ILR after deportation from the USA

8 years ago I was denied entry at the border in the US. I admitted to working and using drugs in the USA and have paperwork that says this and they revoked my tourist visa. I have lived in the UK for 9 years on an ancestry visa (which I renewed 4 years ago). I have had no further immigration or criminal incidents.

The reality is that I worked for room and board for about a week on a marijuana farm in California, where it was legal on a state level but not a federal level, which I did not quite understand. The whole incident at the airport was the stupidest thing imagineable and on paper sounds much much worse than it is, which is probably why I was so open with the border agents. They also interrogated me for 11 hours and threathened me with federal prison if I didn't sign their paperwork which I did not read. I try not to think about it, it was awful.

Anyway. I need to apply for my ILR now. How do I talk about this? Do I just give the case number? Do I go into detail in my cover letter? How scared should I be- is it certain to be refused? I have a (british) spouse and a young family and I don't know what to do.

This should not have any effect on your ILR here

zimba wrote: ↑

Mon May 12, 2025 7:10 pm

This should not have any effect on your ILR here

Oh fabulous! How should I refer to the incident in my application? Just the case number? I don't know what they are going to receive from their US counterparts- should I share my side of the story?

You do not need to do anything

zimba wrote: ↑

Tue May 13, 2025 3:08 pm

You do not need to do anything

But in the ILR form it asks if I have ever had immigration issues in another country. Surely I should mention this issue from the USA?

You can simply explain that you were refused entry to the USA.