Driving conviction/entry to USA

[georgieboy63]

I was convicted of a drink driving offence and banned for 9 months. I am travelling to the USA in October, my ban finishes in August. Will I need to inform the American Embassy of this conviction

[Buenchico]

All arrestable offences bar travellers from entering the USA under the Visa Waiver Program.

You're officially required to apply for a visa. This can be expensive (there's an initial fee for the application and a further payment for the courier service to return your passport), inconvenient (you have to obtain a copy of your police record, then attend an interview in London; your passport might be retained during a period when you want to go abroad) and time-consuming (some people get their visa within days, others wait many months).

Most people simply 'forget' about their convictions and enter the USA (illegally) under the Visa Waiver Program. The US authorities have no direct access to UK criminal records so the chances of them knowing about your conviction are effectively zero.

To do things 'by the book', start here:
http://www.usembassy.org.uk/cons_new/visa/niv/ add_crime.html

Chris

[JonnoGenie]

Yup that pretty much sums it up.

[tigwig]

before I knew that my hubby could have got away without getting a visa he got one. We have just come back from the US and at immigration the woman there sent me through and asked to speak to my hubby alone! It frightened me to death thinking they weren't going to let him in. She asked him what he had done in order to have the visa and couldn't believe it when he told her why. She said what you haven't done time? Her reaction confirmed that you do not need a visa for something as minor as this

[dzug]

Drink driving is not a crime involving moral turpitude in the US - so you can quite truthfully tick the 'no' box on the visa waiver form. You will NOT be entering the USA illegally.

You may have trouble renting a car though.

[JonnoGenie]

Quite true Dzug. Funny though, that when I applied for a US visa, the staff at the interview were totally adament that DUI is moral turpitude. Of course they're wrong, but how can you tell them that when you're praying they issue you a visa.