VSU1 form for B-2 Tourist Visa help.

[HogunDrwg 0]

Hi all,

My partner and I are applying for B-2 Visa's for a cruise in February.

I have completed and printed out my VSU1 and have my ACRO certificate (complete with single minor, non dishonest, violent or immoral conviction from many years ago)

My partner has her ACRO certificate as well that states "No Trace" but she was arrested around 10 years ago for being cheeky to a Police Officer and "bound over to keep the peace" for a year.

(We are nice, honest, hardworking Law abiding people although I understand eyebrows may be raised!)

My question is.... I have seen reference to emailing the ACRO and VSU1 to the embassy and waiting for a response before making an appointment for interview, but I can find no mention of this on the UK London Embassy website, which just tells you to put as much detail as possible on the VSU1 before printing and signing. Do we still have to email the form and wait for them to get in touch ,or do we just schedule an interview and bring it with us.

Also, my partners ACRO states "No Trace" as I've already mentioned. Once again the Embassy Website says to put as much detail as possible on the VSU1, but I have also seen it on Google that she needs to obtain Court Records and, failing that provide a sworn Affidavit as to the circumstances of her arrest. If she needs an Affidavit who can arrange this for her?

I would be most grateful if someone could enlighten us as to the correct procedure as we really are in a spin!

Many thanks in advance!

Tim.

[HogunDrwg 0]

Apologies, i meant Form VCU1

My bad.

[Boiler 45,980]

Are they CIMT's?

[HogunDrwg 0]

CIMT? Crime involving Moral Turpitude?

I dont believe so It's not on any list or similar. It was negligently endangering safety.

[HogunDrwg 0]

Just to elaborate, in 1996 i was a younger less experienced Train Driver than i am today, and mistakenly damaged a level crossing gate after missing a stop signal. My full offence was "Endangering safety of persons on the Railway" Fined £200 with £40 costs.

In my partners case she got a little drunk when her ex husband left her 8 years ago, and was a little too cheeky to a Police Officer. She was arrested and bound over to keep the peace, but no further penalty imposed.

[Boiler 45,980]

Why not use the VWP?

[HogunDrwg 0]

Because according to the Embassy Website in London it recommends that anyone who has any arrest or criminal conviction applies for a visa. There is a "wizard" on the website that takes you through various questions, worded differently to the ESTA process questions. I've answered the questions on the ESTA website honestly and it came back fine, but doing the same on the Embassy Websites questionaire comes back with a big fat no.

All things considered i want to take the correct route even if it is more time consuming. I didn't want to pay £5000 for the cruise and get turned back at the airport, in the process jeopardising any chances of visiting again.

Our DS-160's are submitted and we have our ACRO reports, but we can find no consistent information on what we actually have to do with our VCU1 forms, whether to email them to the Embassy along with copies of the ACRO or just take them to the interview. In addition, as my Partner's ACRO came back "No Trace", does she have to provide any other documentation?

My apologies if my questions seem a little daft or vague, but this will be my first visit to the USA and i have never experienced a process like applying for a Visa before. I want to get it right as London is a good way from our location, and so opportunities for visiting the Embassy for interview are limited, so it makes sense to do things right first go.

Best regards,

Tim.

[Boiler 45,980]

Ohh dear.

ESTA is correct, the Consulate web site wrong.

[HogunDrwg 0]

Thanks for that, i'm sure you are correct, but if whoever put the Embassy's guide together has reached the conclusion that someone in mine or my partners circumstances is not eligible for the VWP, then i believe there is every chance a Border Control Officer may reach the same conclusion, and i believe you forfeit any right to appeal under VWP?

At the end of the day we are honest people who believe in doing the right thing (despite a small legal transgression each!) We've gathered 99.9% of our required documentation, completed and submitted our DS-160 online forms and completed our VCU1's. We have arranged a day off work where will we be available to travel to London for interview. It's mostly all done. We just need to know exactly what we need to do and provide with our VCU1's, whether to email them in or just bring them to interview. The information on the Embassy website and in cyberspace seems to conflict.

In the worst case scenario i could take a hit and lose my deposit/downpayment if denied a visa on interview, but i couldn't risk losing the whole lot and face an early nine hour flight home.

Hope you see where i'm coming from.

Regards,

Tim.

[Darnell 8,479]

I say push for ESTA with VWP - it's 14 dollar to apply.

[Boiler 45,980]

Thanks for that, i'm sure you are correct, but if whoever put the Embassy's guide together has reached the conclusion that someone in mine or my partners circumstances is not eligible for the VWP, then i believe there is every chance a Border Control Officer may reach the same conclusion, and i believe you forfeit any right to appeal under VWP?

Whilst they are both part of the US Government, they are different organisations.

The general thought is the Consulate do this because they do not want to deal with answering CIMT questions outside of a paid interview.

[HogunDrwg 0]

Many thanks for all the replies.

I've sussed it out. When you register online to apply for an interview, it asks you at the end of the process to email the relevant documents for processing and they get back to you within 5 days.

We have our interview next week. All in all quite a long winded process with a lot of documents to find, pay for and scan, and the detailed information required is not all in one easy place, but the end is in sight at last.

Thanks again for your replies!

[HogunDrwg 0]

Just a quick update......

A 2 hour wait outside and inside the embassy, then a 2 minute interview before the nice chap said the magic words:- "Both your Visa's are approved"

He didn't even want to examine our links to the UK, of which i had taken a huge bundle of evidence. Just a couple of quick questions about our conviction each and it was done.

All in all quite painless!

Got our visa stamped passports back this morning.

Once again, thanks for all the advice.