Good answer Chris, but from one pedant to another I'm sure you will appreciate a couple of comments... ;-D
- to the visa cost, add gbp10 for the cost of the US sized passport photos (not normal UK passport pictures, they're wider). Also, any questions to the embassy have to be put to an 09x number that is over gbp1.00 a minute, gbp1.20 I think. Even then this embassy line cannot be relied on to be 100% accurate (in my experience!).
- You can apply for your interview before you have got your Subject Access Notice (police record). Best to try and do these in parallel as they both have long lead times.
- When you apply for the visa, at interview, they do not necessarily hold your passport. In my case they stamped it 'Visa applied for on [date]', and handed it back to me. and I travelled abroad (not the US!) after the interview and before having to send my passport back in to have the visa issued a few weeks later.
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The essence of Moral Turpitude is...
Fraud
Larceny [i.e. theft]
Intent to harm others or things
http://foia.state.gov/masterdocs/09fam/0940021 aN.pdf
So on the face of it I expect credit card fraud bars you from the Visa Waiver Scheme