Does Shoplifting offense in USA affects UK Tier1 application

[aaron385]

I was once charged with shoplifting offense in USA

I was trying to fill the Tier1 General visa application and there is a Q which asks if I have ever been charged/convicted with any offense outside UK?

What are the chances that they will cross verify the information with US Authorities? Shall I answer YES or NO to above question?

[CoolestGuyC]

1. Was it a criminal offense? Did it lead to conviction by court?
2. Is it easy to check that from some type of US governmental organization?

[aaron385]

Yes the charge is criminal. It is under trial in court righ now.
Most probably I will be let off with a petty personal disorderly offense which I not yet sure will be a criminal offense or not.

I am not sure how easy it will be to obtain he record bu definitely if UK authorities check with US authorities, they will come to know about it.
I am not sure if it is a regular practice for UK guys to check with their USA counterparts for any such verification?

[CoolestGuyC]

My advice is this: you may or may not loose anything by declaring the offense.

But if you do not declare and uk govt checks with US authorities, there is a chance of getting a 10 year ban on you.

So it is better to declare your offenses (as punishment for not declaring them is severe).

You can also email the UKBA (anonymously) in order to know the effect of such type of offense on your Tier 1 application.

[niw2]

Any offense can affect your application. The immigration officers are obliged to make a decision as to whether you are a suitable person to be granted a visa. It is up to them and they have discretion so the only way to know how this offense will affect your application is to contact the consulate or high commission in your area and explore the issue with them.

[aaron385]

Thanks a lot for the useful information friends.
I will probably wait till the court decides on my case. If the final decision is not convicted for a criminal offense but rather a downgraded personaly disorder offense, I will be able to enter NO for the question otherwise I will enter as Yes and give them the explanation.
I will also check with UKBA in advance as advised.

I will let you know once I have an update.

Thanks again,
Alex

[niw2]

It is vital that you determine the outcome and consequences of the court proceedings against you. Even if the charge you are facing is downgraded, you may well still be convicted of an offence. What you need is for no conviction to be entered against your name. If you are convicted of any offence, it will be formally recorded against your name and should be disclosed to the immigration authorities.

It is always tempting to keep unpleasant details like minor convictions a secret but it is not for you to decide whether the conviction is significant for immigration purposes; that is the role of the immigration officer deciding your application. If it really is a trivial conviction, they are unlikely to be concerned by it. Just remember that immigration officials will be able to obtain easy access to your records and, as has already been noted, the consequences of witholding that information can be extremely serious if or when it is discovered by an immigration officer. They will not sympathise when you tell them that "you didnt think it was relevant". Similarly, people who assume that "driving convictions" are irrelevant are setting themselves up for trouble.