K1 Visa - Laser Pointer Violation expunged

[Boiler 46,013]

He does not need a police record from the US, they know from their own records.

 

He does need to declare his issue, they will also know so no biggie. Now if you do not declare it, well....

[pov5 2]

Yeh, I'd confirm the arrest on the form, then explain in person why it's not a big deal, they'll probably know about it anyway as it was in the US, ( plus now it is publicly available here) and so the only issue I imagine would be if you tried to cover it up. I'm in a similar boat to you, waiting for my interview next week. Had a clean ACRO but was arrested before for something that has been cleared, put on the DS form about this and if necessary I'll explain when asked. Hopefully shouldn't be an issue, but reckon lying might be more of a red flag to them than an expunged arrest. 

[Eric-Pris 1,607]

Even though it has been expunged from your record, chances are the a thorough USCIS background check already revealed it.  But this is a minor offense, so it won't affect your case.  But on any question about convictions or arrests, you must declare it, even though you were not put in handcuffs.

 

If caught omitting it, it could be disastrous, especially for something this petty. 

 

Hopefully you weren't pointing a laser at landing airplanes or cars driving by.  That's dangerous and stupid. Although if it was airplanes you wouldn't be dealing with local cops, you'd be dealing with federal agents while wearing silver bracelets.

Edited July 11, 2017 by Eric-Pris

[David & Diana R 1,005]

23 hours ago, JoeT14 said:

Hi,

I would like to see if you could provide any advice or recommendations regarding my situation

So, I'm from the UK, my fiance is from America. We met while I was studying in Tennessee on a J-1 visa. We are currently applying for a K1 visa, to which the petition part was approved. I now have to schedule a medical and interview in London.

While there, I was given a laser pointer violation. I had to go court, pay court/probation fees and complete 3 months probation. After it was completed, I had to go back to court and the judge said it was expunged. I still have the paper which says this.

On my expungement paper it states "It is ordered that all PUBLIC RECORDS relating to such offence above referenced be expunged and immediately destroyed upon payment of all costs to clerk and that no evidence of such records pertaining to such offence be retained by any municipal, county, or state agency, except non-public confidential information retained in accordance with T.C.A 10-7-504 and T.C.A 38-6-118"

It also says "Charge has been dismissed (T.C.A 40-32-101)"

Also, I have received my ACRO Police Certificate from the UK, which came back as "No Trace" as I have never been in trouble for anything here. So there is no problem on this side. My only concern is the laser pointer violation.

Will this have any affect on the interview at the embassy and the visa? I know on the DS-160 there is a question that states "Have you ever been arrested or convicted for any offense or crime, even though subject of a pardon, amnesty, or other similar action?". Am I guessing I would have to say yes to this? I'm not sure what a laser pointer violation stands under, is it classed as an arrest or conviction? Does the expungement mean anything?

Does a laser pointer violation come under a crime or moral turpitude? Or will they not look at it as seriously.

Thank you in advance for any help

 

Regards,

<name removed>

The answer to your question is in your question.  You were arrested.  You MUST check yes in the box.

[JoeT14 22]

23 hours ago, IcezMan_IcezLady said:

^^^ Did you forget this?

 

^^ I guess this was my confusion. You didnt make it clear.

 

Just follow the rules, if you have no record in UK then why is the "No trace" record an issue? You have no record is it says you have none so leave the UK record at that if you know you have no record  irrespective of the "No trace".

 

Now, if the expunged record is from the US, I would suggest you get a copy of that even though  it may not be required. If it comes up at the interview, then you have your paperwork there to show that you did your due diligence. if it doesn't come up at the interview then you have nothing to lose.

The UK record and no trace is no issue. I was just stating that my UK record was clean, and that this was the only charge ever.

The only paper I have is the "Order of expungement", it lists the charge, that it was dismissed, signed by the judge and has a clerk stamp on it. I'm not sure if this will be enough or if they will ask for the final court disposition. This I do not have, since the charge was dismissed and expunged I believe all records were destroyed (that's what it says on the paper). I'm sure it will be good, I don't believe it will be seen as a CIMT so should be no trouble, even if it is, it should be a petty offence exception since it meets all the criteria needed. 

Thank you for your input and help

[JoeT14 22]

21 hours ago, pov5 said:

Yeh, I'd confirm the arrest on the form, then explain in person why it's not a big deal, they'll probably know about it anyway as it was in the US, ( plus now it is publicly available here) and so the only issue I imagine would be if you tried to cover it up. I'm in a similar boat to you, waiting for my interview next week. Had a clean ACRO but was arrested before for something that has been cleared, put on the DS form about this and if necessary I'll explain when asked. Hopefully shouldn't be an issue, but reckon lying might be more of a red flag to them than an expunged arrest. 

Yeah, that's all I can do really. I don't think it will be seen as a CIMT, but even if it is, I'm hoping it will come under the petty offence exception. 

You're right, hiding it and trying to cover it up will be a lot worse than explaining it to them. Especially since they will see it when they do their checks anyway.

You should be good, if it's not a serious charge and you were cleared, then hopefully it's not a problem

[JoeT14 22]

21 hours ago, Eric-Pris said:

Even though it has been expunged from your record, chances are the a thorough USCIS background check already revealed it.  But this is a minor offense, so it won't affect your case.  But on any question about convictions or arrests, you must declare it, even though you were not put in handcuffs.

 

If caught omitting it, it could be disastrous, especially for something this petty. 

 

Hopefully you weren't pointing a laser at landing airplanes or cars driving by.  That's dangerous and stupid. Although if it was airplanes you wouldn't be dealing with local cops, you'd be dealing with federal agents while wearing silver bracelets.

True, they probably have seen it already, if not they will, so the best thing to do is just declare it and take the papers I have about it and explain. Better than hiding it.

Nah, I didn't point it at anything like that. It was about 3am, there was a small wooded area that was just outside the dorm I lived it. I just recieved the laser after buying it from Amazon, so I thought it was all good. I was playing with it, pointing it at the trees for a maximum of 10 seconds and went back inside. There must have been some campus police (the campus was so big it had its own police) on patrol who saw the laser and thought it was attached to a gun, they called the local police who both arrived at the dorm, I was still in the reception when they came, told and showed them the laser, they gave me the violation and a piece of paper telling me to appear in court in 1 month. My school made me write a letter of apology, and then when I went court, I was put on 3 months unsupervised probation.

I don't believe it will be a CIMT, however if it is, I think the petty offence exception rule will apply. 

Thanks for the advice though