Hi

I'm in the same predicament with a caution for common assault. As it has been some months since this thread started, does anyone have a clearer idea as yet whether a visa will be required or not? I have 2 children here sobbing their eyes out as I may not be able to get a visa in time for their Disney World trip! Any concrete advise would be appreciated! And yes, I know I should have thought about this before booking.........certainly am kicking myself now!

Have you actually read this thread then?

I ask, because it contains all the answers you'll get. If you read it fully, you'll see that you're simply not going to get a "concrete" answer, neither from the lawyers who post here nor the laymen.

Your options are a) apply for a visa and risk it being turned down (and you say you don't have time either) or b) assume for yourself that your caution and crime do not meet the ineligibility criteria for the VWP and risk being turned away at the US port of entry.

Sounds to me like you've already found a reason why you can't do (a). Unfortunately you won't find any reassurances here that (b) is the right thing to do.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7548467.stm

The government estimates one in four adults of working age has some sort of criminal record.

Is this proportion higher in Britain than in other countries? And does it reflect the fact that matters that would be dealt with informally in other countries are leading to British citizens being criminalised by their own authorities.

Yes I did read the whole of the thread, however I was hoping that due to the date of the thread, that the person who originally posted it may have already travelled and would be able to advise on how they handled the situation - did they apply for a visa or treat it as not applicable to the questions on the waiver form.........

From what I understand, as soon as you are 'arrested' in the UK and admit any of the 'charges', regardless of the circumstances you then have to be either charged or cautioned. In my case, the lead detective who looked into my charges admited that I should never have been arrested as wasn't really a crime that should have been treated in the manner it was - his words were that it was an 'over zealous officer who acted too quickly'. All well and good but then you have situations such as these that then need to be dealt with.

I don't think we on the forum know any more than we did. The only thing I might suggest, is have a look at this thread:

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=559272

Thanks Traceym, oddly enough I had just found that link. Looking at that advise then mine certainly doesn't come under the category. When I have decided what to so I will post my findings on here to hopefully assist others in the UK in this situation!

Thanks for everyones comments so far.

You're welcome.

I believe, at least in theory, if you can honestly answer "no" to the CIMT, you can use the VWP.

I think.

Of course, I am not a lawyer.