Old convictions and bench warrant - will we get denied?

[veryconcerned 0]

I am looking to get a k-1 visa for my fiancé who is from the UK. I noticed when I was filling out the forms that it asks about criminal records, which is very concerning to me. Specifically that it asks if you've been convicted of controlled substances or alcohol related crimes more than three times - which I have. I've been arrested for possession of marijuana 4 times. Once as a minor and three times as an adult. There was also another time that I got caught with it where i didn't get arrested, but I had to go to court and pay fines. Would this number of convictions get us rejected? I also did a background check through the court system of the state where I got arrested and ran into some problems with that. One of the arrests didn't show up at all and it turns out that I also have an active bench warrant from 20 years ago where I was sentenced to go to rehab and instead moved out of state and never went back to court.

 

I'm super stressed over this because I don't know if those things will get us denied and I have no idea how to get the records I need to send when I send in the K-1 visa application. I thought doing the background check would get me all the case numbers and that I could somehow use those to get relevant documents, but I don't know what to do about the arrest that didn't show up on the background check or what to do about the ones from when I was a minor and the one where I was never arrested since those were never put on my record.

[SalishSea 18,117]

2 hours ago, veryconcerned said:

I am looking to get a k-1 visa for my fiancé who is from the UK. I noticed when I was filling out the forms that it asks about criminal records, which is very concerning to me. Specifically that it asks if you've been convicted of controlled substances or alcohol related crimes more than three times - which I have. I've been arrested for possession of marijuana 4 times. Once as a minor and three times as an adult. There was also another time that I got caught with it where i didn't get arrested, but I had to go to court and pay fines. Would this number of convictions get us rejected? I also did a background check through the court system of the state where I got arrested and ran into some problems with that. One of the arrests didn't show up at all and it turns out that I also have an active bench warrant from 20 years ago where I was sentenced to go to rehab and instead moved out of state and never went back to court.

 

I'm super stressed over this because I don't know if those things will get us denied and I have no idea how to get the records I need to send when I send in the K-1 visa application. I thought doing the background check would get me all the case numbers and that I could somehow use those to get relevant documents, but I don't know what to do about the arrest that didn't show up on the background check or what to do about the ones from when I was a minor and the one where I was never arrested since those were never put on my record.

You are the USC petitioner, correct?

 

I am not a lawyer, but my observation is that the petitioner’s criminal background MUST be disclosed, and that unless the crimes involve AWA type offenses, it generally is not a barrier to petitioning someone.   USCIS is more concerned with the type of behaviors/crimes that could hurt a beneficiary or their minor child.

 

Be honest in all your dealings with USCIS, and consult a lawyer if you feel you need to.  You will want to get copies of your criminal records and all court records.  You can also order an FBI background check on yourself.

 

Transparency and disclosing everything up front is the way to go.