I’ve been invited to visit family in the USA next year, and have started looking at travel arrangements. However, I received a reprimand for cannabis possession when I was 17 (nearly 19 years ago now), where I was nicked and taken into the station to receive my formal telling off. I’ve been good as gold since, that’s my only negative interaction with the police. Does stuff like that show up on the yank systems? I don’t fancy having to go through the more complicated visa process for something that is now pretty much an irrelevance.
My research so far suggests that it’s not a ‘crime of moral turpitude’, but admission of it would render me ineligible for ESTA & I’d have to do the proper visa procedure, including paying over £100 for the pleasure. All a bit ridiculous considering it was just an official bollocking for smoking a joint & having another 8th of hash in my pocket.
Quite different from your misdemeanor: At 25, my other half was charged with criminal damage (during a very drunken night out), 30yrs before applying for a US visa a couple of years ago. He did have to go through the more complicated process, It took about 4 months to hear back, but he got the visa. Too late to take the planned trip though.
I got a written caution for something which is a record but immediately spent under rehab of offenders. That was about 25 years ago, traveling to US only 6 years later I didn't declare (because spent) and no issue for me. I think due to how long ago it might not show up due to UKs general disorganisation, if it had been more recent it may have been an issue. I strongly suspect you'll be fine (but I can't 100% guarantee anything)
Had a few terrace fracas as a teenager and a few ‘rests’ in the cells after an Indian, including an unfortunate shopping trolley hide and seek competition with a copper.
Never tried to get to the USA though.
Sorry I can’t be more helpful. Dave
Sorry, two unfortunate shipping trolley incidents involving the cops
Having just read this I totally forgot about my caution for Cannabis that I got 22 years ago when I was 16, It didn't stop me getting a ESTA in 2018 I obviously hadn't told them when applying for the visa as I'd forgotten about it.
It popped up on an CRB check I had for work years ago, but I’m pretty sure it didn’t show up on a later enhanced DBS. I’m going to do a Subject Access Request to ACCRO & see if it’s on there still.
I got nicked about 30 years for a bit of teenage drunkeness. Just a night in the cells and a telling off, no charge or anything. I sweated like hell about whether to declare this on my ESTA application when I went to the states... In the end I didn't, and it didn't get flagged. It was a tense walk through passport control though.
> It speeded things up in 1946 if you also happened to tick the “worked on the V2 rocket program” box too.
On my first climbing trip Stateside the passport officer asked us 'what's the highest mountain in America?' Not wanting to appear like smart@rses we said McKinley. He let us in.
Mr S had a conviction for possession of a tiny amount of hash as a 19 year old. First visited the USA at about 30, didn’t declare it and it didn’t show up. He went again about 10 years later and was fine that time too.
I can’t actually remember whether he deliberately didn’t tell them or had considered it spent or forgotten about it.
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