Has anyone applied for a visa for the usa

24

Comments

  • dzug
    dzug Posts: 2,260 Forumite
    I owe you an apology Dzug :o . You are correct. Mine is not machine readable because it was issued outside of the UK. I am due to travel soon, so I have to get it renewed in January. Didn't like the hideous picture on it anyway ;).

    This forum is great for clarifying issues.

    No worries iwantoberich.

    It surprises me that your passport is not machine readable though - I thought the last of those, even from overseas Embassies, had fallen out of the system some time back. Obviously I was wrong.
  • dmg24
    dmg24 Posts: 33,925 Forumite
    We still don't know why the OP needs a visa.

    If it is due to serious criminal convictions, then going bankrupt/ large debt could have an impact on your application (they want to see proof that you have a reason to return to the UK). Not sure how the debt would apply to other reasons.
    Gone ... or have I?
  • In 2001 i got arrested three months after the suppose incident for raceisally acravted threating behaviour, got two years probation which finished a month early in 2005 as it took 18 months for it to be sorted. My probation officer believe that i wasn't racist and iam not racist, nor did i do it, he attacked me but because i was white it was me that got in to trouble. I do need a visa for this reason, but not sure if i will get one, i do have reasons to come back to this country iam a student and will be for the next five to six years
    Married 09/09/09
  • dmg24
    dmg24 Posts: 33,925 Forumite
    Yes, I would say that you need a visa, and being a student plus having (I assume) a lot of debt will not help your application. I know of someone who got turned down for a visa having a few convictions for assault, but I don't know if they were more or less severe than your own conviction.

    Without being intrusive, if you are going bankrupt will this not contradict you having money to spend whilst you are there?

    It is possible that you will get through without a visa (plenty of people do), but that would of course be up to you if you wanted to take the chance.

    You need to take specialist advice on this x
    Gone ... or have I?
  • We were hoping to use clubcard deals to pay for it, i would rather not risk it, where can i get specalist advice from please
    Married 09/09/09
  • I have a visa for the US.

    I got it after I saw all the potential issues with travelling after being arrested within the UK - at the time the feeling was an arrest was sufficient to warrant a visa (it did not matter if you were convicted or not).

    Mine lasts 10 years and apart from being time consuming to attain was no problem at all. I sometimes take a little longer to get through immigration because of the attitude I get from immigration but otherwise no problem at all.

    I got it because there was no way I was going to the US and get sent home and lose out on the money/vouchers I had spent.

    What I would say is that I wasn't convicted of a criminal offence and I did not spend any time in prison, I can only offer my experiences I am afraid.
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  • dzug
    dzug Posts: 2,260 Forumite
    We were hoping to use clubcard deals to pay for it, i would rather not risk it, where can i get specalist advice from please

    A US immigration lawyer is your only reliable specialist independent source of advice. He will be able to tell you whether, under US law, a racially motivated attack involves moral turpitude or not. (You having a different version of events counts for zilch, unfortunately. It could actually worsen things (lack of contrition, etc). You were convicted. full stop)

    If it does you have the choice of lying on the visa waiver form and probably getting away with it, or applying for a visa which would probably be refused, given that the conviction was fairly recent. If there's any doubt about this the impending bankruptcy would clinch it.

    If it doesn't (involve moral turpitude) then you can safely tick no on the visa waiver form.

    I doubt if you will get any sense out of the US Embassy - they will tell you to apply for a visa. They won't tell you the likelihood of getting one until they have your form and (non-refundable) money.
  • dzug wrote: »
    A US immigration lawyer is your only reliable specialist independent source of advice. He will be able to tell you whether, under US law, a racially motivated attack involves moral turpitude or not. (You having a different version of events counts for zilch, unfortunately. It could actually worsen things (lack of contrition, etc). You were convicted. full stop)

    If it does you have the choice of lying on the visa waiver form and probably getting away with it, or applying for a visa which would probably be refused, given that the conviction was fairly recent. If there's any doubt about this the impending bankruptcy would clinch it.

    If it doesn't (involve moral turpitude) then you can safely tick no on the visa waiver form.

    I doubt if you will get any sense out of the US Embassy - they will tell you to apply for a visa. They won't tell you the likelihood of getting one until they have your form and (non-refundable) money.

    How much would a lawyer cost
    Married 09/09/09
  • dzug
    dzug Posts: 2,260 Forumite
    How much would a lawyer cost

    Sorry not a clue. Not cheap though.
  • Not only that, but how much would a us visa cost! If you include the trip to London and bearing in mind that most appointments to the us embassy require you to actually be in line by 8am. I usually stay over night. I have had many different us visas. One for being an au pair for a year, one for studying at uni and another for being on a working ship as a supernumary. Funnilly enough, the last time I went out to the States, I was informed by immigration that I was still in the country, go figure.... I'd just stepped off an international flight and was standing in front of the immigration desk!
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