Cynnaminrye

Hi All,

I'm hoping you can help. And yes I realise this can't be answered definitively but I'd love to hear from some people who have made it across the pond in similar situations.

My English husband and I (American) plan to move back to the US from the UK in the next year or so. We have been married for over ten years so our hope is to go down the Direct Consular LR1/CR1 visa route for him to get a green card.

My concern is my hubby was a bit naughty when he was 18 and was convicted with disturbing the peace as a farmer saw him and his friend walking around with an air pistol. May I emphasise that at no point did either my husband threaten anyone - it was just he was in Scotland during a very nervous time due to the IRA. May I add this was 20 years ago.

So I guess my question is: should we anticipate a problem with my dh getting his VISA? He's a former secondary teacher who now lectures at University so I couldn't imagine this really being an issue but what do you think? Thanks for your advice.

civilservant

What was he actually charged with?

materialcontroller

On the face of it, this is unlikely to cause problems from an immigration perspective. More info definitely needed though.

Cynnaminrye

He was convicted of breaching the peace and had to do community service.

civilservant

Unlikely to be an issue I would say, he will however need to obtain any police/court records to provide during the process.

Cynnaminrye

Any idea how he goes about that?

civilservant

Contact the station that dealt with the arrest, and the court that dealt with any punishment and request them.

ian-mstm

He'll need to contact the police station where he was charged and/or the court where he was convicted and get a copy of the records. If they no longer have the records, he should try to get a letter from them indicating that no records exist. He needs to be able to demonstrate due diligence in trying to obtain the records.

I agree with the others, it's unlikely to be an issue... but it's always best to be prepared just in case.

Ian

Cynnaminrye

Thanks all. This is really helpful!

lansbury

While in these circumstances you are almost certainly correct there is one sting in the tail. It is the possible maximum sentence. Maximum sentence in Scotland if a case is remitted to the High Court is life imprisonment.

Pulaski

After 20 years it's unlikely the records exist, but as Ian said, he needs to be able to prove he tried.

civilservant

Oh I agree, but you have to ask in order to confirm that before you worry about proving they don't!