i know, i shouldnt have booked before I had the visa).

Ive never had the stepdown letter before but it came with my police certificate. I automatically requested SAR as i needed it 5 years ago.
Does you certificate state no trace or no live trace ?

Intothesun:

>I have never had a criminal record just an arrest which I decided to be honest about so i am hoping there’s not going to be huge delays if I do get taken.

Given that you have no convictions I very much doubt any secondary questioning would cause timing issues....especially as it seems you will be flying home (i.e. leaving the US) on the same day you arrive (?). Just make sure you explain your plans & timing to the officer who first deals with you. When he/she asks 'Why are you visiting the US?' or a similar question (they always ask something like that) just say 'I've got a flight back to the UK (or wherever) from X arport at X time'.

Quoting Ooberj

Ive never had the stepdown letter before but it came with my police certificate. I automatically requested SAR as i needed it 5 years ago.
Does you certificate state no trace or no live trace ?

Latest one says no trace.

I still have the one from 10 years ago and that says no live trace.

Hi,
I have criminal record from 2005 when I was 20 which resulted in a 6 months prison sentence. I have no other criminal convictions.
I have recently applied and been approved for an ETSA as I plan to travel to the USA at the end of the year.
When the ETSA is processed are US criminal database sources for UK nationals checked and would a conviction that would flag up on their system decline the ETSA on application rather than at the border..
My crime was serious and I do not believe I would be granted admission under a visa.

>When the ETSA is processed are US criminal database sources for UK nationals checked and would a conviction that would flag up on their system decline the ETSA on application rather than at the border..

No-one here or anywhere else can answer either of those questions. The relevant information is simply not in the public domain. No-one here or anywhere else on the internet knows what information is shared, when and how.

You chose to lie on your Esta so imo you should be aware of the potential consequences:

1. Lying on the Esta is a US criminal offence (fraud).

2. If you come into contact with US police it is possible that your lie will be uncovered.

3. If your lie is uncovered while you're in the US you'll be denied entry or deported, both of which will not only seriously affect your future chances of getting a US visa but can also seriously affect your chances of getting a visa for some other countries.

3. Estas last for 2 years. If you use your existing Esta to enter the US and wish to visit the US in the future you will either have to lie on your next Esta or apply for a visa and explain to the interviewing officer why you lied.

4. If you ever want/need a US visa for work or residency...or if the US decides to withdraw the Esta option, which they can at any time...you'll have to explain why you lied on the Esta and thus entered the US under false pretences.

>My crime was serious and I do not believe I would be granted admission under a visa.

If you only received a 6 month sentence imo it is unlikely your crime was so serious that a visa will never be granted, even if you need a 'waiver of ineligibility' first. There have been people on this thread who have served much longer sentences and who have been granted both a waiver and a visa. Additionally, your conviction is almost 20 years old and that is a very strong point in your favour.

[ Edit: Edited on 28 Aug 2024, 19:34 GMT by leics2 ]

Hi all,

I have interview scheduled for 21/10 and just getting all documents prepared. I have police certificate ACRO, SAR, VCU01 and the confirmation & instructions page. I will be taking passport and a passport photo also just to clarify.

I just want to confirm if that is everything as I have noticed while reading on here about the DS160 confirmation but is that the same as the confirmation and instruction page?

I’ve tried to retrieve an application on the CEAC site to reprint the DS160 but somehow forgot the security answer and there is no way to reset it so worried I won’t have the Ds160?!

Thanks in advance!

@abrowsky: You're attempting to collect very sensitive personal information here, which at least for EU citizens requires (because of the GDPR) a lot of additional security measures and is only allowed for very specific prescribed purposes. Storing this information in the USA (in a public google sheet) seems to me to be a singularly bad idea.

I'm going to flag your post for Peter to have a look at. Unfortunately since you posted in two places, meaning I need to flag twice, that means you'll be prevented from posting until he has decided what to do with this.

[ Edit: Edited on 31 Aug 2024, 15:16 GMT by Sander ]

Callmesteve:

>I just want to confirm if that is everything as I have noticed while reading on here about the DS160 confirmation but is that the same as the confirmation and instruction page?

If the 'confirmation and instruction page' has your application ID on it that's all that's required:

>You are not required to bring your entire application. For your interview, you are required to bring your confirmation page with your application ID number on it so we can retrieve your DS-160. You must bring the confirmation page with you during all phases of the application process. Without the confirmation page, we may not be able to process your visa case.

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/forms/ds-160-online-nonimmigrant-visa-application/ds-160-faqs.html#:~:text=In%20order%20to%20do%20so,and%20print%20your%20confirmation%20page.

[ Edit: Edited on 31 Aug 2024, 16:25 GMT by leics2 ]