Holiday in USA if you've been arrested?

mclaren_2

teb wrote:

Ta for advice and links. Looks like he's going to have to travel to London to apply for the visa as it says something about having an interview.

Will phone their flipping expensive phone line tomorrow.

Last question...how long does the visa last for? He doesn't think he'll be going till maybe Easter. Will it cover all future trips or do you have to re-apply for each trip?

Last time i knew, it was per visit as you can get a criminal conviction in a second so per visit, you have to apply. I might be wrong, but this is the information i have here.

Also, if he can get to Belfast, he might beable to go there instead of london as the application takes about 3 months and in Ireland, it has been quicker

as for expensive phoneline
U.S. Consulate General, Belfast
028 9038 6100 (uk call)

Penny-Pincher!!

Think the visa lasts 10years

mclaren_2

Penny-Pincher!! wrote:

Think the visa lasts 10years

oh i got that wrong lol - sorry bout that. It could be that if you get a fresh conviction that your current visa becomes invalid - and you need to reapply?

teb_2

Great. Been a good help guys, thanks very much for pointing us in the right direction and for the advice.

alanrowell

ANY Arrest means you should apply for a visa.

Minor traffic offences which didn't result in an arrest are ignored & you can use the VWP.

It's all explained on http://www.usembassy.org.uk/cons_new/visa/niv/vwp.html

teb_2

More help if you can?

In the middle of sorting paperwork out and getting nowhere fast. Got the Police forms to apply for the access statement that he needs and he phoned the consulate number above but was referred to the expensive visa line.

He phoned it and was told he definately needed visa and that they lasted for anything from 3 months to 10 years. What you get depends on your case.

He asked when he should apply as he wants to go away next year and was told that's up to him. If he applies too early and it's sorted out easily as he gets a 3 month visa granted just for a holiday then it could be expired before he's due to go and he might not have enough time to get another one. If he leaves it too late he might not get one in time. He was told that's the chance he takes. Helpful eh!

Anyway he's planning on going to Belfast but we don't get this bit

'applicants applying for visas at the Consulate General in Belfast are required to furnish a Certificate of Conviction from the clerk of courts in which they were tried.'

It doesn't say anything about this if you're going to london. So is this just for Irish people who were charged and went to an Irish court or is it for everyone and Belfast just have a different system to london?

full page here..http://www.usembassy.org.uk/cons_new/visa/niv/add_crime.html

click on the bit on the right.Form VCU 1. We don't find this easy to understand.

I definately don't need one as I wasn't arrested, just got an on the spot fine and 3 points btw.

nives316

I visited the states over December and January. I have a traffic offence and didn't have any problems. I filled in the visa form on the plain and landed in LA without any problems. I also drove down into Mexico and came back across the border into the states without any hassles.

I also have a friend who was arrested out there on holiday for speeding. He was taken straight to the court house (it was in Arrisona I think) and made to pay a fine. He has been back to the states a few time since without any problems.

I don't think they take to much notice of petty crimes or traffic offences if you are just going on holiday. Especially if it was a long time ago.

The_Lambton_Worm

The US government has no access to the British criminal database. They cannot check if you've got a criminal record or not. Simply don't tell them you've got a criminal record.

wdyw

teb wrote:

More help if you can?



Anyway he's planning on going to Belfast but we don't get this bit

'applicants applying for visas at the Consulate General in Belfast are required to furnish a Certificate of Conviction from the clerk of courts in which they were tried.'

It doesn't say anything about this if you're going to london. So is this just for Irish people who were charged and went to an Irish court or is it for everyone and Belfast just have a different system to london?

Don't you mean Irish/British people who were charged and went to a British court?

teb_2

wdyw wrote:

Don't you mean Irish/British people who were charged and went to a British court?

Why would I mean a British court when I was talking specifically about courts in ireland?

You having a pop at me here?

We're trying to understand what to do and I only tried to make what I was asking clear. Wasn't tryin gto say Irish folk weren't British, if that's what youre getting at. Just trying to find out if things were different if you lived in Ireland when you got arrested, cos the website isn't clear at least not to us. We didn't know why it didn't ask for the same thing if you were going to London. Don't get all patriotic on me, i didn't mean any offence i was only asking a question.

Anyway, just off the phone to court and data protection man and both say there is no record anywhere anymore about what he did after this length of time and they both told him off the record to ignore it and not bother applying for a visa as theres no way of the US finding out like the lambton worm says above. dunno what he's going to do now but thanks for everyone's help. :beer: