NON-IMMIGRANT VISAS
Criminal Convictions
Under United States visa law people who have been arrested are required to declare the arrest
when applying for a visa. If the arrest resulted in a conviction, the individual
may be permanently ineligible to receive a visa. In order to travel, a waiver of
the permanent ineligibility is required. Even travelers with a closed case are
required to declare the arrest and/or conviction.
Court Records
You will facilitate the visa application process if you bring all records of arrest(s) or
conviction(s) to the visa interview.
What if i was convicted in the united states?
If you were arrested and convicted of an offense in the United States, you are required to
obtain a court record from the court(s) in which you were tried. Such court
records must show the nature of the offense(s) committed, the section(s) of law
contravened and the actual penalty imposed. If the arrest did not result in a
conviction, or you are unable to obtain a copy of the court record(s) relating
to the charges against you, you may submit with your application a sworn
statement which gives the location of the arrest, state and county, and the
reason for the arrest. If the arrest resulted in a conviction, the statement
should discuss the nature of the offense committed, section of the law
contravened and penalty imposed by the court(s). If you do not know the address
of the court, the information is available from the internet at:
http://www.refdesk.com.
APPLYING FOR THE VISA
You are required to schedule an appointment for an interview
with a U.S. consular officer. As your application will be subject to greater
scrutiny, you are asked to schedule an appointment no later than 10:00 a.m. to
allow sufficient time for your case to be reviewed. When booking an appointment,
please specify to the operator that you must have an appointment no later than
10:00 a.m. Applicants with criminal histories who schedule after 10:00
a.m. may be required to return to the Embassy at a later date if there is
insufficient time to evaluate their case.
When applying for a visa you are required to submit with your application the
following additional documents:
A completed personal data sheet; Copies of the court record(s) covering all charges of which you have been convicted,
or which are presently pending against you.
what if i am found ineligible?
If the applicant is found ineligible to receive a visa, it will mean a lifetime
exclusion from the United States. He or she would require a waiver of the
permanent ineligibility from the Department of Homeland Security, United States
Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The granting of a waiver is not
automatic and is based on several factors, including the nature of the crime
committed, sentence served and the period of time that has elapsed since the
conviction.
If a favorable recommendation is made to the USCIS for a waiver of the permanent
ineligibility, the application will take a minimum of fourteen to sixteen weeks
to process; some applications may take longer.
PROCESSING TIME
Delays in processing can and will occur. It is important that you keep this in mind when
applying for the visa. It is not be possible to expedite a case simply because
an applicant has not allowed sufficient time for the application to be
processed.
* Applicants should apply for visas well before the anticipated date of travel. No
assurances regarding the issuance of visas can be given in advance. Therefore,
final travel plans or the purchase of nonrefundable tickets should not be made
until a visa has been issued.
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