arrested on j1, help.

vinnyrh

Hello,

I was arrested in san Diego in 2007, I was drinking on the beach and when the police approached I stupidly ran, why I do not know, anyway I got away but the same police found me again and arrested me 10 minutes later, we talked in the car and they said I should not have ran, they brought me to the station and took my photo, and put me in with a bunch of guys that had been drinking and driving. I remember they all had a different wrist band on than me. Anyway , they let me out in the morning and I don't think I was charged with anythin or was giving any kind of court date . Problem is now I want to return on a j1 recent graduate visa and want to know if this incident will affect my application, should I mention it in my embassy interview. Had no idea it would come back to haunt me. I don't even know what it was called that I was arrested for.

Can anyone advise me on what I should so?
Thanks in advance

coylemj

You were probably arrested under vagrancy/public order legislation, it would not come under the heading of 'moral turpitude', didn't involve drugs or theft and you weren't charged or convicted so I wouldn't mention it if I was you unless there is a blanket (unqualified) question along the lines of 'were you ever arrested?'.

If you do mention it, you will probably eventually get the visa but the consular people here will do some checking with the California police which could will delay things for you.

PCPhoto

coylemj wrote: »

You were probably arrested under vagrancy/public order legislation, it would not come under the heading of 'moral turpitude', didn't involve drugs or theft and you weren't charged or convicted so I wouldn't mention it if I was you.

If you do mention it, you will probably eventually get the visa but the consular people here will do come checking with the California police which could will delay things for you.

if you don't mention it and they discover it when doing a background check you can wave the visa goodbye !!

vinnyrh

Thanks guys, Im not sure what to do, I never thought this would be an issue, anyone that has experience of this would be helpful, do ye know what kind of delay there would be if I told them?

Our man in Havana

Answer only what is asked. Unless the question asks about it don't volunteer the info.

Ayla

On any application there's always the line at the bottom right above where you sign that says something along the lines of: if you know anything that may/may not be specifically asked about here & you do not disclose it you'll be in big trouble.

Don't shoot yourself in the foot. Admit it freely on the application. If the interviewer chooses to pursue it that's his/her deal, but at least you've covered your arse.

After just finishing up with an application for a tourist visa for my husband (long story) I can tell you that if they want to delay it they will (and can!)...his waiver of inadmissibility took 9 weeks to return so his visa could be issued. And his only crime was overstaying his visa waiver 7 years ago. You will be in much bigger trouble (and very potentially voiding your application) if you don't disclose it but they discover it when doing a quick background check.

coylemj

Our man in Havana wrote: »

Answer only what is asked. Unless the question asks about it don't volunteer the info.

+1 nobody is suggesting that you tell lies but if you're not asked the direct question, I see no need to mention it.

Ayla wrote: »

On any application there's always the line at the bottom right above where you sign that says something along the lines of: if you know anything that may/may not be specifically asked about here & you do not disclose it you'll be in big trouble.

Is that a vague generalisation or is there such a question on the J1 Visa application?

I mean, if you were stopped by a traffic cop for no light on your bike or you got a parking ticket somewhere, should you mention that? There has to be some limit to what needs to be disclosed.

Ayla

coylemj wrote: »

I mean, if you were stopped by a traffic cop for no light on your bike or you got a parking ticket somewhere, should you mention that? There has to be some limit to what needs to be disclosed.

Jasus, the OP was arrested & spend a night in jail. Slightly more important than a parking ticket. He will have a record in the US, and it will show up on a background check.

As re: the actual application form, no I haven't seen one. But by doing a quick search through the Consulate's site, you need a sponsor, who then starts the application, gives it to the applicant, then the applicant takes it to the Consular officer for an interview. So if the OP doesn't disclose it (to the potential sponsor at least) he's potentially causing humiliation for the sponsor as well if his visa is refused.

I know on my husband's B2 application there was something asking about previous arrests/felonies/etc.

vinnyrh

Hi guys, thanks for all the help, I rang the san Diego police department to see if they had a record of it an I was charged with disorderly conduct, this doesn't sound good, I didn't even know I was charged with anything , advice please, what does this mean in relation to my application

Ayla

What stage of application are you? Do you have a sponsor yet?

You could always contact the Embassy itself to query what it may or may not mean:
dubcons@state.gov

After being in fairly intense goings back & forth with them recently, I can attest that they're not the worst folks out there

vinnyrh

I havnt contacted a sponsor yet but this visa means everything to me , I'm going to ring them tomorrow and hopefully they can help, I'm definitly going to tell the truth now , Im worried, has anyone had a similar experience which worked out ok.

Ayla

Who are you going to call? You can't call the embassy (or if you do you'll be really lucky to actually talk to someone...take it from me, we have *tried*). The email address I cited earlier really is the best way of contacting them (and they have a policy of responding w/i 24 hrs).

With the J1, you do all the preliminary stuff through the sponsor, so unless you have that lined up it's not very helpful to be making random phone calls to people/companies who may not wind up sponsoring you.

The arrest you had was not a serious one, it should not automatically cancel out any chance you have of getting a visa. But, IMO, not freely disclosing it could potentially hurt, not help. Remember, the ultimate decision rests with the consular officer that you meet on the day, so you have a lot of power to persuade him/her with the facts of your arrest if it comes up. But I have no doubt in my mind that they will do a background check, which will show up this arrest, so if you're not open about it you're not doing yourself any favours.

There are all sorts of clauses in the Immigration & Nationality Act talking about ways to allow people into the US who previously did something wrong. Your situation has occurred before, and it won't likely be a deal-breaker. But you should start your application process *now*, not later, because if there are any "administrative processing" delays (and we had 9 weeks of them for no real reason) they can really hold things up.

coylemj

vinnyrh wrote: »

Hi guys, thanks for all the help, I rang the san Diego police department to see if they had a record of it an I was charged with disorderly conduct, this doesn't sound good, I didn't even know I was charged with anything , advice please, what does this mean in relation to my application

I'm amazed that you got that information by phoning them, I thought tabloids had to bribe the cops for that kind of information, didn't realize you could just ring up and get it over the phone!

At this stage I'd be worried about an outstanding warrant because if you were charged and didn't turn up in court the judge could have issued a warrant for your arrest. Did the San Diego cops tell you anything about whether you were fined in absentia or if a warrant was issued?

coylemj

OP, there is a 'USA & Canada Travel' Forum on boards in which there are lots of threads discussing issues to do with US visas, might be worth a look.....

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=1183

vinnyrh

Ok guys, I rang the san Diego pd again and talked to the nicest girl , she said that its just said disorderly conduct for alcohol, I'm getting the report sent to me so I'm gonna have all the info before my interview, I'm definitly gonna tell the truth, the only thing now is that if I get approval from my sponsor , how much will I have paid before I have my embassay interview, finace could prevent me from going to a different country, oh I didn't mean I'm gonna ring the embassy , I meant I'm gonna ring the sponsor and tell them of my situation. Thanks again for all the advice, I'm stressed about this and posts are helping.

bertstan

This exact situation happened to me last summer in Santa Barbara! How did you get on? was there any major delay? im going on a j1 this year again and am fairly shook about the whole thing. Any rely would help a lot thanks!

timmywex

Friend was arrested and charged in Chichago on a J1 last year, there was basically a pile of Irish at a house party, a neighbor complained about noise, police turned up and arrested 6 of them for drinking under 21. Went to court, they got a lawyer and got off it.

Had absolutely no effect on him getting a j1 visa for this summer but best off to come clean about it if any questions

Apart from that you dont need to do an interview if its not your first j1 visa

bertstan

Really?! nice thats after settling a few nerves. they get there visas in the end?

timmywex

bertstan wrote: »

Really?! nice thats after settling a few nerves. they get there visas in the end?

Yeh they had no problems at all, just submitted an application as normal and sent in passport

Off to San Diego for the summer the lucky f****'s! Spent the last 2 summers there

There may be a length of time after which you've to go for another embasy interview but never heard of it

niall91

just wondering did you get into america, faced with a similar situation now

bertstan

niall91 wrote: »

just wondering did you get into america, faced with a similar situation now

After being arrested on my first J1 when I was back in Dublin, I rang the district attorney of that police station that arrested me and requested that my record be expunged. Which was grand and they sent me a verification cert sign by the DA and all.

After booking my 2nd j1 with Usit it think, I told them about the arrest. Which was my mistake I should have told them prior to them booking my flight. Basically they said that at my embassy meeting they could ask me about my arrest and could have requested a drug and alcohol test. Which I would have to pay for (€200-€300 I think) and the results take about a month to get back, that overlapped my flight date so I would have had to book new flights.
Luckily I didn't have to do any of this, but it did happen to two of my friends who were arrested with me and then went on to do a grad visa in the states the following year.

Since then Ive been to the states twice (once on another j1 and once on holidays) with my printed signed DA cert, unfortunately that doesn't get you very far. Both times I was pulled aside by the TSA and put into a room with a load of other travellers. You are not treated like a human. TSA agents shout out you and threaten you if you ask any questions, if you look at your phone, try to talk to the people you were traveling with and they keep you there for 1-2 hours (I couldn't tell there isn't a clock in the place and they don't let you look at your phone).
They take your passport and when they finally see you they ask why are you here, where are you staying and how much money you have. Good luck if you have a connecting flight I just made about made mine.

Basically talk to the people you are about the book your j1 with about it, try to call the police station that arrested you to get your record cleaned and see if you can contact someone in the TSA of the airport you are about to fly into and ask what you need to bring with you to make the process easier.

Its very long winded, but I hope it helps.