Firstly, apologies if this has come up before...if my specific queries have been dealt with for someone else already please just post a link to that...thanks.
I am a UK citizen with a British passport although I have never been abroad. About 8 weeks ago I was refused a holiday visa for the USA. The reason given was involvement in 'crimes of moral turpitude'.
I am 44 years old and the crimes referred to took place when I was 17 and 18 years old...I served two relatively short sentences in Young Offender institutions. One was for fighting and one was for stealing. I am an upstanding citizen who has raised two polite and well behaved children (now 19 and 24). I have had no involvement in any criminal activity since my teenage (wild boy oops ) days.
To put it bluntly, I was shattered to be refused.
I stumbled on this board in my research to find out about this situation and thought there is a possibility here that someone has had a similar experience or knows someone who has.
I would be grateful for any advice or information that may help me turn this around.
I'm not a lawyer, so this is information I have gleaned from being on groups like this for the last 5 or 6 years.
I believe there is no concept of spent time for crimes involving moral turpitude.
The only exceptions to visa decisions for CIMT:
1) a crime committed by a minor
2) only one crime
3) short sentence
Did the denial letter give you an opportunity to appeal? There is an appeal system known as a waiver, but usually this can only be used if there is a US citizen that will suffer great hardship if you are not allowed to visit.
If there are any legal references on your denial letter, you can Google them and perhaps get more information.
I didn't realise UK British passport holders needed a visa to visit the USA.
The UK is one of the countries that the US allows to use the visa waiver program. My wife was using visa waiver perfectly legally until 6 weeks ago when she got her H4. My daughter still uses visa waiver.
I guess I'm missing something here........shows just how much (or how little) I know...... -?
If you answer yes to any of these questions, you have to apply for a visa:
Do you have a communicable disease; physical or mental disorder; are you a drug abuser or addict?
Have you ever been arrested or convicted for an offence or crime involving moral turpitude or a violation related to a controlled substance; or been arrested or convicted for two or more offences for which the aggregate sentence to confinement was five years or more; or been a controlled substance trafficker; or are you seeking entry to engage in criminal or immoral activities?
Have you ever been or are you now involved in espionage or sabotage; or in terrorist activities; or genocide; or between 1933 and 1945 were you involved, in any way, in persecutions associated with Nazi Germany or its allies?
Are you seeking to work in the US, or have you ever been excluded and deported; or been previously removed from the United States; or procured or attempted to procure a visa or entry into the US by fraud or misrepresentation?
Have you ever detained, retained or withheld custody of a child from a US citizen granted custody of the child?
Have you ever been denied a US visa or entry into the US or had a US visa cancelled? If yes, when and where?
Have you ever asserted immunity from prosecution?
Try changing your name to Ferdinand Marcos or Gerry Adams, they should let you in then. wink
You should appeal the decision as you would have been a minor for at least one of the offences, so that should not have been taken into account and if you were sentenced for less than a year for the other, that would also be grounds for appeal. Add to the fact, it now more than 5 yrs since your conviction which also appears to be a grounds for appeal. Of course, it depends on how desperately you really want to visit the US.
Quote " (1) In order for a foreign conviction to serve as a basis for a finding of inadmissibility, the conviction must be conduct deemed criminal by the United States standards.
(2) An act of junvenile delinquency is not a crime in the United States and an adjudication of delinquency is not a conviction for a crime within the meaning fo the Immigration and Nationality Act."
this was given to me by a lawyer relating to an issue with my son who was 16 at the time.
Quote also from literature he gave me at the time.
Conviction of certain crimes.
(i) In general. Except as provided clause (ii) any alien convicted of, or who admits having committed or who admits committing acts of which constitute the essential elements of --
(I) a crime involving moral turpitude (other than a purely political offense) or an attempt or conspiracy commit such a crime
or
(II) a violation of (or conspiracy or attempt to violate) any law or regulation of a State, the United States or a foreign country relating to controlled substance (as defined in section 102 of the controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802) is inadmissible.
(ii)
Exception Clause (i)(I) shall not apply to alien who committed only one crime if
(I) the crime was committed when the alien was under the age of 18 years of age and the crime ws committed (and the alien released for any confinement to a prison or correctional institution imporse for the crime) more than 5 yrs before the date of application for a visa or other documention and the date of application for admission to the United States.
If goes on about not exceeding imprisonment in excess of 6 months. It also mentions mutiple convictions (2 or more) but again if the offense are more than 5 yrs old and you haven't been convicted of anything else, you would not be denied a visa.
On what you have said you have a good chance of an appeal but do you really want to come to a country that denies you entry for being a bit wild when you were a teenager? Especially for a holiday? Great country but if you have never been aboard there are plenty of other places to visit.
I didn't realise UK British passport holders needed a visa to visit the USA.
The UK is one of the countries that the US allows to use the visa waiver program. My wife was using visa waiver perfectly legally until 6 weeks ago when she got her H4. My daughter still uses visa waiver.
I guess I'm missing something here........shows just how much (or how little) I know...... :-?
I think, coming this October (or later - not sure) there isn't a Visa waiver program at all for travellers. I think you're gonna have to travel to London to even come here on holiday.
I could be wrong.
Andrew :)
Apparently that has been delayed until next Oct (originally this yr) so that the UK passport office can introduce the new biometric passports which should be on offer from next spring. If you have a machine readable passport, you will be ok apparently.
I think, coming this October (or later - not sure) there isn't a Visa waiver program at all for travellers. I think you're gonna have to travel to London to even come here on holiday.
I could be wrong.
Andrew :)
That's about biometric passports. If you have a passport issued before October of this year, you can enter the US on the VWP and be biometrically scanned on entry. If you need to get a new passport from October till maybe the end of next year (when the UK will have biometric passports), you need to travel to London for a non-immigrant visa. Once the UK has biometric passports, the service we have been used to will resume.
The solution to the visa problem is to make sure you (as in prospective visitors to the US) renew any passport that's expiring before the end of 2005 soonest.
Would just like to thank everyone for their input. Between what has been said here and with some other advice I have received, I will be starting the appeal process (even though that box wasn't checked on my refusal form).
I will post my account of how it all unfolds on the off chance that the information is of value to someone else.
I would especially like to thank kinross lady for her detailed and informative reply
On what you have said you have a good chance of an appeal but do you really want to come to a country that denies you entry for being a bit wild when you were a teenager? Especially for a holiday? Great country but if you have never been aboard there are plenty of other places to visit.
The simple answer to why go to America is because I know some people there, and would dearly love to spend some time with them (and they would put me up for the duration, making my holiday cheaper, and better)
I did tell the consular officer in Belfast that I would be staying with friends..but this apparently made no difference.
To tell the truth, I kind of wish I hadn't applied for a visa, and that I had just got on a plane and signed the waiver form. As I said in my original post, these offences were all 25+ years ago.
Again, many thanks for your input.
Alan