Caution for possession of cannabis. Entry into USA?

John259

Does he have any paperwork related to the incident? I've no idea - do the police have to issue any paperwork when they stop, caution, arrest or charge someone? I wonder if a visit to a police station might help clarify matters?

IMHO the US authorities need to make things far clearer. Well actually, IMHO the US authorities need to scrap the entire outdated paranoid immigration nonsense but that's well beyond the scope of this thread.

jackieblack

littlereddevil wrote: »

I know of a lad not allowed entry and being sent home despite having an esta

ESTA only gives authorisation for travel, it does not give any guarantee of entry

powerful_Rogue

Not sure why they use the term "arrested or convicted".

Simply being arrested doesn't make you guilty. Many people are arrested and then released with no further action.

John259

powerful_Rogue wrote: »

Not sure why they use the term "arrested or convicted".

Simply being arrested doesn't make you guilty. Many people are arrested and then released with no further action.

Very good point. Perhaps the meaning or the law is different in the USA?

photome

littlereddevil wrote: »

The USA know a lot more than you think. I know of a lad not allowed entry and being sent home despite having an esta

what for ?

spender

If it a caution he would of have to be arrested and admit it for a caution to be administered. Or was it a fixed penalty notice issued on the street? The USA do not have access to the police national computer. Do you honestly think with the thousands of people daily travelling to the states a check is completed on each individual? These horror stories problems come from somebody giving the wrong answer to the US official on arrival. How many posters honestly know somebody who was returned home? The only person I know off is the idiot who had been clubbing the night before flying and had not changed his clothes and had the remnants of resin in his pockets so he deserved to be sent back

adouglasmhor

anxious_mum wrote: »

Thanks Nick_C, I will ask him when I next see him.

Do they have to do that whole 'anything you say may be taken down in evidence' thing when you're being arrested? Is that the Miranda speech? I'm sure he would remember if that had been done. I wonder why it's called that? What an awful conversation to be having about my son :-(

As for going to Cuba? Nah. Not even on the horizon.

Miranda is an American thing.

John259

spender wrote: »

Do you honestly think with the thousands of people daily travelling to the states a check is completed on each individual?

It seems extremely likely. Consider how long it takes Google to find something amongst millions of indexed web pages. All the US immigration computer system has to do is check the name, the passport number and a few more details.

spender

Really thought with Data Protection the British public would have to be told. The police national computer does not hold passport numbers so the USA could find several john does with the same date of birth

VestanPance

John259 wrote: »

It seems extremely likely. Consider how long it takes Google to find something amongst millions of indexed web pages. All the US immigration computer system has to do is check the name, the passport number and a few more details.

Apart from the fact they don't have access to UK criminal records. The truth is 99.9% UK people with criminal records could waltz into the USA with an ESTA just by not declaring their conviction. Those stopped will have another mitigating flag, such as a name that ties to a USA database on suspected drug trafficking or terrorists.

Legally if the person has been arrested they should apply via the US consulate, and would no doubt save the traveller a lot of worry. Assuming the border control at the airport have some magical database and access to every criminal record of all the countries with millions of travellers arriving in the States each day though is beyond farcical.