pjjstewart1982

I thought i would post a thread telling you of my experience so far in trying to obtain a B-2 visa to visit US. After searching through the forums on this site and finding out lots of valuable info i thought it only fair to share my experience with everyone in hope of it helping someone else down the line.

As i mentioned before i have searched plenty of threads on here and found lots of valuable info regarding obtaining a visa with criminal cautions/convictions. But as every case is diff in these circumstances it’s very difficult to find threads that are of similar to your own.. So let’s give you all the low down....

Am looking to visit USA for first time next year for my honeymoon with future wife, now i have had a few incidents with the law in my more immature years shall we say and realised that i would not be able to travel to US on normal VWP...So i applied for my ACPO police certificate as requested on embassy website and went about filling in my online DS-160.. The ACPO certificate costs £35 and is delivered within 7-10 working days on this cert it has your full active criminal cautions and convictions.

I had on my ACPO, dating back to 2001 a caution for assault occasssioning ABH which i was given no charge or fine.....
And
dating back to 2003 a criminal conviction for conspire/violent disorder which resulted in 12 months imprisonment and a 6 year football banning order, i wasn’t convicted of this charge till a further 19 months down the line in 2005.... i served 3 months in prison and a further 3 months on an electronic tagging device... my banning order was lifted on appeal 2 half years early due to appliance with banning constraints.....

Now you know the facts i can talk you through what has happened so far, after applying online for my DS-160 i had to ring the US embassy to tell them i required an interview i was asked if had filled online form and could i email them a copy of ACPO... I paid $140 dollars and was then emailed few working days later to be informed that i could now ring up the premium phone number again to this time arrange an interview.... You get to select the day you would like (weekday) that is available they had dates as early as the following week for myself..... so i booked 10.30am thurs 5th august and set about making my way to London via train from Liverpool lime street, luckily i have a brother that lives in London and took advantage of this .....

A few days before interview you will be emailed confirmation of interview and checklist of things you require double check you have everything correctly filled in and to hand as i witnessed 2 people being ushered away. I also took bank statements, payslips, character ref's, mortgage agreements etc anything that i thought would help. it just so happened they asked for none of these by the way!!!
So i arrive at embassy at 10am on day of interview where you form a line to have documents quickly checked and pass thru security.... please note NO ELECTRICAL devices can be taken in with you including mobiles, ipods or elec car keys..... After passing thru security you then make your way to reception desk where you are issued a number......
You then wait till your number is called out and flashes on big plasma TV’s... it is like a big Argos to be honest.... after an hour wait my number was announced and i proceeded to window 6.... These interview windows are just like a voting booth/bank window, here your details are checked, and documentation checked then finger prints taken. You then sit down and again wait till your number is called, after 45 min i was called to the interview windows around the side......
I was welcomed by a friendly female embassy officer that asked me several questions about my reason for visit, job and then obviously about my past criminal history.... nothing that i didn’t expect and if am honest it wasn’t half as bad as i thought it would be....
After 15 min interview i was informed that she could not issue me with a temp b2 visa as the homeland security in Washington had last say but she was giving me a recommendation that i be accepted for a 12month b2 visa for upto 6 month stay. I was informed that it would be unlikely after a recommendation that i would be rejected my visa and i would have full confirmation of acceptance or rejection within 3-4 weeks.....

Well that’s where I stand at the moment sorry if i have gone on and on but wanted you to know full details so it will hopefully help others that may of made mistakes when younger and that are panicking about getting a visa.... i Have just been honest from start and fingers crossed should have visa approved in next month.......

ian-mstm

Thank you for posting your story - very informative, and people are always asking about getting a visa when they have a criminal background. Very useful.


Harshest punishment of all.


We always advise people to be honest but, for some reason, people prefer to minimize and try to cover up their past. I, for one, appreciate your honesty and integrity. Best of luck to you! Do let us know what happens.

Ian

Ray

And when you apply for another ..the following year they will up it to a 3 or 5 year B-2 ..then eventually the normal 10 years ..

Noorah101

Congratulations, and thank you for the write up.

Just make sure your visit to the USA next year happens before your visa expires!

Rene

RPTNOTTM

Thanks for this posting, and your candor.....to be honest, I have gotten more information from your posting than i have most others on this web site. (sorry guys, just being honest!!)

sometimes when you ask for others experiences on here ,you get condesending replies (again sorry guys!) , from people who have either already gotten their visas/Green cards or citizen ship).....it kinda makes you feel like you are being prodded with a big stick.

I hope that you get an affirmative answer, and thanks for this posting, awesomely informative for a lot of people who has asked about this in the past, but not gotten a decent answer will get a lot off of this......

crg

When I first glanced at your post, I noticed you wrote a lot of things. I was getting ready for a rambling mess of irelevant drivel. I was pleasantly surprised to read your informative, concise, detailed account of your situation and the process. Good job and good luck.

pjjstewart1982

Hi all,
As promised I am just going to give an update of what has happened......
After an anxious 3 weeks wait I received an email saying I had been ACCEPTED for my B-2 Visa, I was obliviously over the moon as this meant I could go ahead with booking my honeymoon.... It didn’t however state on email actually how long a period I had been granted, I was informed to contact DX courier to have my passport sent to the US embassy. The cheapest package available was £25 going up to £60 (another way of conning you out of money)..... Anyway after 10 days my passport was returned and I was extremely surprised to open my passport on US Visa page to see that my visa Expiration date was 07 Sept 2020 so it looks like I have been granted a 10 YEAR VISA......
It seems all that stress, hassle and money was definitely worth it, really hope this post helps people who find themselves in a similar situation and gives them abit of confidence to push ahead down the right official route....

I have some questions now that I have visa and would be very grateful if anybody out there could help.

1- As I have my visa in passport do I have to apply for my ESTA online from to travel to US?
2-My passport expires on May 2013, however my granted visa has an expiry date of Sept 2020, would I have to re-apply for visa when get new passport?
3- Have I definitely got 10 year Visa? Issue date 14 Sept 2010 Expire 07 Sept 2020, Visa type R B1/B2.....haven’t had an email to confirm I just presume that expiry date is length of visa?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.....

lisa67

Congratulations

1> No need to do ESTA

2. No, you just carry 2 passports, your new passport and then your old passport too to show the visa.

Noorah101

You have a 10 year visa in your passport. That does not determine the amount of time you'll be allowed to stay in the USA on each visit. That is determined by the POE officer when you attempt to enter the USA each time. He could admit you for 6 months, or he could admit you for one week. It's up to him.

Rene

pjjstewart1982

Thanks for help guys, ill only be holidaying in future no longer than 3 weeks i can imagine so should be fine on that front....

RPTNOTTM

great news , I am happy for you.

One question I have, did the consulate help you send the waiver forms over to the USA? and did they say how and when they would contact you? I was told i would be telephone, I am guessing that different embassies and consulates have slightly different protocols,

I was at the HK consulate this morning for my interview and I was refused my L1A visa for work (CIMT from 20 years ago) , and the process was exactly as you described in your posting. the Guy who interviewed me was really helpful, and although he did not make any "recommendation" he did say looking at the court records and my sworn affidavit it should be straight forward.

i am hoping and praying that this is cut and dried in the next 3-4 weeks, then i can get on with my life.

Good luck on your new life. and thanks for being super informative.

crg

I don't think the OP actually needed, or received, a waiver. If you need a waiver it may take months and not weeks.

RPTNOTTM

After 15 min interview i was informed that she could not issue me with a temp b2 visa as the homeland security in Washington had last say but she was giving me a recommendation that i be accepted for a 12month b2 visa for upto 6 month stay. I was informed that it would be unlikely after a recommendation that i would be rejected my visa and i would have full confirmation of acceptance or rejection within 3-4 weeks.....


To quote the Con Off in the consulate, "It should take between 4-8 weeks to process through the DHS in Washington", and from what PJ wrote I sounds like we have had similar experiences with the denial,

I was asking him (with respect), not you about HIS experience.

And I am seeking a NON IMMIGRANT visa, not and I 601 waiver- which i agree, can take up to 6 months to process.

crg

My apologies. I didn't realize that I was reading a private message. There is actually a feature for those. It's great. You can send a PM to specific people without worrying about bothersome replies from people you weren't speaking to. Good luck with your criminal waiver.

RPTNOTTM

noted CRG.....should have posted that to him directly, please accept my apology!