I need to know!

[Liam and Kara 6]

that's the thing--Homeland Security came back to him in Philadelphia and told him that he didn't have a criminal record-- they made him wait while they did a check--but because he had some documents in his luggage and information on immigration and fiance visas that we were going to take to an immigration lawyer here in the USA during his 3 months visit---they of course--freaked out---and made him return to Scotland until he actually has the k-1 visa approval in hand---as with everyone else--this is all new to us too.

OH! and thank you for the moving of this thread suggestion!

BTW! Everyone! Please understand! Liam has visited me here in the USA before NO PROBLEM--it was his intended length of stay and the paperwork in his luggage that got him turned away--they made that very clear over and over.

[Welshcookie 17]

Technically, you're not supposed to use VWP if you have a criminal record.

that's true... but can you imagine the queues from UK flights landing in Orlando Airport though while they checked? Mickey would be tapping his foot.

[Marilyn. 340]

i was turned away at a land border POE and actually banned for a year because I was stupid (long story )....

I explained on one of the forms what had happened and at the interview it just came up in passing.. the guy just asked me if I had any other problems other then that one time and I said no and he was like ok..

the thing is when you are going into the US to visit your SO , it is all about the proof you have with you that you plan to go back to your home country and of course the final say is with the POE officers..

[Welshcookie 17]

but because he had some documents in his luggage and information on immigration and fiance visas that we were going to take to an immigration lawyer here in the USA during his 3 months visit

THIS is what you need to mull over and why you need to read up on Immigration laws....the guides here are very useful. Good luck.

The VWP is for a holiday....it is NOT for anything else....if they get a whiff of anything else...well, you know

Edited January 22, 2009 by Welshcookie

[Liam and Kara 6]

Yes to WelshCookie perhaps I wasn't making myself clear---I'm just basically worrying AHEAD--homeland security has given us NO reason to expect a denial---I've just been reading OTHER people's stories---and while that incident is apparently "no showing" and he has no criminal record-we're obviously going to have to answer truthfully in the future as our case progresses and I'm terrified that the one incident is going to cause us problems. I feel sure when he gets his interview and they see his constantly smiling face and kind personality that everything will be find--to be honest -- Liam is TOO nice and TOO honest. Even all the others on visa journey can easily look at our photos and tell that to be true--we're only ordinary nearly 40 something people in love and wanting to spend our lives together.

[Liam and Kara 6]

I'm referring to the one domestic incident not him getting turned away--we're over that and have since filed the K-1

[Welshcookie 17]

I'm referring to the one domestic incident not him getting turned away--we're over that and have since filed the K-1

oh ok..then the previous answer remains...if a conviction shows up on his police search he will have to explain it and they will decide if you guys need to apply a waiver or not.

Edited January 22, 2009 by Welshcookie

[KimandRuss 0]

I'll move this over to IMBRA for clearer answers to the primary question.

Just for the purpose of this conversation... many couples here have experienced being 'allowed to withdraw the petition to enter the US'... including us. It really has everything to do with what is stamped in your passport when that happens but normally, as long as you did not break any lawas and didn't have to go before a judge for deportation, it usually just means that the person can no longer travel with the VWP because they showed intent for whatever reason. It had no effect on my husbands visa.

Hopefully, this wont happen as much now that ESTA is in place.

[gigisan 0]

Technically, you're not supposed to use VWP if you have a criminal record.

[gigisan 0]

This is the law, famous article 212, here it describes the exceptions:

II) the maximum penalty possible for the crime of which the alien was convicted (or which the alien admits having committed or of which the acts that the alien admits having committed constituted the essential elements) did not exceed imprisonment for one year and, if the alien was convicted of such crime, the alien was not sentenced to a term of imprisonment in excess of 6 months (regardless of the extent to which the sentence was ultimately executed).

)B Multiple criminal convictions.-Any alien convicted of 2 or more offenses (other than purely political offenses), regardless of whether the conviction was in a single trial or whether the offenses arose from a single scheme of misconduct and regardless of whether the offenses involved moral turpitude, for which the aggregate sentences to confinement 2/ were 5 years or more is inadmissible.

Edited January 22, 2009 by gigisan

[Anna and Jeff 3]

He was turned away because he was coming here as your fiance. I don't see any indication it was because of his past. There are many people who have tried to come to the US as a fiance and been turned away at the border. Many have tried to get visitor visas during the processing phase and been turned down. He comes from a country where that visa was not needed. Otherwise he would have been turned down too. The reason why he was turned away was you could marry him. They do not want him in the court system as someone who is married to a US citizen so he was turned away at the gate.

Many couples are using a work around to the current system. If someone comes as a tourist and happens to fall in love and gets married they can stay during processing. If someone comes into the country with the intention of marrying while claiming to be a tourist that is fraud. Crazy huh? They told him what to do - get a K-1 visa.

Did they say he was a criminal and will never be allowed to enter the country on a visa? If not, then stop worrying. Go through the visa process and visit him there in his country. Its sad he could not visit you, we are all in the same boat there. On one hand we are told this is going to be one world and on the other hand they ban people who are in love from spending time together. Even prisoners get conjugal visits. The system is crazy so complain to your legislature.

[rebeccajo 14]

Well -

This actually probably belongs in the Embassy forums and not IMBRA, because the topic at hand isn't about marriage brokers or a crime committed by the USC. The topic at hand is the possible criminal record of the visa beneficiary.

To the OP - if you want to know what is on his record, order his police report. Then you know what you are up against. The report is good for 12 months and you will need it anyway for his visa interview.

It's hard for me to tell (from other stories I have heard of hearings in UK courts) what exactly happened here. The OP states this:

......"and he had pushed her out of the way because she was blocking him from leaving. FFS He admitted to the judge the truth so was found guilty the charge was as minor as you can get in those cases etc....."

He could have a conviction. Or he could have an admission of guilt which would possibly be viewed differently under the UK justice system. Depending on the charge and when this occurred, the crime could also be considered 'spent' under the UK Rehabilitation of Offenders Act. Insofar as DOS and USCIS are concerned, this act has no bearing, but it confuses many UK citizens into thinking they won't ever need to disclose these crimes when using the VWP.

The OP and her fiance have two issues.....what does his record in the UK say (not what US Customs and Border Patrol claim it says) and did the OP's fiance misrepresent himself (albeit unintentionally) on the I94W when he traveled under the VWP.

I would suggest the OP read the waiver forums and perhaps do some reading at immigrate2us.net. I am uncertain if the 'crime' is one for which a waiver might be required at interview.

At any rate, I'll reiterate that the OP and her fiance order his UK police report and find out what is on it. There's no way to know whether any complications could arise without this information. Even if the report is clear (which I doubt), the visa applicant will have to discuss the incident with the Consular Officer on interview day.

Edited January 23, 2009 by rebeccajo

[rebeccajo 14]

I'm moving this thread to its proper forum in hopes the OP will come back to it.