Mike Spechers

Hi Folks, I'm a New Zealand citizen and have a number of 'victimless' crimes against
my name from my youth. I am 26, and have the following bad marks against my name:

TRAFFIC
===========

(1) Driving whilst disqualified (traffic offense)
(2) Failing to stop (traffic offense)
(3) Various speeding tickets in New Zealand
(4) Two drink driving charges

CRIMINAL
===========

(5) Obstructing the police
(6) Disorderly behaviour
(7) Possesion of a restricted weapon (a stun gun that I ironically ordered off the
internet from the US!!) - but never used, just illegal in New Zealand.

So, as you can see none of these crimes were that serious and I have never
been to jail.

A travel agent in Sydney advised me NOT to declare that I have criminal
convictions when I arrive in the US at customs, as they cant check them anyway
(easily). Good idea?

Am I best to:
(8) Just arrive and claim the VWP (visa waiver program)
(9) Just arrive claime the VWP and disclose all above convictions because they will
not prevent entry into the US?
(10) Apply for an official temporary visa now (my trip is in three months) and
disclose all convictions and hope for the best.

Thanks! Mike

Hilary

    > Hi Folks, I'm a New Zealand citizen and have a number of 'victimless' crimes
    > against my name from my youth. I am 26, and have the following bad marks against
    > my name:
    > TRAFFIC
    > ===========
    > (1) Driving whilst disqualified (traffic offense)
    > (2) Failing to stop (traffic offense)
    > (3) Various speeding tickets in New Zealand
    > (4) Two drink driving charges
    > CRIMINAL
    > ===========
    > (5) Obstructing the police
    > (6) Disorderly behaviour
    > (7) Possesion of a restricted weapon (a stun gun that I ironically ordered off the
    > internet from the US!!) - but never used, just illegal in New Zealand.
    > So, as you can see none of these crimes were that serious and I have never been
    > to jail.

You don't count drink driving, failing to stop and driving whilst disqualified "that
serious"??!

    > A travel agent in Sydney advised me NOT to declare that I have criminal
    > convictions when I arrive in the US at customs, as they cant check them anyway
    > (easily). Good idea?

Not knowing the legal ramifications, I'd say you're always better off telling the
truth. If they find you lied on the application, you could be in BIG trouble.

--
Hilary

Ingo Pakleppa

On Wed, 07 Aug 2002 21:15:16 -0700, Mike Spechers wrote:

    > Hi Folks, I'm a New Zealand citizen and have a number of 'victimless' crimes
    > against my name from my youth. I am 26, and have the following bad marks against
    > my name:
    > TRAFFIC
    > ===========
    > (1) Driving whilst disqualified (traffic offense) (2) Failing to stop (traffic
    > offense) (3) Various speeding tickets in New Zealand (4) Two drink driving
    > charges
    > CRIMINAL
    > ===========
    > (5) Obstructing the police
    > (6) Disorderly behaviour
    > (7) Possesion of a restricted weapon (a stun gun that I ironically ordered off the
    > internet from the US!!) - but never used, just illegal in New Zealand.
    > So, as you can see none of these crimes were that serious and I have never been
    > to jail.

Have you been convicted of any of these crimes, or just accused? What is the
maximum penalty for them? Given that it was not one but several crimes, it may
indeed be a problem.

    > A travel agent in Sydney advised me NOT to declare that I have criminal
    > convictions when I arrive in the US at customs, as they cant check them anyway
    > (easily). Good idea?

Well, it's true that you may get away with it that way. If you ever plan on doing
something more serious, moving to the US or so, having lied about these crimes would
come back to haunt you. INS keeps records of what you stated on the entry forms, and
if you later admit that you indeed have a criminal record, they have proof of prior
immigration fraud.

    > Am I best to:
    > (1) Just arrive and claim the VWP (visa waiver program) (2) Just arrive claime the
    > VWP and disclose all above convictions because they will not prevent entry into
    > the US? (3) Apply for an official temporary visa now (my trip is in three
    > months) and disclose all convictions and hope for the best.

Or option (4): apply for a visa, disclose the convictions, have the visa denied,
apply for a waiver of inadmissibility, if that is approved, reapply, and be done with
it. This is the official way of doing this. The catch is that the waiver of
inadmissibility is not often approved.

Ingo

Mike Spechers

Ingo Pakleppa <[email protected]> wrote in news:[email protected]:

    > On Wed, 07 Aug 2002 21:15:16 -0700, Mike Spechers wrote:

    > Or option (4): apply for a visa, disclose the convictions, have the visa denied,
    > apply for a waiver of inadmissibility, if that is approved, reapply, and be done
    > with it. This is the official way of doing this. The catch is that the waiver of
    > inadmissibility is not often approved.
    > Ingo

Thanks for your advice, I will grab the form off my travel agent and begin the
process ... your point about keeping records of past declarations is probably one
many people overlook.

Indeed I would love to live in the US one day (not that there is anything wrong with
Australia of course) and its not worth jeapordizing for a 1 week jaunt in vegas.

Cheers Mike

Mike Spechers

Ingo Pakleppa <[email protected]> wrote in news:[email protected]:

    > On Wed, 07 Aug 2002 21:15:16 -0700, Mike Spechers wrote:

    > Or option (4): apply for a visa, disclose the convictions, have the visa denied,
    > apply for a waiver of inadmissibility, if that is approved, reapply, and be done
    > with it. This is the official way of doing this. The catch is that the waiver of
    > inadmissibility is not often approved.
    > Ingo

Thanks for your advice, I will grab the form off my travel agent and begin the
process ... your point about keeping records of past declarations is probably one
many people overlook.

Indeed I would love to live in the US one day (not that there is anything wrong with
Australia of course) and its not worth jeapordizing for a 1 week jaunt in vegas.

Cheers Mike

Mike Spechers

Ingo Pakleppa <[email protected]> wrote in news:[email protected]:

    > On Wed, 07 Aug 2002 21:15:16 -0700, Mike Spechers wrote:

    > Or option (4): apply for a visa, disclose the convictions, have the visa denied,
    > apply for a waiver of inadmissibility, if that is approved, reapply, and be done
    > with it. This is the official way of doing this. The catch is that the waiver of
    > inadmissibility is not often approved.
    > Ingo

Thanks for your advice, I will grab the form off my travel agent and begin the
process ... your point about keeping records of past declarations is probably one
many people overlook.

Indeed I would love to live in the US one day (not that there is anything wrong with
Australia of course) and its not worth jeapordizing for a 1 week jaunt in vegas.

Cheers Mike

Gee

I was interested to read you saying that the "Waiver of inadmissability is not often approved." I applied for a waiver a fortnight ago re fines received over 15 years ago. What are the chances of the waiver being approved or denied?