DS 156 Question - Have you ever been arrested?

[Anonymous 57 0]

I have a question about form DS 156. In the form, they ask you to check 'yes' in a box if you have ever been arrested or convicted of a crime before. My fiance was arrested as a minor for a traffic violation and went to court, but was not convicted. It was not a major accusation, just a minor traffic violation when he was riding his moped. He called the courthouse and they said that since he was not convicted, they have no records. I'm afraid that if we check yet that they will demand to see the court records and since he does not have them then there will be yet another delay in our visa processing.

Any opinions?

[Ning 619]

I have a question about form DS 156. In the form, they ask you to check 'yes' in a box if you have ever been arrested or convicted of a crime before. My fiance was arrested as a minor for a traffic violation and went to court, but was not convicted. It was not a major accusation, just a minor traffic violation when he was riding his moped. He called the courthouse and they said that since he was not convicted, they have no records. I'm afraid that if we check yet that they will demand to see the court records and since he does not have them then there will be yet another delay in our visa processing.

Any opinions?

Its doubtful he was actually arrested for such an infraction of the law. More likely he was ticketed for a minor violation. He either went to court & was fined or sent in his fine amount. That concluded the court action in the case.

They are interested in serious violations of the law that result in criminal convictions.

[Otto 83]

If he was actually arrested (and it'd be pretty difficult not to know) then the answer is "Yes."

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

I have a question about form DS 156. In the form, they ask you to check 'yes' in a box if you have ever been arrested or convicted of a crime before. My fiance was arrested as a minor for a traffic violation and went to court, but was not convicted. It was not a major accusation, just a minor traffic violation when he was riding his moped. He called the courthouse and they said that since he was not convicted, they have no records. I'm afraid that if we check yet that they will demand to see the court records and since he does not have them then there will be yet another delay in our visa processing.

Any opinions?

The question is "arrested". If he indeed was "arrested" (and not just ticketed) then the answer is YES. And YES they will ask to see the court records which DO exist (and show he was not convicted). If it was a citation, like a speeding ticket for example, then he was NOT arrested.

Being arrested for a traffic violation does not disqulaify a person for a visa...lying about a prior arrest DOES and can result in a bar to future visas.

[Anonymous 57 0]

Thanks for the replies, I'll try explaining the situation to him and see what he says. I don't want to hide anything from them, especially something as small as a traffic violation, but since he was told that he has no court records and the police records are sealed (so we don't know if its on there or not, he was a minor), I was worried that the embassy might stick us in AP until they could fully investigate his supposed arrest.

The word commonly used when arrested or just caught by the police is the same in Japanese so maybe he doesn't understand what I mean. I'll ask him to explain more fully what happened.

[Anonymous 57 0]

Er...yeah. I asked him exactly what happened and even I don't know if he was arrested or not. I may have to broach the question to the embassy, they know more about Japanese law than I do. It's really not a big deal, I just don't want to mess up on the form, especially because it has to be typed and filled out on the internet and handwriting is not accepted.

Apparently, when he was 15 he was riding a moped or a motorbike and was stopped by the police. He didn't have a license so they took him to the police station and asked him some questions. Then they let him go home. Then he got a summons to the courthouse, went, told them his story, and was let go. He wasn't charged with anything, nor did he have to pay any tickets.

He was told by the courthouse that by Japanese law, they don't keep records on people under 18 who have gone to court for minor issues like that. By what I understand of Japanese law, I believe it, they're really lenient and secretive when people under 18 are involved. Also, this was 20 years ago. There is no record, at least at the courthouse.

Arrgh.