Sportychico

Theres alot of comments on here from people who have not gone through the process....

So as i had my interview last week I feel qualified to give advice:

1) go to the US consultate in Belfast (i live in England) - quicker to get appointment, i was there only 1.5 hours as opposed to 5 in London. Loads of flights from around the UK and hotels cheaper than London...i stayed in Hilton and got taxi (£7) to consultate.

2) Dress - in a suit or look smart at least...i couldnt believe how some people had turned up..tracksuits and unshaven!!

3) Have all paperwork including ACPO certificate....if you have a police record....most older crimes will be marked down and show as 'NO LIVE TRACE' on certificate......this is a good start. Most crimes that are less serious will be 'stepped down' after 5 years......the moral turpitude is such a grey area as well...the consulate staff are NOT legal experts...common sense will prevail...if you have committed a 'major crime' - drugs trafficking, murder, rape etc you will NOT get in...theft, GBH you may be ok if it was over 5 yrs ago............


4) I took references, bank statements to show what a pillar of society i was and my 'crime' was a one off....they didnt look at this added information but the more you have to back you up the better...

Good Luck

ian-mstm

Great post. Did you get the visa?

Ian

Britneedshelp

I was exactly the same, filled the exact criteria in terms of info i took with me, bank statements, utility bills etc. Of course freshly shaved and a suit will always give a good impression of charactor. I went to London and was amazed how people were generally not prepared documention wise or in appearance.

crg

Did you get it? Did they say anything about the shoplifting caution?

The Horticulturalist

The post title says "Got B1/B2 Visa", so looks like he did get it.
It's not clear from the the post though....

crg

Well if he got it, then the fraud could have been a single petty offense and the shoplifting caution have been considered irrelevant.

I'm trying to keep track of how people make out when they have cautions. More and more people are getting visas without needing a waiver when they have a caution. The caution =conviction/admission theory is being eroded on a regular basis around here.

snowguy

Though this was an case under Section 43 Telecommunications Act 1988 (called a call centre up and called them a bad word).

crg

I may be mixing up my OPs.

md95065

OMG - you mean that if you call up a call center and the person you speak to is a ****ing idiot you can't tell them that they are a ****ing idiot?

snowguy

Correct

(1) A person who
(a) sends, by means of a public telecommunication system, a message or other matter that is grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character or
(b) sends by those means, for the purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety to another, a message that he knows to be false or persistently makes use for that purpose of a public telecommunication system,
shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale or both.

However, most of the call centes are abroad now, and they don't speak good enough english to understand swear words.

E3only

md95065

Sounds to me as if many call center personnel might also be guilty based on 1 (b) when they give out information that they know to be false "for the purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety to another" ...

handbagsatdawn

Now I have to say, I worked in a call centre for a major bank for 6 months after graduating and some of the customers were so stupid it was highly frustrating..can you imagine having to deal with that all day every day? One of the little highlights of my day was enforcing a petty rule that I knew would cheese them off. Sad, isn't it.