Difficult Question....

[rsbuxt]

My sister and her family are planning their first trip to The World in October. However 9 years ago my brother-in-law made the biggest mistake in his life, did something very stupid 2 days after his father died and spent 4 months in prison (I should say his conviction had nothing to do with drugs). Does anyone know anyone who has been in the same position with regards to entering the U.S and what they did / what happened? Thanks for your help. Rich x

 

[Elise79]

As he has a criminal record he will at a minimum need to apply for a visa. More information can be found here: https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/1282/session/L3NpZC8xN1B6MjhnbA%3D%3D

 

[chmurf]

He should definitely contact the Embassy
Be it only to check wether his record will prevent him to travel under ESTA or not.

He should do this ASAP as his case might need reviewing

If he needs to he'll be able to apply for a visa in time for their trip.

Being ineligible for ESTA (nothing says he is) is not the end of the world. Visas are still around.

 

[bazzanoid]

The official rule is that if you have ever been arrested or convicted of anything you need to apply for a VISA.

However, as has been discussed many times, and proof provided by the UK police forces, the UK do not share information with the US. This means that unless the crime was serious enough to put him on the international watch or no-fly list, then they would have no idea about his crime, and they are asking you to volunteer this information. BUT, if you choose not to disclose and for some reason the US are aware of him as a criminal entity, he could find himself deported straight back on the next flight after landing in the US and trying to clear customs.

Having an approved ESTA does not guarantee admission to the US, that's down to the homeland security guard at the point of entry to determine 'based on the information available to the officer at the time' i.e. valid travel documents and no little red flags on his screen when he scans the passport!

 

[dixonsontour]

I would tell them not to tell the kids or book until he has his visa.

On the dibb you see threads of people panicking as visa hasn't come, one family ended up going without the dad in the end. Not worth the stress IMO.

 

[MrRomance]

My sister and her family are planning their first trip to The World in October. However 9 years ago my brother-in-law made the biggest mistake in his life, did something very stupid 2 days after his father died and spent 4 months in prison (I should say his conviction had nothing to do with drugs). Does anyone know anyone who has been in the same position with regards to entering the U.S and what they did / what happened? Thanks for your help. Rich x

He will not be able to travel on an ESTA. If he has a conviction, he will have to apply at the US Embassy for a Visa. I have been in a similar situation, I do not have any convictions but I was once denied entry to the US because they believed I would live their illegally (my wife, who was my girlfriend at the time is American and I was visiting her a lot so they thought I might not leave again). Once you are denied entry, you too always have to have a Visa to travel.

I don't want to be the person that worries you, but applying for a Visa at the US Embassy is a very intense experience and they (like immigration officers) will grill you for a while! They will need a lot of convincing especially if the conviction was for a violent crime. The onus is very much on the applicant to PROVE they should be given a visa. I applied for my last Visa in late 2011 and while I was there, I saw a very upset young man who had a single conviction for shoplifting and was denied a visa, but his conviction was fairly recent. With a 9 year old conviction, they may view it differently.

If I'm honest, I would say apply ASAP for the visa because it can take a while to get your interview through and you want to give yourself time to reapply (I believe it's 6 months before you can apply again) if it's denied first time. Gather as much evidence of good character as he can to give them. There are 2 embassy options in the UK, London and Belfast. There is also an embassy in Dublin.