US Visa Appointment

dzug1

Tululla wrote: »

The thing is, I have to go to the states for work so I can't really tick the VWP form, I will need to get a visa and the question on the visa form is have you ever been arrested or convicted of a crime. There is no question on moral turpitude at all. However, this then makes me wonder - if I get the visa, and have declared my arrest/conviction, would I then not be able to travel on the VWP in the future once my work visa expires??

You should be able to enter under the VWP - the question on that form is about moral turpitude (and one or two other things that don't affect you), so you can quite truthfully tick the NO box.

NGM6456

I would seem to be 'in the same boat' as Tullula. I need to apply for a US visa, a nonimmigrant visitors, type B2, but I have a criminal conviction (Taking and Driving Away) from 1972 when I was 16, 36 years ago. I had already filled in the voluntary ESTA form online and had been given permission to travel under the Visa Waiver Programme, but at a later date, after booking and paying for my flights and 4 nights in a New York hotel (mid-January 2009), I discovered to my dismay that I should not have answered 'NO' to the criminal conviction question. It seems no matter how long ago the conviction occurred you must declare it and consequently you can not travel on the VWP and therefor have to apply to the US Embassy for a Visa. If you do travel 'illegally' there is more than a good chance you will not be allowed to enter the US and you will be put on the next available flight back to the UK.
So, can I skip making an appointment with the Visa Coordination Officer and just go for a 'normal' application and interview. Legislation on US visas clearly states that an exception to the rule of ineligibilty to enter the US if you have a criminal conviction is applied if the person has only one conviction and that it occurred when the person was under 18 and it occurred (or the person was released from a resulting custodial sentence) more than 5 years ago prior to the date of the visa interview.
All in all, it is going to cost me £150+ just to get a visitors visa; this includes £35 for the ACPO certificate that you must provided to show the extent of your criminal convictions, £70 odd for the actual Visa, £14.50 to have your passport returned, and £50 in train travel. If I go for the normal proceedure, thats what I will have to fork out. If I dont go through the Visa Coordination Officer route, I could very well find myself having to make two trips to the Embassy which will incur even more expense: £26 to have my passport collected and returned by the courier service and additional train fares.
So, can anyone advise me? Would it be ok to go for the 'normal' route? I am pulling my hair out (well, whats left of it) over this one, and time is running out, as the Embassy website advises if you have criminal conviction(s) your case will be subjected to greater scrutiny and it may take at least 12 weeks to get a visa.

Yorkshire-Lady_3

My friends son committed a minor offence when he was 9.
Last year, he had to apply for a visa - he's now 14 and it was refused.
I don't think age has a great deal to do with it.

Y-L

dzug1

NGM6456 wrote: »

I would seem to be 'in the same boat' as Tullula. I need to apply for a US visa, a nonimmigrant visitors, type B2, but I have a criminal conviction (Taking and Driving Away) from 1972 when I was 16, 36 years ago. I had already filled in the voluntary ESTA form online and had been given permission to travel under the Visa Waiver Programme, but at a later date, after booking and paying for my flights and 4 nights in a New York hotel (mid-January 2009), I discovered to my dismay that I should not have answered 'NO' to the criminal conviction question. It seems no matter how long ago the conviction occurred you must declare it and consequently you can not travel on the VWP and therefor have to apply to the US Embassy for a Visa. If you do travel 'illegally' there is more than a good chance you will not be allowed to enter the US and you will be put on the next available flight back to the UK.
So, can I skip making an appointment with the Visa Coordination Officer and just go for a 'normal' application and interview. Legislation on US visas clearly states that an exception to the rule of ineligibilty to enter the US if you have a criminal conviction is applied if the person has only one conviction and that it occurred when the person was under 18 and it occurred (or the person was released from a resulting custodial sentence) more than 5 years ago prior to the date of the visa interview.
All in all, it is going to cost me £150+ just to get a visitors visa; this includes £35 for the ACPO certificate that you must provided to show the extent of your criminal convictions, £70 odd for the actual Visa, £14.50 to have your passport returned, and £50 in train travel. If I go for the normal proceedure, thats what I will have to fork out. If I dont go through the Visa Coordination Officer route, I could very well find myself having to make two trips to the Embassy which will incur even more expense: £26 to have my passport collected and returned by the courier service and additional train fares.
So, can anyone advise me? Would it be ok to go for the 'normal' route? I am pulling my hair out (well, whats left of it) over this one, and time is running out, as the Embassy website advises if you have criminal conviction(s) your case will be subjected to greater scrutiny and it may take at least 12 weeks to get a visa.

You don't repeat don't need a visa. Your crime was not moral turpitude, both on the grounds that it was juvenile delinquency and in its own right. You truthfully and correctly ticked the NO box on the ESTA form and have no need for further worry or expense.

The US Embassy site is misleading. I understand why - they don't trust the British public to understand what moral turpitude is, so prefer to take the decision themselves. The only way they can take the decision themselves is to get all the evidence in writing - which means applying for a visa. But you are entitled to take that decision for yourself. So they get loads of unnecessary visa applications - and loads of visa fees..... I'm tempted say it's a money spinner but I suspect it's more paranoia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_turpitude will be helpful - look where juvenile delinquency and joy riding are listed. Don't worry about it being a doubtful source - it's cribbed directly from an official US government website.

NGM6456

The US Visa legislation is designed with adults in mind. Unfortunately, juveniles fall under totally different laws.The exception, to the ineligibility rule for travelling to the US if you have a criminal history, is only granted to adults who have only committed one past offence when they were under 18 and the offence was committed more than five years ago. This is clearly stated in US Visa law.

Classes of Aliens Ineligible to Receive Visas

The following sections of the law are taken from the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. 1001, et. seq., as amended

Section 212(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act reads:

(a) Classes of Aliens Ineligible for Visas or Admission.-Except as otherwise provided in this Act, aliens who are inadmissible under the following paragraphs are ineligible to receive visas and ineligible to be admitted to the United States:

(2) Criminal and related grounds.-

(A) Conviction of certain crimes.-

(i) In general.-Except as provided in clause (ii), any alien convicted of, or who admits having committed, or who admits committing acts which constitute the essential elements of-

(I) a crime involving moral turpitude (other than a purely political offense or an attempt or conspiracy to commit such a crime), or

(II) a violation of (or a conspiracy or attempt to violate) any law or regulation of a State, the United States, or a foreign country relating to a controlled substance (as defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802)), is inadmissible.

(ii) Exception.-Clause (i)(I) shall not apply to an alien who committed only one crime if-

(I) the crime was committed when the alien was under 18 years of age, and the crime was committed (and the alien released from any confinement to a prison or correctional institution imposed for the crime) more than 5 years before the date of application for a visa or other documentation and the date of application for admission to the United States, or

(II) the maximum penalty possible for the crime of which the alien was convicted (or which the alien admits having committed or of which the acts that the alien admits having committed constituted the essential elements) did not exceed imprisonment for one year and, if the alien was convicted of such crime, the alien was not sentenced to a term of imprisonment in excess of 6 months (regardless of the extent to which the sentence was ultimately executed).

(B) Multiple criminal convictions.-Any alien convicted of 2 or more offenses (other than purely political offenses), regardless of whether the conviction was in a single trial or whether the offenses arose from a single scheme of misconduct and regardless of whether the offenses involved moral turpitude, for which the aggregate sentences to confinement were 5 years or more is inadmissible.

NGM6456

dzug1 wrote: »

You don't repeat don't need a visa. Your crime was not moral turpitude, both on the grounds that it was juvenile delinquency and in its own right. You truthfully and correctly ticked the NO box on the ESTA form and have no need for further worry or expense.

The US Embassy site is misleading. I understand why - they don't trust the British public to understand what moral turpitude is, so prefer to take the decision themselves. The only way they can take the decision themselves is to get all the evidence in writing - which means applying for a visa. But you are entitled to take that decision for yourself. So they get loads of unnecessary visa applications - and loads of visa fees..... I'm tempted say it's a money spinner but I suspect it's more paranoia.

Thanks for this advice. However, I forgot to mention in my original post that I subsequently (rather hastily and perhaps foolishly) filled in another ESTA form and ticked YES to the question regarding criminal convictions. This action superceded the earlier ESTA form and consequently I can't travel under the VWP as I am prohibited from travelling to a US port of entry under this scheme.
So, do you think I can just go for a normal visa interview as opposed to seeing the Visa Coordination Officer first, as the exception clause in the visa legislation would be grounds enough to bypass this extra screening?
I certainly appreciate your help.