Another ESTA / VWP and Criminal Record question

sysadmin

Hi...

My company is sending me to America next month.. (it was only booked last week) and I've been directed to fill out the ESTA.

I have a conviction for common assault 15 years ago and received £100 fine and 100 hours community service.

The question on the ESTA asks about being convicted or arrested of crimes of moral turpitude which i dont believe common assault is as its classed as simple assault in the states.

Am i able to answer no to that question?
There isnt enough time to apply for a VISA as its only 5 weeks until the trip

Thanks!

cubegame

https://uk.usembassy.gov/visas/visa-waiver-program/additional-requirements/

You may be eligible for an ESTA but you may not be eligible for the visa waiver program.

sysadmin

Are an ESTA and the VWP different things then ?

richardw

It’s moral turpitude.

Archergirl

Well, it was 15 years ago, have you been in trouble since? It would be very harsh if you couldn't go on the work trip and maybe jeopardise your future with the company. I know what I would do..........

heatherw_01

cubegame wrote: »

https://uk.usembassy.gov/visas/visa-waiver-program/additional-requirements/

You may be eligible for an ESTA but you may not be eligible for the visa waiver program.

An ESTA is a visa waiver

sysadmin

Archergirl wrote: »

Well, it was 15 years ago, have you been in trouble since? It would be very harsh if you couldn't go on the work trip and maybe jeopardise your future with the company. I know what I would do..........

Nope - not a bean since. Not even a parking fine.

Looking around the web, the information is slightly conflicting. for every 1 person/article that says you MUST tell them everything, I can find another 10 that say common assault does not count as moral turpitude and to answer NO on the ESTA

I'm not sure I have much choice anyway with what little time there is remaining

Voyager2002

Archergirl wrote: »

Well, it was 15 years ago, have you been in trouble since? It would be very harsh if you couldn't go on the work trip and maybe jeopardise your future with the company. I know what I would do..........

So going by the rule-book, he should apply for the visa and the embassy would conclude that since he has been a model citizen for the last ten years they would give him the visa. In practice, however, they would not process a visa application in time.

Voyager2002

sysadmin wrote: »

Nope - not a bean since. Not even a parking fine.

Looking around the web, the information is slightly conflicting. for every 1 person/article that says you MUST tell them everything, I can find another 10 that say common assault does not count as moral turpitude and to answer NO on the ESTA

I'm not sure I have much choice anyway with what little time there is remaining

It sounds as if you have made reasonable efforts to find out whether your past action was a Crime Involving Moral Turpitude (CIMT) and have good reason to believe that it was not. In which case the correct thing to do is to answer NO on the ESTA.


Ensure that you keep a print/screenshot of a web page telling you to answer NO: in the event that more detailed enquiries are ever made (for instance if you were later to apply for an immigrant visa) you would need this as a defence against the serious matter of having lied to the US immigration service.

cubegame

heatherw_01 wrote: »

An ESTA is a visa waiver

Nope.

The visa waiver is what you're granted by the immigration officer on entry. You can get a visa waiver without an ESTA.

An ESTA is a data gathering exercise which speeds up the process.

NoodleDoodleMan

Why not contact the US Embassy direct for guidance ?