TheLaughingCat

Oh no! Today has been a day of highs and lows as I have been attempting to research the process of entering the United States for a family holiday later on this year. My in-laws decided towards the end of last year that they wanted themselves their son and daughter and requisite partners to go on a fortnights holiday to Disneyland Florida in July.

I received a caution for taking £50 from a friend's bank account using her debit card 5 years ago now. It was stupid, I was desperate at the time and didn't know how to ask people for help when I lost my job. I gave back the money and owned up when she realised it was gone and was given a caution for theft by the police. I have never been in trouble with the police either before or after and I bitterly regret ever having done it.

Once my in-laws said that they wanted to go abroad, I first had to renew my passport and I am currently waiting on my ACPO certificate. However, with the news that Homeland are reviewing their procedures with reference to UK cautions, I don't know where I now stand. They have booked the holiday and are looking to make full payment within the next 12 weeks.

Will my caution come under 'single petty offence exception' or will it need to go through AP, something which is now indefinite?

To make things worse, I was working in a permanent position for local government for 2 years and was offered a temp 6 month promotion, something which I grabbed. I live in my partner's flat and was going to spend the next few months saving up for this holiday so I could have a few hundred pounds to spend while over there. However this may mean that I will end up unemployed, with no real savings and no property over here as ties by the time I go on holiday. I do have my whole family here but will that be enough?

After reading through all the posts on the internet, I am now extremely worried. I can understand that the US want to ensure that they will not let in those who will conduct illegal activity while in the US or will stay in the country beyond their visa expiry but a lot of the anecdotes I've seen today seem to suggest that they can be arbitrarily strict.

So my questions are, after all that background, will I be exempt or will I need to go through AP? Will my lack of ties at the time of holiday make me automatically ineligible for a Visa and have there been any updates on their review and how long this should now take?

ian-mstm

How old were you at the time?


A caution is an admission of guilt, and theft is a CIMT. Google is your friend.


By itself? Probably not.


Without more information, it's hard to say at this point in time.


No.

Ian

TheLaughingCat

Many thanks Ian, in response;

I was 24 at the time, it was 5 years ago, still an adult caution.

Fully aware that a caution is an admission of guilt and the offence is a CIMT. I am not trying to argue out of that. Google is both my best friend and my worst enemy on this...lots of info out there, a lot of it contradictory. Was looking to see whether anyone knew if this circumstance would be eligible for the exemption under single petty offence exemption, not whether it was a CIMT or not.

What further info would impact upon it? What would help narrow it down?

Cheers

crg

Generally, such admissions must be made in a very specific and documented manner so the US has tended in ignore them. We'll see what the recent policy review comes up with. Didn't someone say they were more concerned with drug cautions?

Either way,a single petty theft usually falls under the single petty offense exception.

n1cholas90

From what I gather, anybody with a Caution on their record - no matter what it's for - will have their visa application put on hold (thus put under AP) until the policy review is complete.

Unfortunately there is currently no way of knowing how long it will be until the review is complete.

ian-mstm

I wasn't suggesting you were trying to "argue out of that"... it's just that most people making a first post aren't as aware as you, apparently, are - and there was nothing in that post to suggest you already had this information.


Our friend and long-time member, crg, is usually pretty accurate with respect to such things, so I suggest that his interpretation is correct.

Ian

raindawg

Hi there,

Sorry for my ignorance but what is AP? I'm applying for a J1 at the moment and have a caution for disorderly conduct. Is my application likely to be delayed because of this review?

Thanks!

Noorah101

In your case, AP stands for Administrative Processing. There is no way to know if your application will be delayed or not.

Rene

lansbury

AP = administrative processing, which means there is something in your background that it takes them longer than normal to consider and adjudicate on. If they are indeed putting a hold on all applications where a caution is involved it probably will cause you a delay.

raindawg

Not quite the reply I was hoping for unfortunately

Thanks for the responses though, Rene and Lansbury. I appreciate it.

lansbury

It is only anecdotal that all applications with cautions are being delayed. One problem with asking on forums such as BE is that people who do not encounter a problem are outnumbered in posts by those who do have a problem. Which is why I said IF. Unfortunately you can only wait and see, but it would be helpful for others if you come back and post either way. for you.

raindawg

Thanks! I've had been silently scouring BE for months looking for information because of my caution. Strangely, I had got the caution in 2010 but the last enhanced CRB check I got for a job came back as 'No Trace', completely clean. So I'm waiting for the ACPO to come back at the minute to see what that says. Quite a miracle if the caution has slipped through some how.

BE is a great resource, but as you say, you always get more posts from people with problems and then the thread goes dead. I always like to assume that's because they've had no problem in their interview and the visa has gone through OK!

Either way I think I might do a long post of the entire experience once I'm done; even if that is after months and months of delays!!!

lansbury

If the caution was in 2010, and the system works properly IE whoever entered it on the PNC set the weed date correctly, it should have come off the PNC in 2013. But doesn't the visa application ask if you have ever been arrested?

raindawg

Really? I was under the impression that although it would have been imefiately spent it would remain on the PNC system and show up on any ACPO or enhanced checks.

lansbury

Unless things have changed in the last few years since I had PNC access. A single caution with no other conviction or outstanding arrest on the record would automatically delete at the weed date. Any subsequent check on the person after the weed date would come back no trace. That assumes whoever put the entry on the PNC set the weed date, or set it correctly.

That was the idea behind a caution. It gave the person who had made one mistake a chance to earn a clean record.