ChatterBank0 min ago
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If you lie, and enter under the Visa Waiver Program (by completing the online ESTA form) you might get in. The US authorities have no direct access to UK criminal records, so the chances are that they won't know about your convictions. However, a great deal of information is now passed between countries using anti-terrorism legislation (even though the actual information has nothing to do with terrorism), which allows authorities to bypass the normal rules prohibiting the US authorities from seeing details of criminal convictions. Because these matters come under 'anti-terrorism' they're shrouded in secrecy and nobody is 100% sure of exactly what overseas authorities now know about UK citizens.
So entering illegally is a possibility, but not without its risks. (If you're found out, you'll be refused entry and sent home on the next available flight at your own expense. If there's no convenient flight available you'll be held in a detention centre until there is).
Doing things by the book, anyone who's ever been arrested (even if totally innocent) is barred from using the Visa Waiver Program. You must apply for a visa. (I've explained the visa process on your other thread. Many people have had to wait six months or more before getting to find out whether they've been granted a visa. Plenty of people have posted here to report that they've waited for ages only to be turned down. The longest waiting time I've seen, before a refusal, was 10 months).
As I stated on your other thread, even relatively minor offences (such as driving without insurance) have resulted in people having had their visa applications declined. The US authorities seem to be particularly strict when it comes to considering drugs offences and your chances of getting a visa are almost certainly nil.
Chris
If you lie, and enter under the Visa Waiver Program (by completing the online ESTA form) you might get in. The US authorities have no direct access to UK criminal records, so the chances are that they won't know about your convictions. However, a great deal of information is now passed between countries using anti-terrorism legislation (even though the actual information has nothing to do with terrorism), which allows authorities to bypass the normal rules prohibiting the US authorities from seeing details of criminal convictions. Because these matters come under 'anti-terrorism' they're shrouded in secrecy and nobody is 100% sure of exactly what overseas authorities now know about UK citizens.
So entering illegally is a possibility, but not without its risks. (If you're found out, you'll be refused entry and sent home on the next available flight at your own expense. If there's no convenient flight available you'll be held in a detention centre until there is).
Doing things by the book, anyone who's ever been arrested (even if totally innocent) is barred from using the Visa Waiver Program. You must apply for a visa. (I've explained the visa process on your other thread. Many people have had to wait six months or more before getting to find out whether they've been granted a visa. Plenty of people have posted here to report that they've waited for ages only to be turned down. The longest waiting time I've seen, before a refusal, was 10 months).
As I stated on your other thread, even relatively minor offences (such as driving without insurance) have resulted in people having had their visa applications declined. The US authorities seem to be particularly strict when it comes to considering drugs offences and your chances of getting a visa are almost certainly nil.
Chris