riley83

Hi all,

There is no easy way to say this, but i want to be as honest as possible so I can get some clear advice hopefully, please bear with me, your advice would be very very appreciated!

I have booked a holiday to go to Bolivia, the way the flights worked it, it meant I could do a stopover in the U.S.A also so decided to stay 3 days in U.S.A before flying back to the UK.

My issue is that 3 years ago (over 18) I was convicted on shoplifting. Because there was 3 stolen "items", it meant that I got 3 convictions. (Though I do want to check with police of my exact title of conviction etc etc - does anyone know how to do this?) I am not proud of this at all and cannot believe I did such a silly thing. It's a major regret and never thought it'd impact my future so much.

Recently i filled out the ESTA form where I ticked 'no' to all boxes. I guess this is my fault for not checking properly but I did not fully understand what 'moral turpitude' was exactly and assumed that my conviction did not fall under that category. From doing a bit of research it appears that my conviction is in fact considered as a moral turpitude. I have not tried to re-apply and tick 'yes' to one of the boxes yet.

I have read on some posts that some people with criminal convictions have managed to holiday in the U.S.A without any problems - is that down to whether the U.S. Immigration decides to 'check' you or not? I know this is a risk, and I am very worried that if i was to go to Immigration and they find out about my conviction that they then deport me back to the UK and then I am never allowed in the U.S.A ever again???

I have also read that if you have a criminal conviction you can apply for a visa to see if they let you in - in my situation i am not sure if i would get that visa? Ever since I have been a good citizen and no way will think of doing a repeat. I have a good stable job here in the UK, decent wage, degree/postgrad qualifications, clean license. I have read somewhere that immigration also takes into the person's background so not sure if that helps.

I am meant to be going with another 3 friends and it's really distressing me that I could totally ruin it for them....they do not know of my past and i'd rather keep it that way. And also the fact that because of a silly past it has meant that i'd never potentially be able to enter the U.S.A. I am a big traveller and seeing that Australia/Canada/etc also are quite strict i am worried my past will haunt me if I ever wanted to travel to or work/study there in the future.

I have worried non-stop about this and it's causing a lot of distress... any help would be very helpful thank you in advance.

scrubbedexpat099

For 3 days, it would be simpler just to avoid the issue and take a direct flight.

riley83

Hi - many thanks for your reply.

When you say take a direct flight, do you mean to just go ahead with my original plans to the U.S.A? Would they let me in the country even if it's just for 3 days?

Many thanks.

Kate2112

I think Boiler meant fly direct to Bolivia, for three days its not worth the agony.

meauxna

I don't think they'll let you in even just to catch the next flight out. You may have to reroute around the US.

edit: IF you are inadmissible.

ian-mstm

I wouldn't make that assumption. Check the police/court records. A single conviction can be excused under the "petty offense" exception. In fact, I'm not even sure that shoplifting is a CIMT... where did you get the idea it was?

Ian

scrubbedexpat099

Crimes Against Property. The following have been found by various courts and at various times to be crimes involving moral turpitude:
arson
blackmail
burglary
counterfeit goods
embezzlement
extortion
fraud
illegal use of credit cards
larceny
possession of stolen property, with the knowledge it is stolen
receipt of stolen property
shoplifting
stealing cellular air time
theft
securities fraud
trespass (malicious

scrubbedexpat099

UK-Bolivia

snowguy

DC ST § 22-3213

Any person convicted of shoplifting shall be fined not more than $300 or imprisoned for not more than 90 days, or both.

So if it is only one crime then petty offenses would kick in?

Stupid question, but can a crime consist of many elements which could result in one conviction, or will each of these elements be considered seperate crimes in themselves?

bjohn

Hi

You need to apply for a police certificate from here. http://www.acpo.police.uk/certificates.asp

This will tell you if it is one or multiple crimes. You will also use this certificate when applying for a B2 visa

snowguy

Does he need a B2 if he can use the Petty Offense clause, or does he still need a waiver for that.

DeanUK2US

Wouldn't the fact that he has been a good citizen and clearly has improved his life in his education and steady job carry any weight? I'm not saying that his passed conviction(s) (that are not necessarily a CIMT anyway) wouldn't give him problems, just that in the long run, from what I've seen he seems like a person who has realised their mistakes out of the many that I have seen on these boards who seem to care little about their passed and expect the experienced on these boards to feed them excuses to get them passed the POE.

Problems that I see here are:

1. No convictions were indicated in the original ESTA application, and simply not knowing what a CIMT is is not an excuse for ticking 'no'.

2. If I read correctly, the convictions were three years ago? Irrespective of the severity being considered a CIMT or not, would it be an automatic 'no entry' to the US given the short period that has passed?

snowguy

1. If he could use the petty offenses exception then that surely wouldn't be a problem.

2. Possibly it may be looked at less favourably than a conviction 12 years ago but anyone can be denied entry. I beleive craig stated 3 years on another recent post.

Canada you can apply for criminal rehabilitation after 5 years plus any sentence, or are deemed rahabilatated after 10 years plus any sentence. Australia, New Zealand could be ok depending on the sentence given. Google the individual government sites, and check on the relevant visa requirements for entry.

crg

The ESTA would likely deny the authorization for any CIMT before they even considered the possibility of a single petty offense exception and let the consulate sort it out. That would shoot down the VWP prospects. They would not be happy if the person sought to travel despite the ESTA denial. The consulate could issue a visa without the waiver if they determined it was a single petty offense when they issued the B2

Dean asked if a recent single petty offense would still trigger a denial because it was so recent. The short answer is no. A single petty offense exception does not have a time dependent aspect to it. With that said, if the consular officer thinks someone is a bad risk in general, they have the discretion to deny the visa for other reasons.

snowguy

Doesn't that differ from

http://ortega-medina.com/criminal_in...ense_exception

"if one satisfies the requirements of the "petty offense exception", one may enter the United States without first visiting the embassy or enduring the lengthy and onerous burden of applying for a waiver."