Possible to refuse visa over fine/ticket for marijuana?

[Redro 4,611]

1 hour ago, beeldn12 said:

We were aware of the issue with the medical which appears it could cause a delay. Although I thought I’ve read cases where an admission to very remote MJ use or one time use was acceptable by the physician. 
 

but the larger issue seems to be the marijuana caution (if it appears). Based on what I’m reading there’s really no scenario where we wouldn’t be refused the visa. It’s devastating  

 

I don’t even know whether we should proceed with the interview at this point. He has a lot more flexibility to visit the US than I do the UK. Once he is refused and unable to travel to the US while waiting 2+ years for the possibility of an i601 waiver doesn’t seem feasible for us. 

Does he have an active ESTA or would he have to apply for a new one… 

I’m not sure if this is still in the ESTA questionnaire but now your fiancé remembers his ticket he would have to answer YES to this question because you don’t want to raise the possibility of misrep. 
 

      Have you ever violated any law related to possessing, using, or distributing illegal drugs?

 

He would probably be denied the ESTA and have to file for a tourist visa. I would personally continue with the K1 process. 

 

[Dashinka 24,489]

7 minutes ago, Redro said:

Does he have an active ESTA or would he have to apply for a new one… 

I’m not sure if this is still in the ESTA questionnaire but now your fiancé remembers his ticket he would have to answer YES to this question because you don’t want to raise the possibility of misrep. 
 

      Have you ever violated any law related to possessing, using, or distributing illegal drugs?

 

He would probably be denied the ESTA and have to file for a tourist visa. I would personally continue with the K1 process. 

 

That is a good point and could possibly raise a misrep claim in the future.  Probably best to stick with the K1 and deal with it there.

Edited May 18, 2023 by Dashinka

[Crazy Cat 41,841]

1 hour ago, beeldn12 said:

Although I thought I’ve read cases where an admission to very remote MJ use or one time use was acceptable by the physician. 

The physician is not the visa approval authority.  In addition, how would the consulate know how "remote" the use is without a screening period?  

[beeldn12 5]

On 5/17/2023 at 3:16 PM, Crazy Cat said:

But it is a violation of federal law.   Good luck.  Let us know how it goes.

 

On 5/18/2023 at 8:16 AM, carmel34 said:

Whatever he does, it needs to be disclosed, whether it shows up on an ACRO report or not.  Non-disclosure can be viewed as misrepresentation which can cause major problems down the road. 

Long post but wanted to provide an update and what could be an important distinction for Scottish law - which differs from England/Wales. We requested a report of the incident and spoke with the Glasgow police department - “cannabis cautions” do not exist in Scotland. They do exist in England and Wales. At the time of this incident (2010), Scotland only had the option to essentially provide “a verbal warning” or formally charge and arrest someone with possession of cannabis.

 

Now since 2015, they have switched to a system of “recorded police warnings” for an incident similar to this and essentially for any petty crimes.  My fiancé did not get this so I have no idea if these show up on an ACRO/SAR. Recorded police warnings are deleted from the Police National Computer after 2 years. Again, they might still trigger no live trace and be on the SAR. Not sure. 

In our case, my fiancé saw a post about someone caught with a small amount of marijuana and because he couldn’t remember - assumed the ticket he got was a cannabis caution or warning. However - it was not. The officer took the joint and did not record it. The ticket he received was a fixed penalty notice for breach of the peace. (His friend and him were sitting in a car park listening to music at the time perhaps too loudly). We only have the record of the incident from the Scottish police so we’ll see if the penalty shows on the ACRO. It will be something to explain, but much easier I would expect than if he had received a cannabis caution. 

As for the medical - we will still have that potential barrier, but perhaps less of a barrier than it could have been with a cannabis caution on his record. 
 

Hopefully this could be helpful to someone if dealing with any sort of criminal history in the UK - it’s worth considering the laws and record keeping may slightly differ between the countries. 

[appleblossom 2,483]

6 hours ago, RavindraNagai said:

Regarding your fiancé's situation, it's a good plan to consult with an immigration lawyer once you have more details from the ACRO report. They can provide the most accurate advice based on the specific circumstances.

This thread is from May and if you look at the OP’s timeline you’ll see the visa has already been approved. 

Edited November 7, 2023 by appleblossom

[TBoneTX 45,267]

Old thread is now closed to further comment.  Please do not use Artificial Intelligence to supply answers in these forums.