Traveling to the US with an offence ?

[askmeplz82]

OK basically i was travelling in the train but failed to show valid ticket to the ticket inspector

I was summoned to court ; i Went to court and pled GUILTY so the court asked me to pay £170 fine


This is back in 2010. Now i would like to apply for US visa. can you tell me is this a criminal offence ?

is it worth it to apply for US visa because i know with a criminal offence they will refuse my VISA

[VR]

Hello askmeplease82,

Ofcourse this is a criminal offence.

It is also a dishonesty offence which in the US is called an offence of moral turpitude.

Check this and figure for yourself the chances of you getting a visa...

http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/86942.pdf

Cheers
vr

[askmeplz82]

Hello askmeplease82,

Ofcourse this is a criminal offence.

It is also a dishonesty offence which in the US is called an offence of moral turpitude.

Check this and figure for yourself the chances of you getting a visa...

http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/86942.pdf

Cheers
vr

I received a report from DISCLOSURE SCOTLAND

http://www.disclosurescotland.co.uk

Conviction : NONE

Caution: NONE

so they have removed it from the system i guess.

[Amber]

If you declare (as you really should) you'll likely have to go to the Embassy to get a visa (and explain how it was a sincere mistake etc, in a hope they accept this). If you don't then you take a risk, either you enter the US without issue or they find out (albeit unlikely) and send you right back home and flag you on the system.

[VR]

Askmeplease82,

What Amber says is spot on. There is something wrong with the disclosure scotland paper you received.

As you yourself have said, you went to court and pleaded guilty and were fined 170 I cannot believe this did not appear in the CRB check. Maybe you call the helpline and tell them you have received wrong information. For the fees you paid you are entitled to get a proper certificate.

To be on the safer side declare it while applying for the US visa.
cheers
vr

[askmeplz82]

Askmeplease82,

What Amber says is spot on. There is something wrong with the disclosure scotland paper you received.

As you yourself have said, you went to court and pleaded guilty and were fined 170 I cannot believe this did not appear in the CRB check. Maybe you call the helpline and tell them you have received wrong information. For the fees you paid you are entitled to get a proper certificate.

To be on the safer side declare it while applying for the US visa.
cheers
vr

according to the website: Basic Disclosure contains only convictions considered unspent under The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

it's showing NONE because it's Spent Convictions [/img]

[VR]

Dear Askmeplease82,

That is correct. It will come up with info only if the conviction is unspent. So Was it a caution that you got?What is confusing is you mention you went to court and paid a fine.

As the Laspo amendents to ROA 1974 have still not been commenced, under the old rules it would take 5years for a fine to be considered spent. Am not sure what the real sentence and disposal was. Else it should have appeared in the CRB Basic check.

As a matter of due diligence just make sure from your side you are in the clear. The US is unforgiving when it comes to throwing the book. And from your side you want to be sure that you are not banned for no fault of yours.Please check the papers (sentence/disposal once again if you can find them). Or another alternative is to get a DBS check done through a different vendor just to be sure.
Best Wishes
VR

[Amber]

What you will often find is that the HMCS database does not link to the criminality database and thus convictions at court may not always show up on DBS checks (or a basic check) for the reason outlined. Even though the conviction is 'unspent' the fact that the HMCS did not register it means the conviction won't show although, you still have a conviction. It can often happen where people are convicted of motoring offences. The US does not have access to the PNC (allegedly) but they have access to a central intelligence system with shared information between agencies. I would imagine this would be for serious security issues, not your petty criminal. Many people don't declare such convictions on the waiver program (US) I'm not agreeing with this course of action, they don't have any issue. However, like I outlined above, they take a risk. I don't know why you undertook a basic disclosure as that's not the relevant system the US would use.