Travelling to the U.S.

A.N. Other

A long time ago I was caught in a nightclub with several ecstasy tablets by an undercover guard. The case went to court but thankfully the judge granted me leniency. I made a donation to the court charity and no court record was imposed.

Just wondering. I would like to travel (as a tourist) to the United States next year. Where do I stand given my previous issues particularly in relation to completing the online VISA waiver form, Question b.

Have you ever been arrested or convicted for an offense or crime involving moral turpitude or a violation related to a controlled substance

Many thanks in advance.

Our man in Havana

Say yes and you will be blackballed and denied entry.

I would not advise lying. Contact the US embassy and apply for a visa.

Tom Young

This is not advice, but you don't have a conviction and therefore don't have anything to admit too.

If you were not convicted it is likely you were either given the benefit of the Probation Act or just let off totally.

If what you say is accurate, then you have nothing to worry about. Fill in the DV Tourit 3 months visa and off you go.

Tom

Thirdfox

Have you ever been arrested...

I'm assuming the OP was arrested?

Wouldn't answering "No" to that question constitute fraud?

Though I wonder how many neo-Nazis were caught by the little green form over the years.

dats_right

Tom Young wrote: »

This is not advice, but you don't have a conviction and therefore don't have anything to admit too.

Not quite that simple. The I-94W Form required to enter the US via the Visa Waiver system asks:

Have you ever been arrested or convicted for an offense or crime involving moral turpitude or a violation related to a controlled substance; or been arrested or convicted for two or more offenses for which the aggregate sentence to confinement was five years or more; or been controlled substance trafficker; or are you seeking entry to engage in criminal or immoral activities

The best thing for the OP to do would be to contact an Attorney specialising in this area for comprehensive advice, but it may be that the OP has to, at the very least, apply for a Visa to enter the US.

Our man in Havana

dats_right wrote: »

The best thing for the OP to do would be to contact an Attorney specialising in this area for comprehensive advice, but it may be that the OP has to, at the very least, apply for a Visa to enter the US.

I agree 100% with you.

I have been asked when entering the USA and Canada "Have you ever been convicted of a crime?" and separately "have you ever been arrested?"
I would proceed very carefully.

A.N. Other

Just to clarify, I received no conviction in court, however; I was technically arrested in the nightclub even though I was not brought to the garda station etc.

Our man in Havana

I can't see how they could have arrested you if they did not take you to the station. Were you read your rights, handcuffed and placed in a garda vehicle?

A.N. Other

Bond-007 wrote: »

I can't see how they could have arrested you if they did not take you to the station. Were you read your rights, handcuffed and placed in a garda vehicle?

It was long time ago so memory a bit hazy. I was not cuffed or taken to the station but I thought that I was read my rights, maybe not.
The guard took my details and the summons came just under a year later

Our man in Havana

I doubt you were arrested so.

A.N. Other

Bond-007 wrote: »

I doubt you were arrested so.

if I was not arrested, what would that scenario have been then?
(other than caught red-handed )

Our man in Havana

Detained for a search?

A.N. Other

Bond-007 wrote: »

Detained for a search?

I was searched on the nightclub premises, so maybe that was it.

northsidedave

hey i was arrested years ago for having a pen knife and a bit of cannibas resin..arrested brought to station and court...recieved the probation act sent home no conviction.i have been to the states twice since then .the first time was a few years ago got arested for being drunknever went to court when supposed to....and still got in the second time which was last year.

Croc

Below is how the Question is phrased on the I94, note it says arrested or convicted.

Also you should be aware of the new system of registering online to gain clearance to enter the US, i believe it come into force next year sometime.

Here is the site.

https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/esta.html?_flowExecutionKey=_c064FBEE9-AEF9-A831-482B-5BC30FBB3F6F_kD56A2CD1-E70D-87E4-EBCE-7CDA9C338E04

See the thread on it here

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055347044&highlight=i94


Have you ever been arrested or convicted for an offense or crime involving moral turpitude or a violation related to a controlled substance; or been arrested or convicted for two or more offenses for which the aggregate sentence to confinement was five years or more; or been a controlled substance trafficker; or are you seeking entry to engage in criminal or immoral activities?




Crimes involving moral turpitude - Such offenses generally involve conduct which is inherently base, vile, or depraved and contrary to the accepted rules of morality and the duties owed to persons or society in general. There are factors, such as the age of the offender or the date of the offense, that may affect whether an offense will be considered a crime involving moral turpitude for purposes of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

For further information refer to § 212(a)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(2), § 101(a)(43) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43) and corresponding regulations in the Code of Federal Regulations.

jhegarty

Do they have access to lists of arrests ?

Say someone was arrested, then the guards found the real crook the next day.

Person released without a charge.

Hagar

Isn't asking if someone was "arrested" associating arrest with the presumption of guilt? Doesn't that totally undermine the concept of innocent until proven guilty? I would have no qualms about sidestepping a morally bankrupt question such as that. But then that's only one man's opinion and not necessarily legally sound advice.

Our man in Havana

The big issue here is what are the US immigration able to access here. Can they access PULSE? So when they scan your passport are they doing a sweep of PULSE at the same time?

Or they are just depending on a person ticking the box and thus hanging themselves.

dats_right

People are tending to miss the point, which is that if somebody has been arrested or convicted of a criminal offence involving moral turpitude or relating to a controlled substance it doesn't necessarily mean that they can't travel to the US, but it does mean that they cannot enter without a Visa using the Visa Waiver Programme. Such a person will have to apply to their local US Embassy for a Visa and will probably be called for an interview.

In most cases of minor offences and those that happened a lont time ago, I gather that Visas are routinely issued. But that is not legal advice and as stated in my previous post the OP and anybody else in a similar position should seek specialist legal advice from an Attorney.

By the way as part of our continued participation in the Visa Waiver programme the US are compelling the Irish Government to give them greater access to records, etc. So even if one succesfully entered now by telling porkies to Us Immigration, what happens in 12-18 months time and same person tries to re-enter? And this time US Immigration can see not only his record but also that he previously told lies to enter the US, which is probably a bigger deal then the arrest itself.

jhegarty

Bond-007 wrote: »

The big issue here is what are the US immigration able to access here. Can they access PULSE? So when they scan your passport are they doing a sweep of PULSE at the same time?

Or they are just depending on a person ticking the box and thus hanging themselves.

That's exactly what I was thinking.

I would have though anything other than court convictions (a matter of public record) would fall foul of the data protection act.

A.N. Other

I found my original summons, which was the only piece of paper I received from the guards. It makes no mention of arrest (is this normal?). It goes something like:

"an application was made by this office ...for the issue of a summons to you [accused] alleging the following offence(s):
Possession blah blah.
This is to notify you that you will be accused of said offence(s) at a siting of a District Court...."

There is a pulse reference number given but I presume this is standard affair.

Croc

dats_right wrote: »

People are tending to miss the point, which is that if somebody has been arrested or convicted of a criminal offence involving moral turpitude or relating to a controlled substance it doesn't necessarily mean that they can't travel to the US, but it does mean that they cannot enter without a Visa using the Visa Waiver Programme. Such a person will have to apply to their local US Embassy for a Visa and will probably be called for an interview.

In most cases of minor offences and those that happened a lont time ago, I gather that Visas are routinely issued. But that is not legal advice and as stated in my previous post the OP and anybody else in a similar position should seek specialist legal advice from an Attorney.

By the way as part of our continued participation in the Visa Waiver programme the US are compelling the Irish Government to give them greater access to records, etc. So even if one succesfully entered now by telling porkies to Us Immigration, what happens in 12-18 months time and same person tries to re-enter? And this time US Immigration can see not only his record but also that he previously told lies to enter the US, which is probably a bigger deal then the arrest itself.

OP i think you are getting to technical here i.e. as to if you were arrested or not etc etc, i would take the advice above and avoid all the hassle you could have long term, otherwise we could have a similar thread here in 18 months 2 years because US Immigration found out you lied previously and you are seeking our help again.