Travel to American with record

jay459

Ive just applied for the ESTA, as Im told this is all thats required to go on holiday to American. Im going for 2-3 weeks next July.

Now I have a couple of things on my police record which I've seen as was recently vetted due to requirements of my partners profession

On my file is disorderly behaviour, £250 fine, assault on police officer, £250 fine, £100 compensation to police officer.

Now my application has been approved. I thought it would be harder than this, i was expecting to see the embassy...

Will i definitely get into America, who should a speak to who would be better versed on the topic..

torbrex

ESTA Approval does not guarantee entry into the USA, it would be better if you contacted the Embassy to confirm whether you require a visa with your criminal record.

Caz3121

I assume you answered NO to this question

"Have you ever been arrested or convicted for a crime that resulted in serious damage to property, or serious harm to another person or government authority?"

The issue will be whether you should have answered YES due to the assault charge

Gavin83

Caz3121 wrote: »

I assume you answered NO to this question

"Have you ever been arrested or convicted for a crime that resulted in serious damage to property, or serious harm to another person or government authority?"

The issue will be whether you should have answered YES due to the assault charge

They should really word their questions better as depending on what he did I would have answered no to that question as well. Assault on a police officer could be anything from a light shove, which I (and no one reasonable) could really consider 'serious harm' to a broken jaw, which obviously would be serious.

However saying that America are big on authority and I'd imagine the assault on a police officer charge will seriously count against you.

Torbrex (or anyone else) at what point do they check your criminal record? I always thought it was checked when you applied for the ESTA but if this will be an issue I assume this isn't the case.

torbrex

Gavin83 wrote: »

Torbrex (or anyone else) at what point do they check your criminal record? I always thought it was checked when you applied for the ESTA but if this will be an issue I assume this isn't the case.

The online ESTA is just a digital copy of the old green form that you filled in when on the plane across, I assume they moved to this online form to give the powers that be a chance to check records of the applicants.

I have heard of a number of people that had been approved by the online ESTA but refused entry on arrival because they did not declare what they thought was a minor offence or had simply forgotten about something they had been found guilty of and only had to pay a fine.

Voyager2002

torbrex wrote: »

I have heard of a number of people that had been approved by the online ESTA but refused entry on arrival because they did not declare what they thought was a minor offence or had simply forgotten about something they had been found guilty of and only had to pay a fine.

Could you post details please?

The US authorities do not have routine access to British records, so unless someone is already known to them, or appears suspicious so that they decide to run a background check on that individual, it seems unlikely that they would be caught. So I would be interested in knowing how they found out about someone who had genuinely forgotten a misdemeanor.

torbrex

Voyager2002 wrote: »

Could you post details please?

The US authorities do not have routine access to British records, so unless someone is already known to them, or appears suspicious so that they decide to run a background check on that individual, it seems unlikely that they would be caught. So I would be interested in knowing how they found out about someone who had genuinely forgotten a misdemeanor.

I have no details, they are just stories that have been voiced.

agrinnall

Voyager2002 wrote: »

The US authorities do not have routine access to British records...

I take it you've never heard of the NSA then? :eek:

[Oh no, I'm on a list now!]

jay459

I did answer no because I wasn't actually arrested. The assault was basically knocking the officers hat off. The police left me home that night and 6 months later I got a letter stating they were prosecuting me.

I really don't want to get to American end up on a plane back home. This is my honeymoon and I've always wanted to visit America.

I don't know whether to ask the Embassy then if they chase it up and outcome is negative then I will never get in.

Or if I speak to someone who knows the system and get impartial advice as to what to do then I'd be willing to go on.

Gavin83

Voyager2002 wrote: »

So I would be interested in knowing how they found out about someone who had genuinely forgotten a misdemeanor.

Who forgets if they have a criminal record or not!

jay459 wrote: »

I did answer no because I wasn't actually arrested. The assault was basically knocking the officers hat off. The police left me home that night and 6 months later I got a letter stating they were prosecuting me.

I really don't want to get to American end up on a plane back home. This is my honeymoon and I've always wanted to visit America.

I don't know whether to ask the Embassy then if they chase it up and outcome is negative then I will never get in.

Or if I speak to someone who knows the system and get impartial advice as to what to do then I'd be willing to go on.

It's a gamble. If you tell them you have a criminal record for assaulting a police officer I'm willing to bet they won't let you in. As I said they take authority seriously. If you say nothing you may well get in but there's a risk that they'll turn you away on arrival.

Your choice.

NiftyDigits

Go and don't worry about it. Even if they do see it, it doesn't mean that you'll be turned away.