VISA for the US refused!!

[kirsty_07]

My boyfriend was refused his US tourist VISA today. We were due to go to Florida for a holiday in January 2009 and stupidly booked our holiday last march without thinking about the fact that he might need a VISA. He has a conviction for possession of a class A substance which he only received a fine for and is now spent under UK law, but not under US law! His case has been referred to the consulate in Washington and could take up to 2 months! Has anyone had any experience with this and know how long it could actually take?

[bobs1975]

No sorry I haven't but just to clarify for the other readers his application is being passed to Washington for a waiver of ineligibility right? Could you let us know how he gets on? This could really help some other readers with previous drug arrests / convictions.

[Buenchico]

'Up to 2 months' is probably a very conservative estimate.

The following is a direct quote from the US embassy website (with the bold and italic text highlighted by me):

"If the conviction(s) results in the applicant being found permanently ineligible to receive a visa, it will mean a lifetime exclusion from the United States unless he or she obtains a waiver of the permanent ineligibility from the United States Department of Homeland Security Customs and Border Protection (DHSCBP). The granting of a waiver is not automatic and is based on several factors, including nature of the crime committed, sentence served and the period of time which has elapsed since the conviction.

If a favorable recommendation is made to DHSCBP for a waiver of the permanent ineligibility, the application will take a minimum of eight weeks to process; some applications may take longer.

Please note: Delays in processing can and will occur. The processing times quoted are approximate and cannot be guaranteed. It is important that you keep this in mind when applying for the visa. It will not be possible to expedite a case simply because an applicant has not allowed sufficient time for the application to be processed."

Source:
http://www.usembassy.org.uk/cons_new/visa/niv/ add_crime.html

Chris

[Earth-Angel]

... Travelling to the USA after 12 Jan? Apply for a Visa Waiver ONLINE before you go
The days of filling a Visa Waiver form for US travel on the plane are ending. ...
www.moneysavingexpert.com/latesttip/ - 101k - Cached

[bobs1975]

I think Earth Angel needs to put that info in a new, unrelated thread

[R1Geezer]

I doubt he'll get in at all, anything to do with steam tugs is very high on the old "Moral Turpitude" radar.

I'm amazed the anti drug campaiagns don't make more of this, you know the sort of thing:

"Want to be a dope head?? then you're barred from the US for life".... Now I guess it may not sound like much of a deterrent but hey it may stop some.

[bobs1975]

Not if you're a rockstar

http://blog.oregonlive.com/popmusic/2008/02/am y_winehouse_gets_her_visa_bu.html

[spudqueen]

R1Geezer - that's what I keep telling my teenage kids (who have been on holiday to Florida), if you ever want to go back to the US then don't EVER do drugs - because if you are arrested over a drugs offence then you'll never be able to go back.

[kirsty_07]

According to the form he was given at the Embassy the Waiver of Ineligibility rests on the following factors:

Serious and frequency of crime
Amount of time that has elapsed since crime
Potential danger to public safety
and the necessity or urgency of the trip

Well ok it is serious to get caught with drugs but it was only the once as he;s never re-offended, it's been 6 years, he's definitely no danger to the public! Unfortunatly a holiday of a lifetime to Orlando may not be deemed as important to them so I have no idea if he'll get the waiver.

I'm not condoning what he did, but it was a stupid mistake he made when he was young and naive and now he's being treated like he murdered someone! The US is far from perfect anyway, it's full of junkies and criminals! All we wanna do is go on a two week holiday for gods sake!!

Anyway now were paying the price for a moment of careless stupidity, but I still think they're being a little harsh! I know there's nothing we can do about it except wait and in the meanwhile go somewhere else on holiday!

I will let you know what the outcome is anyway.

[tigwig]

Its terrible isn't it? I can only imagine how you feel. Unfortunately thats the problem with americans, they are so over the top in everything they do.
I really hope your boyfriend manages to get the visa. If not you'll have to make do with Disneyland Paris! It is good but obviously there's no Universal, Seaworld or Busch Gardens.

[Dee Sa]

will the travel company let you transfer the holiday to another destination or keep it on hold for a while ?
Unfortunately no matter how many people sympathise with you on this section, it wont get you the visa, I hope you put a strong case forward to the appeal section, but its doubtful they will admit him with a drug offence, sorry but pls dont build your hopes up.

[bobs1975]

As the advise on the other website states that your BF's offense is about the worst possible by US standards we wish you the best of luck. Pity he was caught carrying a concealed weapon - he'd get in the US entry no problem. Go figure

[1313gray]

Hi please can you tell me how your boyfriend got on and how long it took for his visa to be processed. Thanks x

[kirsty_07]

Boyfriend now has his VISA! It took about 2 months (incuding the christmas period so quicker than I thought!) He received an email a couple weeks ago from the Embassy stating they were ready to issue his VISA. It's valid for 6 months and one entry allowed. I'm guesssing he will allways have to apply for a VISA and always get a form from the police proving he hasn't been in trouble again! But I would hope now they have all the info on him it should hopefully be a bit easier next time! We can now look forward to our holiday in April! :0)

[1313gray]

Thankyou were helpful so if you are denied at interview it doesn't mean you can never go just it has to be approved by Washington or is that not always the case. We have done exactly the same as you our holiday has been booked since last April and we are due to go in May and were just told last week that my husband needed to apply for a visa. We have still got 14 weeks or so so hopefully we can get it in time and at least its all legal and proper. Did you mak your holiday or did you have to change the date x

[kirsty_07]

We were due to go just after the new year but as soon as I found out I postponed it till April, only because I wanted to leave us as much time as possible as I wasn't sure how long it would take and our flights were valid till May. Has your hubby had his interview at the Embassy yet? That's the trickiest part actually getting fitted in there for the interview! They kept him there for 3 hours only to tell him he'd been refused! Luckily we didn't have to shell out too much more money to postpone our holiday and at least the weather will be even better in April! Good luck with you're hubby's application, 14 weeks should give you enough time to get it sorted :0)

[1313gray]

Hi my hubby has his interview next week so fingers crossed he will get it without it being sent away for further processing. Our holiday is all payed for and no sure where we would stand and you are not covered with insurance companies its its a visa. Its cost us a fortune before he got there what with ACPO report, interview fee and return flight to Belfast and not to mention a taxi there and back and you cant take your phone. Hopefully it will all be worth it especially if he gets his visa for a couple of years then its saves him having to go through it again next year. I will let you know x

[kirsty_07]

We now know that the reasons you'd get refused for a VISA at the Embassy depends on how serious the crime was! If it's anything to do with drugs, violence, Fraud, Kidnapping, terrorism etc and even if the punishment was minor (in my boyfriends case it was just a fine!) they still see it as something much more serious and he was told after the interview they always refuse it! The 'spent' system here doesn't apply in America (in case you're not familar with that, it means, in my boyfriends case for example after 5 years his crime was 'spent' ie he doesn't need to declare it in the UK. Did you book a package holiday? We did ours all separatly but had no problem changing the dates, the only thing we had to pay a bit more for were the flights.
Anyway let me know how he gets on :0)

[1313gray]

Yes ours is all booked as a package so they will change us �50 each for every change ie dates, hotel, flights etc. Then we loss �10 each deposit per ticket to change them and there are 5 of us thats 10 tickets plus whatever the car hire company will charge. Its a nightmare we only want a holiday. I have been told he should be okay as he as assault charge 8 year ago but didn't involve intent and we have printed off the us embassy visa regulation guideline so we know he doesn't come under moral turpitude. ACPO told me the main thing they are looking for is illegal immigrants, narcotics and terrorists so lets just hope they are right and practice what they preach. Its ironic really considering the USA have one of the highest crime rates and drug rates in the world and they are interviewing us to go there. 1 in 5 Americans carry guns and they are questioning us about morals. Hopefully we will put it behind us after next week before it cost us to much more money. Will let you know x

[kirsty_07]

I can't blame America for being so strict on who they let in, we should be like that instead of just letting anyone in! But it is a pain in the arse when you want to go on holiday! I'm sure they have a worse crime rate then us and at least we havn't legalised guns! I felt the same way as you, we only want to go on a bloody holiday! We have no intentions on staying there!

[1313gray]

Hi Kirst_07

Just a quick not to let you know my husband had to attend Belfast yesterday and received his visa for 10 years in the post today. So relieved its all over with now and cant wait to go. Thankyou x