INTERVIEW PROCESS WENT STRANGE.

[Angie Y Shane 2]

Me and my wife had our interview yesterday. We went to the first window and the woman some how froze our case in the system trying to back out of it to many times. Then we went to wait at the number two window.

We were called up because my wife was pregnant and they were nice enough to give us two choices, wait there or call us later because our case was still frozen in the system.

We decided to wait there for the interview. Three hours later they called us back up and went ahead and conducted the interview part, but could not finish the finger prints for my wife. They asked me some questions and my wife also. The consular said they wanted to approve the visa but could not because my wife needed to come back the next day for finger prints.

My wife returned today alone because i had to fly home today and the finger prints were done, they said to her the visa was approved. We paid the delivery fee to have the paper work sent to her home.

My wife gets home and her mother tells her that the embassy called, and to call them back. My wife calls the visa unit number and they tell my wife she could not be approved at this time because of some record they need to get. They told her not to worry about it this happens and they would call her back in for another interview??? What The hell are they doing???

Then they say to my wife it's some Ap process, it could take weeks or a few months they said, but they knew she was pregnant and they already sent some telegram message to what ever record they needed. They would not give details as to what they are searching for. Could some one please advise us what to do or expect now? My wife is soooo sad and heart broken. We were told it was approved and my wife gets home and gets this freak en phone call.

[Rings 10]

It could be anything.. a criminal conviction.. a warrrent... no one knows really unril they tell you what they are looking for??????????

[Angie Y Shane 2]

My concerns are this, my wife was issued a citation for her and her friend stealing lotion from a store when she was young at 20 years old. She paid the citation and never went to jail. She was finger printed and released that same day with a court date to pay some electronic fee the citation.

We did not disclose this in the DS-230 because it was a citation and the case was closed. if this is the case because of this prior record of the citation what does anyone advise?

[Spoom 8]

If you had a record and didn't disclose it, your visa will be denied, and you will incur a three year ban (or possibly longer).

However, it looks like it's not a crime of moral turpitude, so you'll probably be OK.

Administrative processing can occur for any number of reasons. I wouldn't freak out about it.

Edit: I take it back. Wikipedia marks larceny as a crime of moral turpitude. I don't know what to tell you.

Edited September 10, 2009 by Spoom

[YMALIA 0]

If you had a record and didn't disclose it, your visa will be denied, and you will incur a three year ban (or possibly longer).

However, it looks like it's not a crime of moral turpitude, so you'll probably be OK.

Administrative processing can occur for any number of reasons. I wouldn't freak out about it.

Edit: I take it back. Wikipedia marks larceny as a crime of moral turpitude. I don't know what to tell you.

i guess that not the problem as long shes not a criminal or drug user, but you should put into your application its bcoz they gonna find out that case, they will just ask what happend or they may ask you to get record that your were clear.

[Angie Y Shane 2]

the record is on my wife, It was cleared and closed. It was a citation for some petty theft. She paid the citation. we did not disclose it because we know she never went to jail, it was only a citation.

[pushbrk 12,898]

If you had a record and didn't disclose it, your visa will be denied, and you will incur a three year ban (or possibly longer).

However, it looks like it's not a crime of moral turpitude, so you'll probably be OK.

Administrative processing can occur for any number of reasons. I wouldn't freak out about it.

Edit: I take it back. Wikipedia marks larceny as a crime of moral turpitude. I don't know what to tell you.

i guess that not the problem as long shes not a criminal or drug user, but you should put into your application its bcoz they gonna find out that case, they will just ask what happend or they may ask you to get record that your were clear.

You'll just have to wait and see. Having a criminal record is one thing but making a material misrepresentation about it on an immigration form is an entirely different matter indeed.

[Angie Y Shane 2]

We wanted to disclose it on the form but they only asked for arrests. My wife was issued a citation only. Now is there a possible way we can clear this up if they ask my wife about it?

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

We wanted to disclose it on the form but they only asked for arrests. My wife was issued a citation only. Now is there a possible way we can clear this up if they ask my wife about it?

No it doesn't. It asks specifically "Have you ever been charged, arrested, or convicted of any offense or crime?". They would probably consider shoplifting to be an "offense", and the fact that she was ordered to pay a fine as being "charged" and "convicted". It would have been safer to just answer yes, and include the relevant court documents.

If this is the reason for the AP, then I doubt it's a big deal. Americans get citations all the time for parking infractions, and they also pay fines for them. I doubt most Americans would think they would have to answer "yes" to such a question because of parking tickets. Your wife will probably just need to gather the relevant court documents and explain the situation at her interview. If they ask why she didn't report it on the form, she can just say she didn't think a citation qualified as a "crime" or "offense". Misinterpreting a question doesn't rise to the level of willful misrepresentation. I think she'll get through this ok.

[Angie Y Shane 2]

Thank you for the feedback and positive advise. She now I think we should have been more clear on the DS-230. We even brought the paper work for her citation just in case to the interview but they never asked. they seemed to be positive on the phone about it if that makes since! They said to my wife to not worry this happens and they knew she was pregnant and they may call her in for another interview. i think we better bring another new Ds-230 form again??? With the new information?

[pushbrk 12,898]

We wanted to disclose it on the form but they only asked for arrests. My wife was issued a citation only. Now is there a possible way we can clear this up if they ask my wife about it?

No it doesn't. It asks specifically "Have you ever been charged, arrested, or convicted of any offense or crime?". They would probably consider shoplifting to be an "offense", and the fact that she was ordered to pay a fine as being "charged" and "convicted". It would have been safer to just answer yes, and include the relevant court documents.

If this is the reason for the AP, then I doubt it's a big deal. Americans get citations all the time for parking infractions, and they also pay fines for them. I doubt most Americans would think they would have to answer "yes" to such a question because of parking tickets. Your wife will probably just need to gather the relevant court documents and explain the situation at her interview. If they ask why she didn't report it on the form, she can just say she didn't think a citation qualified as a "crime" or "offense". Misinterpreting a question doesn't rise to the level of willful misrepresentation. I think she'll get through this ok.

I tend to agree but am not sure whether shoplifting is considered a crime of moral turpitude. It is definitely a crime and an offense. Paying a fine for a crime is a conviction.

[Angie Y Shane 2]

yes i think it was best we disclosed the information about the citation. She did have to pay it, so yes i understand the offense part. We were not trying to be dishonest or hide anything. We even brought that information just in case to the interview.

It was advised to not disclose the citation due to it not being and arrest or being in jail to avoid confusion.

Now that we are in some AP process we do not even know why. Does anyone suggest we should fill out another DS-230 and disclose the information while in Ap process so that they know we are trying to be honest with them?

[Spoom 8]

Shoplifting (i.e. theft, i.e. larceny) is a crime of moral turpitude. If you don't like Wikipedia's page on moral turpitude, you could always look at the State Department's definition [PDF].

The most common elements involving moral turpitude are:

(1) Fraud;

(2) Larceny; and

(3) Intent to harm persons or thing.

It later specifies that the larceny can be grand or petty.

Sorry. I think your visa is going to be denied if that's what they're looking at, and at this stage, I don't think there is anything you can do about it.

Edited September 10, 2009 by Spoom

[Angie Y Shane 2]

I do not feel they will deny me for larceny. We were not being dishonest about anything. again a citation could be many reasons. A petty shoplifting citation. the citation was paid and closed.

If my wife is called to another interview yes we will fill out another DS-230 form just in case to present.

But we do not even know for sure what they are looking for. Do they tell you?

[Spoom 8]

Administrative processing is usually because either your name is on a government checklist (which usually puts you in AP at the National Visa Center stage, not the Consulate stage) or that they found something in your record.

It doesn't matter how long ago the citation was, whether it was paid, or whatever other factors you might put in there. Those things may have mattered if you had explained on the forms that the beneficiary had had the citation (in which case they'd probably get you to file for a waiver), but now you've defrauded them by wilful omission, which incurs an automatic denial and automatic ban.

I guess you just need to hope that that's not what they're looking at right now. If it is, I echo the others that you should explain that you didn't realize that the question included citations, though I don't know how much that will help you.

Edited September 10, 2009 by Spoom