jaralac111

hi
new to this forum and hoping for some advice. i have visited las vegas last year and the year before. hoping to visit again but my esta has been revoked: i was arrested and charged with possession of a controlled substance, quite a substantial amount however after 2 days all charges were dropped as there was no controlled substance. i have documentation from the prosecution service proving that all charges are dropped and no further action is to be taken. i'm in my 40s with no previous convictions for anything? is it worth my while filling out a ds160 or am i wasting time and money??? any advice would be greatly appreciated on this matter.

ian-mstm

It doesn't really matter that the charges were dropped or that there was no controlled substance... you are obligated to disclose the arrest.


Good! Don't ever lose it - because you'll continue to need it again and again in the future.


If you want to travel to the US, yes - it's worth going for a B-2 visa.


You're really the only one who can answer that!

Ian

crg

Was the arrest within the US? If there was a "substantial amount" you could be found to be ineligible/inadmissible as a controlled substance trafficker. There doesn't have to be a conviction. They need a reason to believe.

See 9 FAM 40.23 N1.1:

"Since the standard of proof for this provision “reason to believe” is substantially lower than that required for a conviction, it has been held that a consular officer may have reason to believe an alien is a trafficker even though criminal charges against the alien which relate to the facts forming the basis of ineligibility as a trafficker have been dismissed."

jaralac111

thanks for the replies,
a) there were no controlled substances
b) it happened in the uk not in the us
c) what about innocent until proven guilty
d) i am as in the dark now as I was then about about my arrest, charge and release, suffice to say I am in the process of filing a suit for defamation of character
I have never been invovled in trafficing i have never been convicted of any crime and as far as im concerned im innocent and the prosecution service have writen to my solicator confirming all charges have been withdrawn. I am more than happy to relay all relevant information but as I asked before how can i be judged on a visa application when the uk authorities have stated I have no case to answer.

DavidLemon

Immigration law is a whole different ball park, and to get the answer you seek you might be best served in investing some money talking to a lawyer that practices in this field of expertise. Here you will only get the opinions from non qualified persons. In as much as we will offer information to the best of our abilities, but in some cases (such as your own) a legal consult might be the only way to get a resolution.

mikelincs

Because it's the US authorities you have to convince, the immigration people in the US will make a decision based on your application, and may even think 'no smoke without fire' and decide to reject your application solely on that. A lawyer specialising in US immigration really is the only way to go here, OK it will cost, but that is your decision, either pay one, or decide never to go to the states.

jaralac111

im not looking to emigrate to the us only to holiday i have been there twice and returned home without incident i have no case to answer but such is life this matter is still impinging on my right to travel without hindrince could someone recommend a lawyer i might avail of tnx

Noorah101

I'm sure we all understand that.

But wasn't that before the arrest?

No, but you have an arrest for a CIMT. That is what the question on ESTA is all about. The question isn't "do you have a case?"/

Can you post a link to that right? I've never heard of it.

www.ailalawyer.com

Rene

jaralac111

v.good norah i didnt realise i dont have a right to travel freely tnx for that,being innocent of any crime no longer allows me to travel where i choose when i choose, no smoke without fire being 1 of the great legal arguements of our time and fyi had there been a case to answer im quite sure having my esta revoked would have come in a distant last with regards any sentence handed down by the judiciary ...so in a nutshell im considered guilty off all charges, a person of ill-repute and my innocence is neither here nor there,tnx for ur input, appreciated......

civilservant

As far as the US is concerned, yes. And I can understand their point of view, because as a non-USC you have no automatic right to enter the country anyway, so why should they take the chance?

Anyway this is all speculation - apply for the B2 and go from there.

kimilseung

It is good to remind yourself that no such right exists, it might feel unfair, but best to let go of those emotions if you can.

retzie

Try to channel your feelings of outrage into this. Use US immigration as a material example of a way this arrest has affected your life.

As has been covered already: letting emotion charge your thoughts about the actual visa situation is going to get you absolutely nowhere. Consult with an experienced immigration attorney - some facts and words of experience will help you weigh up the situation.

By the way, even without defamatory circumstances, the system is well-know to produce feelings of impotent rage

rpjs

I think the OP needs to be reassured that there's a big difference between being ineligible to use the VWP, and being found inadmissable to the US. As he has no criminal record, he should be successful in his visa application so long as he can provide satisfactory evidence to the ConOff, which it seems he has.

We should remember that the default state of US immigration law is that everyone who is not a USC or LPR requires a visa to seek admission to the US. There are certain blanket exemptions, such as for Canadian visitors, but the privilege extended to travel without a visa for citizens of some other countries is the Visa Waiver Program, and has some quite strict conditions. I'm old enough to remember when all British citizens needed to get a visa to visit the US, even if only for a week at Disneyland.

henryh

How did you determine that your ESTA has been revoked?

ian-mstm

It seems that you need a better understanding of how US immigration law works. US immigration law is written specifically to keep non-US citizens out of the US unless they can establish, to the satisfaction of the CBP officer at the POE, that they fall into one of the narrowly-defined exceptions to the law. Further, and without exception, everyone who is not a US citizen or US permanent resident (= green card), is automatically assumed to fall into the category "intending immigrant" and so there is a need to also overcome the assumption of immigrant intent.

Ian