USA Visa - Can I apply abroad?

Swirlywurly

Hi Everyone,

I'm in a bit of a panic at the moment. I'm trying to get a USA visa. I am a UK citizen but i was really stupid when i was 17 (6 years ago) and was arrested for stealing something tiny at work. I've learnt my lesson now and i've turned my life around. I got a caution and that was the end of it but apparently i need a visa.

I won't be going to NY until september but i phoned the advice line and they don't have an interview until late september. I can't wait until then as i will be in jamaica this summer on a medical elective.

Can i apply for a visa from the american embassy in jamaica or can only jamaican citizens apply there?

Lots of people have just told me to risk it because it isn't a convinction but i've read around and really don't feel comfortable doing that, but i need to do something otherwise i won't be able to go on my trip to the US. I was planning to do something really special for my bf out there so i hope I can go!

I'm trying to read around to find out but i'm in a bit of a panic and people are usually really helpful on here.

Sorry for rambling

Engadine

http://www.unitedstatesvisas.gov/ may be of help

Swirlywurly

Thank you for that link

It seems that I can apply from abroad although it isn't explicity said anywhere. Hopefully someone has been in a similar situation and can shed some light on it for me!

Marty_J

The visa waiver form doesn't ask you if you've ever committed a crime, it asks if you have ever committed or been arrested for an offence involving moral turpitude, an offence involving drugs, or two or more offences for which the maximum penalty is five years in prison or more. Whether this would include your offence, I couldn't say.

While the embassy will always tell you if you're in doubt as to your eligibility to travel visa free you should apply for a visa, there is nothing in US law that says people with a criminal record cannot travel using the Visa Waiver Programme.

I'm not advising you to travel with or without a visa, though if you are in any doubt, it's probably best to apply for one. Have you tried the US Consulate in Belfast? They generally have shorter waiting times than London.

http://www.usembassy.org.uk/nireland/

Swirlywurly

Marty_J wrote: »

The visa waiver form doesn't ask you if you've ever committed a crime, it asks if you have ever committed or been arrested for an offence involving moral turpitude, an offence involving drugs, or two or more offences for which the maximum penalty is five years in prison or more. Whether this would include your offence, I couldn't say.

While the embassy will always tell you if you're in doubt as to your eligibility to travel visa free you should apply for a visa, there is nothing in US law that says people with a criminal record cannot travel using the Visa Waiver Programme.

I'm not advising you to travel with or without a visa, though if you are in any doubt, it's probably best to apply for one. Have you tried the US Consulate in Belfast? They generally have shorter waiting times than London.

http://www.usembassy.org.uk/nireland/

Theft is an act of moral turpitude is it not? I find the concept a bit confusing.

The quickest appointment they have in Belfast is the 16th July, but they would send my passport home and wouldn't give it back to me so I then would be stuck in Belfast.

I'm really panicking now. The chances of getting an appointment in Jamaica seem very slim.

Thank you for your help

Marty_J

Theft probably is, though when applying for a visa you won't be ineligible because of a crime "committed when the alien was under 18 years of age, and the crime was committed (and the alien released from any confinement to a prison or correctional institution imposed for the crime) more than 5 years before the date of application for a visa or other documentation and the date of application for admission to the United States". I'm not sure in what way this is applicable to the Visa Waiver Programme (if at all).

As for your ID problem, you don't have any other photographic ID?

Swirlywurly

Marty_J wrote: »

Theft probably is, though US immigration doesn't take into account crimes "committed when the alien was under 18 years of age, and the crime was committed (and the alien released from any confinement to a prison or correctional institution imposed for the crime) more than 5 years before the date of application for a visa or other documentation and the date of application for admission to the United States". I'm not sure in what way this is applicable to the Visa Waiver Programme (if at all).

As for your ID problem, you don't have any other photographic ID?

For the visa waiver programme the fact that I was a minor doesn't seem to make much of a difference.

I have a provisional driving license, that is all.

I'm wondering about the moral turptitude now. The circumstances in which I was arrested were complicated, and it wasn't as simple as taking something for my own gain. I always intended to give it back (and was psychiatrically unwell which was documented at the time). I'm really unsure where i stand on ticking that box now because I don't want to lie, but i'm not sure that I commited an act of moral turptitude.

Marty_J

If your situation is complicated, applying for a visa might be your best option. Theft without the intention to permanently take something is not a crime of moral turpitude, though if you divulge your criminal record at immigration, your successful entry would rely on you having an immigration officer who understands the distinction. You have no right of appeal when travelling under the VWP, and I don't imagine being sent back on the first available flight is a pleasant experience.

I think you should be able to use your provisional license as ID for the flight from Northern Ireland back to Britain (please someone correct me if I'm mistaken), so Belfast might be your best bet.

Alfie_E

Swirlywurly wrote: »

Theft is an act of moral turpitude is it not? I find the concept a bit confusing.

I would have thought so too. The Americans don’t have a fixed definition or list of offences, so I’m not surprised it’s confusing, and I don’t think the vast majority of Americans would be able to nail it down with any degree of precision. My basic understanding is that the word ‘moral’ is the important bit. Something like dangerous driving or fishing without a rod licence, while criminal, are not moral failings. Theft, however, would be considered as such.

Swirlywurly wrote: »

The circumstances in which I was arrested were complicated, and it wasn't as simple as taking something for my own gain.

I don’t think that matters. It’s not whether you were innocent or guilty, or whether there were mitigating circumstances, simply the fact that you were arrested.

Swirlywurly

Alfie_E wrote: »

I would have thought so too. The Americans don’t have a fixed definition or list of offences, so I’m not surprised it’s confusing, and I don’t think the vast majority of Americans would be able to nail it down with any degree of precision. My basic understanding is that the word ‘moral’ is the important bit. Something like dangerous driving or fishing without a rod licence, while criminal, are not moral failings. Theft, however, would be considered as such.

I don’t think that matters. It’s not whether you were innocent or guilty, or whether there were mitigating circumstances, simply the fact that you were arrested.

I agree with you in that I was definitely guilty of the charge of theft. I never denied that. The intention behind the crime does seem to be the basis of moral turptitude e.g. joyriding, which is why i'm confused. I'll keep perservering until I get some clarification. Seems as though a visa may be the way to go.

bairn7

Re applying for a visa abroad, I have a UK passport and I managed to get a US Visa for temporary work (summer camp) when I was living in the Netherlands for a year. I just went to the consulate in Amsterdam and applied as normal.Not sure if it would be different because you would be applying outside EU but I wouldn't think so.