K-1 Beneficiary criminal record

[EnglishLove 112]

Hello, I have a question about my Fiancee (the beneficiary) having criminal record from England. He only has one actual charge when he was a juvenile that he got 9 months of probation (no jail time) for having a knife in public. Of course, his normal background check says he has no criminal record but the one for the visa shows even his warnings and cautions which he has a few of those as well. What worries me is the initial charge was wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm since the police had encountered an individual that had a cut on him and automatically assumed it was him. After looking into it, it  was not him that had done it and he was only charged with having a knife on him. My only hope is that all this happened when he was about 15 years old. How do you think this will affect our chances of being accepted?

[yuna628 9,671]

15 minutes ago, Pooley said:

Hello, I have a question about my Fiancee (the beneficiary) having criminal record from England. He only has one actual charge when he was a juvenile that he got 9 months of probation (no jail time) for having a knife in public. Of course, his normal background check says he has no criminal record but the one for the visa shows even his warnings and cautions which he has a few of those as well. What worries me is the initial charge was wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm since the police had encountered an individual that had a cut on him and automatically assumed it was him. After looking into it, it  was not him that had done it and he was only charged with having a knife on him. My only hope is that all this happened when he was about 15 years old. How do you think this will affect our chances of being accepted?

I cannot say how it will affect you. However your fiancé will have to obtain a police certificate which likely show No Live Trace, meaning there is something on the record. Then you will also have to order a SAR, which will detail the offenses for the immigration officer reviewing the case. Your fiancé should be prepared to discuss the matter in detail, and they should also bring any other items related to charges or court records/results.

[EnglishLove 112]

2 minutes ago, yuna628 said:

I cannot say how it will affect you. However your fiancé will have to obtain a police certificate which likely show No Live Trace, meaning there is something on the record. Then you will also have to order a SAR, which will detail the offenses for the immigration officer reviewing the case. Your fiancé should be prepared to discuss the matter in detail, and they should also bring any other items related to charges or court records/results.

Thank you. I have not heard of a SAR, I've only read about ordering all court documents. I'm hoping it won't be a problem! 

[EnglishLove 112]

14 minutes ago, Pooley said:

We have ordered his Police Certificate and it shows all his cautions and warnings and his one actual charge when he was a juvenile. It shows the date and charge and the outcome. I have not heard of a SAR, I've only read about ordering all court documents. I'm hoping it won't be a problem! 

 

[jakejon 1,197]

Hey! I completely agree with @yuna628 above. You will need to get a Subject Access Report (SAR) and perhaps court documents (if available) for the London Embassy for interview. I understand that these 'offence/s' may not show up on his normal background check as in the UK offences can be 'Stepped down' which may happen after a certain period of time therefore not always showing on a background check from there. However, I believe that ACRO doesn't 'step down' any criminal charges/convictions etc . All charges will appear as 'No live trace' regardless of whether stepped down in the UK.

 

Best advice is to get all necessary documents prior to the interview and be completely honest on all accounts. Nobody can know for definite but  'No live trace' doesn't necessarily mean a visa will be refused.

 

Good luck  

Edited January 21, 2019 by jakejon

[EnglishLove 112]

3 minutes ago, jakejon said:

Hey! I completely agree with @yuna628 above. You will need to get a Subject Access Report (SAR) and perhaps court documents (if available) for the London Embassy for interview. I understand that these 'offence/s' may not show up on his normal background check as in the UK offences can be 'Stepped down' which may happen after a certain period of time therefore not always showing on a background check from there. However, I believe that ACRO doesn't 'step down' any criminal charges/convictions etc . All charges will appear as 'No live trace' regardless of whether stepped down in the UK.

 

Best advice is to get all necessary documents prior to the interview and be completely honest on all accounts. Nobody can know for definite but  'No live trace' doesn't necessarily mean a visa will be refused.

 

Good luck  

Thank you. His police certificate does not say "No Live Trace". It actually shows the date, charge, and the outcome. So it either says caution, warning, or on his only actual charge, it says he got 9 months referral and no costs. 

[yuna628 9,671]

10 minutes ago, Pooley said:

Thank you. His police certificate does not say "No Live Trace". It actually shows the date, charge, and the outcome. So it either says caution, warning, or on his only actual charge, it says he got 9 months referral and no costs. 

You can order the SAR from ACRO, same as the police certificate. The site gives instructions how to get it. Pretty much a must for anyone with a No Live Trace.

[EnglishLove 112]

2 minutes ago, yuna628 said:

You can order the SAR from ACRO, same as the police certificate. The site gives instructions how to get it. Pretty much a must for anyone with a No Live Trace.

His certificate does not say No Live Trace. It shows it all. I have already ordered a Subject Access Request and it pretty much says the same thing as the Police Certificate. It shows the date, charge, and the outcome. I'm guessing I need to get in touch with the court and order the actual court documents of the disposition?

[yuna628 9,671]

4 minutes ago, Pooley said:

His certificate does not say No Live Trace. It shows it all. I have already ordered a Subject Access Request and it pretty much says the same thing as the Police Certificate. It shows the date, charge, and the outcome. I'm guessing I need to get in touch with the court and order the actual court documents of the disposition?

I would indeed do that, you need to get as much evidence as you can. And I know the SAR can seem redundant, but that's really something the embassy will require just to cover all the bases. All you can do is be open and honest as possible, it will be the officer's judgment call.