advice needed RE criminal record

My Fiance is currently applying for a fiance visa to the UK, he is from Mexico.

he served time in a US prison over 6 years ago for a short sentence for a drug possession charge. Will he be penalised by the UKBA for this with his application?
We have everything else required for his visa application...lots of proof of our relationship, I have a good job job and savings here in the UK, and permission from my landlord etc.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Not very easy to say...

Just make sure that all the details of the time served is added to the application with dates. Provide a covering letter explaining the circumstances then and that your fiance did not have any problems with the law after that.

If I were you I would add any references from employers, community workers, religious houses (i.e. church), friends and families. This would help to show that this incident was just one off.

Hope this helps.

PS - other board members might be in a better position to give sound advice

thank you very much for your reply. In your opinion would it be better if we were married and instead he applied for a spousal visa?

This is another option...

An overseas criminal conviction may form the basis of a refusal if the offence would have attracted a sentence of 12 months or more in the UK.

The application should not be refused if the offence is "spent": to be honest I don't know how this applies to overseas convictions, although I would guess that the rehabilitation periods that apply to a comparable offence committed in the UK would be relevant to the decision.

What was your fiancé convicted of? What was the sentence and how long did he serve? Does the US have a rehabilitation period for the offence and if so what is it? How old was he when he committed the offence?

UKBA guidance is here:

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... -refusing/

Select "2. Considering Entry Clearance" and see page 53.

it was a sentence of 30 months about 7 years ago. It was a felony for a drug related offence.... i'm not exactly sure of the details, it was before we were together. He was aged 23.
I am not sure about rehabilitation periods in the USA etc, I'm guessing that this does not look good.
If we were already married, would this make a difference to entry clearance to the UK?
This was a long time ago, and he is a considerably reformed character, obviously I am very concerned now.

Thanks

he also only served about 8 months of the sentence....

No, being married would not help secure a visa more than being his fiancee would.

ok thanks for your help. We have a baby on the way, and we have all the required documents needed for a fiance visa, this is the only thing which I think will cause a problem.
Right now I am not sure what to do.... Does anyone have any advice??

Thanks

It doesn't matter what sentence was served, but was was passed - or what would have been passed for a similar offence here.

hi yes i'm aware that if the sentence would have warranted over 12 months in the uk than effectively the conviction is deemed 'unspent'.

I just wondered if anyone had any advice as to whether this is an automatic rejection for a fiance/spousal visa application or if mitigating circumstances -baby on the way etc would make any difference!

Thanks