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US L2 visa with U.K criminal record


US L2 visa with U.K criminal record

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Bluebear
Bluebear
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Hi all and thanks for reading.

My (Canadian) wife and I (British) are currently in Canada. I’m on a visitors visa here. She’s been offered an L1A visa for the US with her current job which would give me an L2.
I have a criminal record from the UK from just over 5 years ago. It was a harassment case (non-violent/sexual) and was issued with a £510 fine (£30 victim surcharge) and a restraining order. I have an updated police record and subject access report as well as filed out the VCU1 form.
I will need to fill out the DS-160 to apply for the L2 visa.

My worry is my entry to the US.

My questions are:

1) Would I fall under moral turpitude crime?
2) Is there a chance I will be found inadmissible?
3) Is there anything I can do to strengthen my chance?
4) Will I only know if I’m eligible at the interview, or is there a way to know before this date?

My worry is my wife will accept the L1A only for me to be rejected. Will pose some issues with her work etc not to mention the heartache.

Has anyone been through this? How stringent are they in the interview?

Thanks for reading folks!
AB2014
AB2014
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Bluebear - 2 Feb 22 11:34 PM
Hi all and thanks for reading. My (Canadian) wife and I (British) are currently in Canada. I’m on a visitors visa here. She’s been offered an L1A visa for the US with her current job which would give me an L2. I have a criminal record from the UK from just over 5 years ago. It was a harassment case (non-violent/sexual) and was issued with a £510 fine (£30 victim surcharge) and a restraining order. I have an updated police record and subject access report as well as filed out the VCU1 form. I will need to fill out the DS-160 to apply for the L2 visa. My worry is my entry to the US. My questions are: 1) Would I fall under moral turpitude crime? 2) Is there a chance I will be found inadmissible? 3) Is there anything I can do to strengthen my chance?4) Will I only know if I’m eligible at the interview, or is there a way to know before this date? My worry is my wife will accept the L1A only for me to be rejected. Will pose some issues with her work etc not to mention the heartache. Has anyone been through this? How stringent are they in the interview? Thanks for reading folks!

Well, in answer to question 1, Unlock's advice on their website here suggests that harassment is not a Crime Involving Moral Turpitude unless it was racially aggravated. So, the answer to 2 should be no, but they do like to keep you guessing. For question 3, I would say that the best way to strengthen your chances is to go to the interview fully prepared, assuming you have one. It certainly wouldn't hurt to prepare a self-disclosure statement to hand in with all your other documents. You may well be asked questions about it, in which case you should be ready to show remorse, and a bit of victim empathy should go a long way. They do like you to show them respect, so remembering that the decision will depend largely on the opinion of the immigration agent who interviews should help with that, and make sure you go suited and booted. You might get an indication at the interview, and they might even tell you there and then, but don't rely on that. The decision should be fairly quick, so don't be put off if you get your passport back within a few days.

Moving on from that, when you arrive in the US, don't be alarmed if they take you aside for an interview. The visa is issued by the State Department, but the border control is Homeland Security, and they do like to be thorough. Just have your paperwork to hand, and tell them what you told the immigration agent in the interview.

=========================================================================================================

If you are to punish a man retributively you must injure him. If you are to reform him you must improve him. And men are not improved by injuries. (George Bernard Shaw)

Bluebear
Bluebear
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AB2014 - 3 Feb 22 9:41 AM
Bluebear - 2 Feb 22 11:34 PM
Hi all and thanks for reading. My (Canadian) wife and I (British) are currently in Canada. I’m on a visitors visa here. She’s been offered an L1A visa for the US with her current job which would give me an L2. I have a criminal record from the UK from just over 5 years ago. It was a harassment case (non-violent/sexual) and was issued with a £510 fine (£30 victim surcharge) and a restraining order. I have an updated police record and subject access report as well as filed out the VCU1 form. I will need to fill out the DS-160 to apply for the L2 visa. My worry is my entry to the US. My questions are: 1) Would I fall under moral turpitude crime? 2) Is there a chance I will be found inadmissible? 3) Is there anything I can do to strengthen my chance?4) Will I only know if I’m eligible at the interview, or is there a way to know before this date? My worry is my wife will accept the L1A only for me to be rejected. Will pose some issues with her work etc not to mention the heartache. Has anyone been through this? How stringent are they in the interview? Thanks for reading folks!

Well, in answer to question 1, Unlock's advice on their website here suggests that harassment is not a Crime Involving Moral Turpitude unless it was racially aggravated. So, the answer to 2 should be no, but they do like to keep you guessing. For question 3, I would say that the best way to strengthen your chances is to go to the interview fully prepared, assuming you have one. It certainly wouldn't hurt to prepare a self-disclosure statement to hand in with all your other documents. You may well be asked questions about it, in which case you should be ready to show remorse, and a bit of victim empathy should go a long way. They do like you to show them respect, so remembering that the decision will depend largely on the opinion of the immigration agent who interviews should help with that, and make sure you go suited and booted. You might get an indication at the interview, and they might even tell you there and then, but don't rely on that. The decision should be fairly quick, so don't be put off if you get your passport back within a few days.

Moving on from that, when you arrive in the US, don't be alarmed if they take you aside for an interview. The visa is issued by the State Department, but the border control is Homeland Security, and they do like to be thorough. Just have your paperwork to hand, and tell them what you told the immigration agent in the interview.

Thanks so much for your response. She has definitely been accepted on the L1A visa which would mean I would apply for the L2 visa - it really sucks that theres no definitive way of finding out before hand. Juts booking the interview after submission of the DS-160 will take months. It really sucks to be in limbo! 
Hola
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Bluebear - 2 Feb 22 11:34 PM
Hi all and thanks for reading. My (Canadian) wife and I (British) are currently in Canada. I’m on a visitors visa here. She’s been offered an L1A visa for the US with her current job which would give me an L2. I have a criminal record from the UK from just over 5 years ago. It was a harassment case (non-violent/sexual) and was issued with a £510 fine (£30 victim surcharge) and a restraining order. I have an updated police record and subject access report as well as filed out the VCU1 form. I will need to fill out the DS-160 to apply for the L2 visa. My worry is my entry to the US. My questions are: 1) Would I fall under moral turpitude crime? 2) Is there a chance I will be found inadmissible? 3) Is there anything I can do to strengthen my chance?4) Will I only know if I’m eligible at the interview, or is there a way to know before this date? My worry is my wife will accept the L1A only for me to be rejected. Will pose some issues with her work etc not to mention the heartache. Has anyone been through this? How stringent are they in the interview? Thanks for reading folks!

Don't know about the visa questions, but the standard ESTA questions no longer reference moral turpitude ...  Might be worth checking as potentially the way the ?s are worded could change how you can answer ?
AB2014
AB2014
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Hola - 4 Feb 22 8:41 AM
Bluebear - 2 Feb 22 11:34 PM
Hi all and thanks for reading. My (Canadian) wife and I (British) are currently in Canada. I’m on a visitors visa here. She’s been offered an L1A visa for the US with her current job which would give me an L2. I have a criminal record from the UK from just over 5 years ago. It was a harassment case (non-violent/sexual) and was issued with a £510 fine (£30 victim surcharge) and a restraining order. I have an updated police record and subject access report as well as filed out the VCU1 form. I will need to fill out the DS-160 to apply for the L2 visa. My worry is my entry to the US. My questions are: 1) Would I fall under moral turpitude crime? 2) Is there a chance I will be found inadmissible? 3) Is there anything I can do to strengthen my chance?4) Will I only know if I’m eligible at the interview, or is there a way to know before this date? My worry is my wife will accept the L1A only for me to be rejected. Will pose some issues with her work etc not to mention the heartache. Has anyone been through this? How stringent are they in the interview? Thanks for reading folks!

Don't know about the visa questions, but the standard ESTA questions no longer reference moral turpitude ...  Might be worth checking as potentially the way the ?s are worded could change how you can answer ?

Yes, but he doesn't need an ESTA as he would be living in the US, so he needs a visa. They only changed the questions because nobody understood what moral turpitude is and couldn't answer the questions. For a full visa application, they want to see his police certificate, which is a list of all cautions and convictions, so they will see his conviction and they get to decide whether it was moral turpitude without reference to him.

=========================================================================================================

If you are to punish a man retributively you must injure him. If you are to reform him you must improve him. And men are not improved by injuries. (George Bernard Shaw)

GO


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