Travelling to usa with criminal conviction in another country ?

[loobyloo168]

Im sorry if this has been covered before but i cant seem to find any info any where.

8 years ago i was convicted of drug trafficing in st vincent in the caribean. I was jailed for 8 months and deported back to the uk after i was released.

Since then i have a lead a normal life, i havnt been in trouble since and was never in trouble before. I have since been police checked here in the uk and it all comes back clear.

Will i be granted entry to the US with my partner and daughter ? We have nothing planned yet but wanted to take my daughter to disney world when shes older. And we'd like to visut New York.

I have looked in to it and i have read that Drug Trafficking convictions are not waivered, but because my conviction was in a foreign country i dont even know if my conviction is actually traceable ?

Any advice appreciated. Thanx

[redcrx]

how about disneyland paris?

you could try applying for a visa and see how you get on,but dont book any holidays til you get one

[Buenchico]

As has been repeatedly stated here, the US immigration authorities have no 'carte blanche' access to the criminal records of any other country except Canada (with whom they share a common database). However some information is shared between nations, relating primarily to 'cross-border' crimes. It's perfectly possible that the Government of St Vincent and the Grenadines may routinely circulate lists of people who've been convicted of drug-trafficking. (Indeed, if the offence related to trying to smuggle drugs into or out of their country, rather than simply selling them within the country, it's almost certain that they will have done so).

In my opinion, you'd be mad to attempt to enter the USA. There are hundreds of cities around the world which are at least as interesting as New York (or far more so) and your daughter will enjoy Disneyland Paris (or, probably better, Walibi or Euro-Park) just as much as the over-hyped US theme parks.

Chris

[MarkRae]

I agree with Chris on all counts.

For something like this, you have NO CHOICE but to attempt to get a Visa through the correct channels. And be fully prepared to be turned down - I'm as certain as I can be that you will be. And then you must accept that that is that - once you've been turned down once, you've got no chance of getting one in the future. US immigration has no concept of rehabilitation. You could have been given the OBE for your services to the homeless - it will make not one jot of difference to them...

And finally, do not even attempt to "try it on" and get in on the VWP - don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

Why on earth do you want to go to America in the first place...?

[Mr.Tamzarian]

Chris, how do you know that U.S. Immigration don't have access to GB criminal records? I know that the U.S. govt approached the EU authorities and requested that information, but they were refused. However, I read that Britain gave the US govt access, and anyone with a criminal conviction will have this recorded on the new style passport; the one with the micro chip. Is that correct? If not, how can anyone check if a conviction is/isn't on the chip?

[Buenchico]

Mr T:
EU data privacy laws bar the opening up of any EU country's criminal records to any outside agency.

Privacy campaigners have been keeping a very close watch on the introduction of electronic chips in passports. The chips contain hold no data which isn't visible on the passport (except, of course, that the holder's image is stored as a facial recognition map, rather than as a photograph).

Chris

[loobyloo168]

Thanks for your replys, i have no intention to try and decieve or lie about my conviction to any one to gain entry to a country. Just wondering really if it was worth a try at all to visit some where i had always wanted to visit. But i guess not. You make stupid decisions when your young and i guess always pay for them even after serving your time. My fault totally. Thanks for your replys, i appreciate them.

[jno]

it might make some difference what age you were; I don't have the facts at my fingertips but as I recall even the Americans are inclined to forgive youthful foolishness after a while. You're quite possibly not going to be in their black books forever, but I suspect it'll be for more than eight years.

[sumo19]

The ESTA form and the form you are given on the plane asks if you have ever been arrested or convicted for a crime involving koral turpitude.......

You have and so you are ineligible to travel using the visa waiver program.

You are also ineligible to recieve a waiver because you have been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude; you havn't just been arrested for it.

There are exceptions clauses to this which state that the ineligibility will not apply to a person who committed only one crime if it was committed under the age of 18. This is the clause which carries you hope if you were under 18 at the time.

The other is if the sentence did not exceed 6 months and the maximum possible sentence for the crime does no exceed 1 year, this will not help you.

If you are still ineligible to receive a visa then you may apply in time for a waiver of this admisibility. This will have to be a long timer after the crime is committed to show that you are not a repeat offender etc.

However, the US is strict on drugs and you may find that you will be found ineligible for this waiver.

All crimes committed outside of the home country should be recorded in the home country records. What police check did you do? Was it a subject access request?

[loobyloo168]

Thaks for your help Sumo.

I was 21 at the time , turned 22 whilst there. I was sentenced to 1 year but their prison year was 9 months and I served 8, then was deported. I have since had to re apply for my passport which was lost and nothing was asked about me being deported.

I had an enhanced disclosure for working with children and vulnerable adults and it all came back clear.

We have friends in New Zealand and Australia and im sure i will encounter the same problems there, as well as many other countries i suppose.

I appreciate your help.

[jno]

not necessarily, loobylou - you wouldn't get an NZ visa if "in the past 10 years you were convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for 12 months or more", so only a couple of years to go. I can't find what the Australian requirements are, except that they'd probably want you to apply for a full visa rather than an electronic one, but it may still be possible.

[MarkRae]

http://tinyurl.com/yeu9hgx

[jno]

very kind, MarkRae, but the OP might prefer a link to the page explaining what convictions would disqualify her from entry.

[MarkRae]

The OP will be able to find exactly that very quickly on Google. Google's great for finding things on the Internet...

[munchie63]

I'd agree that after 8 yrs the US are very unlikely to consider you a reformed character. you have to understand they don't look at personal circumstances, just facts and figures.
I do belive it's worth you applying in the future though. The intial application will be sent to the US to be considered further, but the more time that's gone by, the older you are, and the more you can show you can be trusted, it will all work in your favour. Just take what you can to the interview to show you're now a reformed, older, wiser family man, be honest, but be prepared for a wait of prob 4-6months.