spanishfly

No I was not arrested in Northern Ireland its just that the Belfast consulate could give me an earlier interview date than the London one could.

bjohn

No embassy has access to the UK PNC, whether its London or elsewhere.

bjohn

Interestingly the OP is applying for his visa at an embassy / consular in a different country (well sort of different) from where the offense took place. What would happen if a British Passport holder was arrested in say South Africa whilst on a gap year trip, forgot about it and carried on with their trip and a few years later wanted to travel to the US. How would they get the arrest documents? It would be near impossible nor traceable by an other government.

This system is a trust system and needs complete honesty from the traveler.

lansbury

Who said an Embassy has access to the PNC I didn't.

But guess what the US Embassy can get information which is on the PNC. Someone in the Legal Attache office makes a phone call and the checks are done, it works both ways as they provide their UK counterparts with US information. The Aussies and the Canadians did as well.

The phone used to ring on my desk

bjohn

Correct .... you didn't but I did. Yep. I can see that a simple phone call asking if John Smith is a known terrorist would get all sorts of checks being made on either side of the Atlantic - in this day and age no doubt about that.

karenina

Inside the USA, you're presume innocent until proven guilty. If you were
falsely accused and arrested for a crime you did NOT commit, it is up to the
county/state/federal prosecutor to prove your guilt. If the judge or jury
cannot be convinced, then you're not guilty. Heck, even OJ Simpson was
not convicted of double-murder. So he was "innocent" in the eyes of the law.


Outside of the USA, it is up to you to prove to the US immigration/consular
official that you're innocent of any wrongdoing. First of all, you're presumed
to be a potential immigrant. Unless you can prove to the officer that you
have absolutely no intention/risk of staying in the US after your visit, they
will not issue you a non-immigrant visa(such as B1/B2). If you ticked "YES"
to the previous arrest question, it will most likely send up a red flag. The
officer will probably ask you about it. It is up to you to prove to the officer
that you're no longer a pothead or a drunk... and have a steady job and/or
strong family ties in your home country.

lansbury

The UK immigration service has had for many years its own PNC terminals and following a recent agreement between the UK and USA the Department of Homeland Security now has access to UK criminal records. I have no doubt that a considerable amount of information from the PNC was readily attainable by US immigration just by asking UK immigration officals for it.

Ray

And unofficially even more ...

JAJ

If it was an arrest and nothing more, then in the unlikely event that it ever surfaced, it is hard to see how not mentioning it could constitute a material misrepresentation of facts.

spanishfly

Hello all.

I just got back from Belfast to the much warmer climate of Liverpool after my interview at the Consulate in Belfast.

I now HAVE a VISA....or at least will do in two to three days.

There was no problems at all, interview lasted all of about 6 minutes, I was honest in everyway and was told that there was no reason that i could not fly to America and enjoy my holiday in New York.

Thanks for all the advice.....

I was right to have some faith in the system after all.

And fatbrit, unfortunatley yor prediction did not come true! Nice.

fatbrit

Which one?

crg

There's a difference between omission and falsification. Although immaterial in the end, a false statement can call the accuracy and truthfulness of the entire application into question. Also, the US government decides what is material and what isn't.

bjohn

Probably the one where you said "Undoubtedly! And certainly don't forget to tell them your legal theory on why a caution isn't a conviction, too!" - I have to agree with fatbrit on that.

Well done Spanishfly and I guess a weight off your chest. Another surprise for those with drug convictions or whatever you want to call it.

fatbrit

He's a little fact free...

Did aunty go, too?
Did he get the prized 10-year B2 or a consolation prize instead?

spanishfly

Your major "LISTEN TO ME I AM THE LAW" Prediction where you said that i would turn up at the consulate and they would hand me a peice of paper saying VISA DENIED!

But listen ok am taking the piss a bit but i respect every comment you made and all the advice given, thankyou for that it meant a lot!