USA visa

jonathon

This is for my ex.
she is traveling to USA in august and she has a criminal record in this country ( she has lived here for 20 years) but she will be going on her German passport will she still need to go to the american embassy ?

dzug

jonathon wrote: »

This is for my ex.
she is traveling to USA in august and she has a criminal record in this country ( she has lived here for 20 years) but she will be going on her German passport will she still need to go to the american embassy ?

Germany is a country that the US allows to participate in the visa waiver scheme so her position is no different to a British citizen. If she wants/needs a visa she must go to the US Embassy. If the criminal record is recent enough and serious enough she will be refused a visa.

steveo3002

i believe if you choose not to mention the record then they cant find out, so you can enter on the usual waiver programme

gemmacarolyn

She should be ok with getting into the US, unless her criminal record is serious. I would suggest visiting the US Embassy site:
http://london.usembassy.gov/cons_new/visa/index.html
And possibly giving them a call to check. This does need to be done soon: If she needs a Visa it takes a while for an appointment to come through and there are A LOT of forms to fill in (Some of which can be found on the above website.)
Remember that she will have to declare her record on the Visa-Waiver form that she will be given on the flight, so it's best to clear up any confusion this side of the Atlantic. I would hate to fly all that way and get refused entry!
Hope that helps!

gemmacarolyn

Steveo is right: Normally they will not check if you don't declare anything, but I don't think it would be worth the risk (To me personally, anyway.) They do have the power to check your record if they chose to, and if you're refused entry into the US once it makes it really hard to get in again-even for a holiday.

Incapuppy

steveo3002 wrote: »

i believe if you choose not to mention the record then they cant find out, so you can enter on the usual waiver programme

Do you really think so? Would you take the risk?

My friend and her boyfriend flew to Las Vegas on holiday. He chose not to mention his criminal record. He spent 2 hours at Las Vegas airport and was sent home on the same aircraft that he flew out on.

jonathon

the question is as she is traveling on a german passport will thay check her uk criminal record

dmg24

Incapuppy wrote: »

Do you really think so? Would you take the risk?

My friend and her boyfriend flew to Las Vegas on holiday. He chose not to mention his criminal record. He spent 2 hours at Las Vegas airport and was sent home on the same aircraft that he flew out on.

Did she stay and enjoy the holiday? I trust she is no longer his girlfriend?! x

dzug

gemmacarolyn wrote: »

Remember that she will have to declare her record on the Visa-Waiver form that she will be given on the flight,

Well if she does that she's done for - they have no option but to refuse entry. Whereas the Embassy has SOME discretion (OK they may have to refer it home, which is why it can take months in borderline cases) in issuing a visa.

dmg24

jonathon wrote: »

the question is as she is traveling on a german passport will thay check her uk criminal record

As her address will be in the UK, they will check her UK criminal record (if they check at all). However small the possibility, I wouldn't take the chance.

mrtg0525

@jonathon, AFAIR it very much depends on what the criminal record is/was for. Have a look at this scan of the visa waiver form, that should give your ex some kind of idea if the exemption applies to her or not. I'm not sure if travelling on a German passport will make any difference - I'm German and live in the UK so my German passport gives 'Ashford' as my place of residence (why on earth they left off the 'UK' in the new passport is a rant for another day), so it would be fairly easy for US immigrations to check...

From hanging out on US immigration discussion boards, I got the impression that the US embassy in London will recommend getting a visa as they tend to err on the side of caution. Keep in mind that the penalities for trying to get into the US on the I94W when you're not eligible are quite severe - if you get put on the next plane back, you won't be allowed into the US for the next five years at all and you will have to apply for a visa every time you want to visit the US thereafter...