4evastar

Hi JCraigFong and Folinskyinla, I hope you are well

This is my 1st time on here and I have been reading all the great help and advice you both have been giving to people. I would also love to get advice from you but I am unable to send you a private message for some reason and so am posting it here.

I apologise in advance for the length of this post and would deeply appreciate all your help and advice as at the moment I feel like I have ruined my life and have no hope!!

I am a 25 yr old female and I live in the UK, last month I was arrested and cautioned for shop theft (it was extremely stupid of me and I regret doing it and feel so ashamed). I have never ever in my life been in any sort of trouble before, this was a stupid mistake. However I have always wanted to visit the US and now I feel as though I have ruined all chances of ever being able to go?

Would I still be able to go to the US? I do not even know what I would need to go to the US as a tourist and how to go about it. Please could you help and advise me as I feel I have nowhere else to turn.

Take care, thank you

Noorah101

Hi, and welcome to the forum.

1. You need to have at least 3 posts to your name before you can use the Private Message feature.

2. I don't know about JCraigFong's policy, but Folinskyinla's policy is to NOT answer a question which has been posted directly to him. So since you've pointed him out, don't expect a response from him.

3. Others will chime in and answer your questions, probably, but be aware they won't be immigration attorneys like Fong and Folinsky are.

Best Wishes,
Rene

Octang Frye

Be honest - it wasn't a mistake. It was a deliberate act. And at 25...?
Anyway, you can't use the Visa Waiver Program now. You'll have to apply for B visa.

Apply for the visa well in advance of booking a holiday.

Toodles.

md95065

I took the original poster's "it was a stupid mistake" to be an expression of remorse for an intentional (but stupid) act rather than an attempt to excuse herself by claiming that she didn't intend to do it. I don't see any need to take her to task for that.

JCraigFong

Dear Evastar: First off, you should note that I may be an attorney, but I am not serving as counsel to you. As a result, you may wish to engage knowledgeable immigration counsel in the UK.

Next, although there are some here on BritishExPats who might disagree with my analysis of this -- and I feel fairly certain that they will add their tuppence worth to this discussion -- I have been informed by a British solicitor that a caution-and-release is considered a conviction, so at least as far as the US Immigration and Nationality Act is concerned, this is a conviction. As a result, your ability to use the visa-free Visa Waiver method to enter the USA is called seriously into question.

There has been some discussion of this point also on the British ExPat listserve, with some choosing to parse, analyse and critique the poorly written cautionary language on the Visa Waiver entry documents. I choose not to do this, if for no other reason than arguing about the Government Printing Office's style manual will cut you no ice while you're being refused entry to the USA. There has simply been no resolution of the question to my satisfaction. Further, the US government is notoriously unhelpful about clarifying such vagueness, because the lack of clarity works in the US government's favour.

When you are ready to make a trip to the USA, you might want to contact the US Embassy at Grosvenor Square and ask if you should apply for a B-1/B-2 visitor visa.

crg

If it was a single petty offense, you may be able to use the Visa Waiver Program. I'd be prepared to show court records establishing that the max sentence possible for that charge is 12 months or less and that you received a sentence of six months or less either suspended or imposed. As always, you have very few rights when using the VWP and a visa would be preferred but from what you're saying you are not ineligible for the VWP.

snowbunny

There's a good pun there....

In theory you could still be eligible to visit the US so long as you disclose the caution. Many here suggest flying from Dublin because you actually clear immigration *there* and don't face a long round trip if you are denied entry to the US.

Immigration laws and policies are constantly changing, however, so there is no use fretting over this until nearer the time that you actually would like to visit. Word of warning: steer well clear of all drugs, including marijuana, because that's a near-certain lifetime ban.

scatty

Sorry your wrong

Poster has been arrested then let off with a caution.

You can only get a caution if you admit the offense, never the less was arrested so:

Poster must apply for B visa to visit

fatbrit

Wonder what they will say!

fatbrit

The question is not just whether they were convicted but whether the offense they were charged with would exclude them from the VWP. Your implication that all those convicted of an offense must apply for a B visa is bunkum.

4evastar

Hi Everyone

Thank you Rene for the welcome and for updating me

JCraigFong - I greatly apologise for directly asking for you and If I have offended you, as I am confused I just wanted to ask for your advice and get a better understanding. I didnt mean to offend anyone, thank you for your input!!

Thank you everyone for all your kind help and advise, i really appreciate it

crg

I stand by my original response. Someone can have a single petty offense and still be okay if they can prove it. So unless this person took a caution for the equivalant of a felony they don't need a waiver. Of course checking "Yes" and providing documents is more risky than getting a visa, but it has been done before. I suggest you read the law. I have posted the ground of inadmissibility and the exceptions to it below for your review.

(2) Criminal and related grounds.-

(A) Conviction of certain crimes.-

(i) In general.-Except as provided in clause (ii), any alien convicted of, or who admits having committed, or who admits committing acts which constitute the essential elements of-

(I) a crime involving moral turpitude (other than a purely political offense or an attempt or conspiracy to commit such a crime), or

(II) a violation of (or a conspiracy or attempt to violate) any law or regulation of a State, the United States, or a foreign country relating to a controlled substance (as defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802)), is inadmissible.

(ii) Exception.-Clause (i)(I) shall not apply to an alien who committed only one crime if-

(I) the crime was 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, or

(II) the maximum penalty possible for the crime of which the alien was convicted (or which the alien admits having committed or of which the acts that the alien admits having committed constituted the essential elements) did not exceed imprisonment for one year and, if the alien was convicted of such crime, the alien was not sentenced to a term of imprisonment in excess of 6 months (regardless of the extent to which the sentence was ultimately executed).

Also, please don't quote something from the US Embassy in London's web page as your rebuttal. A web page posting is not the law. They take a better safe than sorry approach when they provide that information, but the law is different.

4evastar

I was arrested and then questioned, I have never been in any sort of trouble before and I am assuming it was a single petty offense to which I was given a caution and later released. I did not serve a sentence.....hope this helps!

snowbunny

You did not offend. This is, as has been mentioned, a grey area that USCIS likes to keep grey because it works in their favour that way. Those of us who try to stare through the grey and work out our own ideas of how things work, often disagree and like to discuss things. The hotting up is due to this ongoing discussion, not your post. As you can see, things can change over time and that's why I would not fret until you get closer to a trip and then see what the current (grey) state of affairs is at that time.

JAJ

A caution is legally not a criminal conviction in the United Kingdom, as it is not imposed by a court of law.

However, cautions are increasingly being treated as de-facto criminal convictions which is a concern as they are often administered without proper safeguards to those who do not understand the consequences and who might choose to contest the charge in court if they did.