K1 Visa - Laser Pointer Violation expunged

[JoeT14 22]

Hi,

I would like to see if you could provide any advice or recommendations regarding my situation

So, I'm from the UK, my fiance is from America. We met while I was studying in Tennessee on a J-1 visa. We are currently applying for a K1 visa, to which the petition part was approved. I now have to schedule a medical and interview in London.

While there, I was given a laser pointer violation. I had to go court, pay court/probation fees and complete 3 months probation. After it was completed, I had to go back to court and the judge said it was expunged. I still have the paper which says this.

On my expungement paper it states "It is ordered that all PUBLIC RECORDS relating to such offence above referenced be expunged and immediately destroyed upon payment of all costs to clerk and that no evidence of such records pertaining to such offence be retained by any municipal, county, or state agency, except non-public confidential information retained in accordance with T.C.A 10-7-504 and T.C.A 38-6-118"

It also says "Charge has been dismissed (T.C.A 40-32-101)"

Also, I have received my ACRO Police Certificate from the UK, which came back as "No Trace" as I have never been in trouble for anything here. So there is no problem on this side. My only concern is the laser pointer violation.

Will this have any affect on the interview at the embassy and the visa? I know on the DS-160 there is a question that states "Have you ever been arrested or convicted for any offense or crime, even though subject of a pardon, amnesty, or other similar action?". Am I guessing I would have to say yes to this? I'm not sure what a laser pointer violation stands under, is it classed as an arrest or conviction? Does the expungement mean anything?

Does a laser pointer violation come under a crime or moral turpitude? Or will they not look at it as seriously.

Thank you in advance for any help

 

Regards,

<name removed>

Edited July 10, 2017 by CookieCat
Name removed for privacy

[Boiler 43,539]

You obviously were arrested, sounds like this happened in the US, just tell the truth.

[JoeT14 22]

5 minutes ago, Boiler said:

You obviously were arrested, sounds like this happened in the US, just tell the truth.

Thanks for the smart reply.

I was never put in cuffs, put in a police car, taken to the station, fingerprints were never taken, they didn't even ask to see my ID, they just took my word for it. Doesn't sound like an arrest, I could be wrong.

And yes, in the US

[Boiler 43,539]

1 hour ago, JoeT14 said:

Thanks for the smart reply.

I was never put in cuffs, put in a police car, taken to the station, fingerprints were never taken, they didn't even ask to see my ID, they just took my word for it. Doesn't sound like an arrest, I could be wrong.

And yes, in the US

I had to go court, pay court/probation fees and complete 3 months probation.

 

How would you describe it?

[Peot 128]

You can be honest about it, but you were not arrested of convicted of a felony. When asking about conviction, it's usually implied "felony".

It may still slow things down a bit when they have to confirm background checking. They WILL have access to private records, even if they were expunged from public record. This is why you should be upfront with them.

 

It's a misdemeanor. Not much different than getting a traffic ticket.

 

One could say you technically are convicted of a crime when you are caught speeding, but you are not arrested, read miranda rights, put into custody, etc... and you make amends by paying a traffic ticket.

In your case you were not arrested, read miranda rights, or put into custody yet you were convicted of the misdemeanor and made amends by paying a fine and doing probation.

 

Both are stricken from public record, and you are NOT a criminal with a record.

 

Since this IS the court level though, you may need to obtain a certification of "no record" from the court clerk in the county you were convicted in... Though this usually comes up at the petition stage. What did you say during the petition stage?

[JessieABC 159]

If you had "No live trace", you should probably consider getting an SAR to be safe:

 

http://photos.state.gov/libraries/unitedkingdom/164203/cons-visa/iv_and_k_interview_checklist2014.pdf

Quote

If your UK police certificate indicates “No Live Trace,” or “Further Information Stepped Down” you will be expected to provide complete details of the offense(s) and disposition. If you do not recall the specific details, consider obtaining a Subject Access Report so that you can provide the Consular Officer with accurate information on the day of your interview. To obtain a Subject Access Report, visit http://www.acro.police.uk/subject_access.aspx.

 

[mlh 93]

1 hour ago, JessieABC said:

If you had "No live trace", you should probably consider getting an SAR to be safe:

 

http://photos.state.gov/libraries/unitedkingdom/164203/cons-visa/iv_and_k_interview_checklist2014.pdf

 

OP said he had "No Trace", not "No Live Trace", so no need for the SAR.

[JessieABC 159]

1 minute ago, mlh said:

OP said he had "No Trace", not "No Live Trace", so no need for the SAR.

Oops! Apologies, was speed reading  thanks for catching that!

[JoeT14 22]

9 hours ago, JessieABC said:

If you had "No live trace", you should probably consider getting an SAR to be safe:

 

http://photos.state.gov/libraries/unitedkingdom/164203/cons-visa/iv_and_k_interview_checklist2014.pdf

 

My UK certificate came back with "No Trace" so we are all good on this side, no need for a SAR.
The laser point violation happened when I was a student in America on a J-1 visa
 

[JoeT14 22]

11 hours ago, Peot said:

You can be honest about it, but you were not arrested of convicted of a felony. When asking about conviction, it's usually implied "felony".

It may still slow things down a bit when they have to confirm background checking. They WILL have access to private records, even if they were expunged from public record. This is why you should be upfront with them.

 

It's a misdemeanor. Not much different than getting a traffic ticket.

 

One could say you technically are convicted of a crime when you are caught speeding, but you are not arrested, read miranda rights, put into custody, etc... and you make amends by paying a traffic ticket.

In your case you were not arrested, read miranda rights, or put into custody yet you were convicted of the misdemeanor and made amends by paying a fine and doing probation.

 

Both are stricken from public record, and you are NOT a criminal with a record.

 

Since this IS the court level though, you may need to obtain a certification of "no record" from the court clerk in the county you were convicted in... Though this usually comes up at the petition stage. What did you say during the petition stage?

4

I believe it is a Class A misdemeanor, which has a max sentence time of 11 months and 29 days, since this is my only crime, even if it is a CIMT, I'm pretty sure it will come under the petty offence exception.

Also, I don't believe anything was asked about it at the petition stage, only the petitioner was asked about criminal convictions on the I-129F. Since I'm the beneficiary, I think I have to disclose it when I fill in the DS-160 to arrange an interview.

All I have is the order of expungement, was states the charge and that is was dismissed, I've reached out to the court via email to see if they can assist in any way.

Thank you for your informative reply   

[IcezMan_IcezLady 582]

So if this happened in the US why are you searching for this record in U.K.?

[JoeT14 22]

5 minutes ago, IcezMan_IcezLady said:

So if this happened in the US why are you searching for this record in U.K.?

I'm not searching for this record in the UK. I clearly stated that I already have my UK Police Certificate which states "No Trace", meaning there is no history of any arrest, charge or conviction in the UK. You need this certificate for the medical and embassy interview.

The embassy doesn't have the authority to check the UK records, hence the certificate. However, they perform their own background checks, and this is where the record will pop up even though it's dismissed and expunged.

I was asking if this record will negatively affect the application, and whether it will be considered a CIMT or not

 

[IcezMan_IcezLady 582]

Just now, JoeT14 said:

I'm not searching for this record in the UK. I clearly stated that I already have my UK Police Certificate which states "No Trace", meaning there is no history of any arrest, charge or conviction in the UK. You need this certificate for the medical and embassy interview.

The embassy doesn't have the authority to check the UK records, hence the certificate. However, they perform their own background checks, and this is where the record will pop up even though it's dismissed and expunged.

I was asking if this record will negatively affect the application, and whether it will be considered a CIMT or not

 

So do you have any record in U.K.?

I guess i am a little confused. Initially you siad it happened in UK until @Boiler pointed it out to come clean and you admitted it happened in the USA. So my question is, are you looking for the information about this particular record in U.K. or you have a different record you are looking for?

Include the police record for the USA and that of UK. You are required to provide this record that you attained during your stay in the USA.

https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/immigrate/immigrant-process/documents/Supporting_documents.html

[JoeT14 22]

8 minutes ago, IcezMan_IcezLady said:

So do you have any record in U.K.?

I guess i am a little confused. Initially you siad it happened in UK until @Boiler pointed it out to come clean and you admitted it happened in the USA. So my question is, are you looking for the information about this particular record in U.K. or you have a different record you are looking for?

Include the police record for the USA and that of UK. You are required to provide this record that you attained during your stay in the USA.

https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/immigrate/immigrant-process/documents/Supporting_documents.html

4

You are very confused.

I stated twice that I do not have any record in the UK. Hench the "NO TRACE" on the police certificate.

And show me where I said it happened in the UK? lol Boiler never pointed out that I should come clean and admit it happened there, from the get-go I said it happened there. It's not that hard to work out.

"So, I'm from the UK, my fiance is from America. We met while I was studying in Tennessee on a J-1 visa....While there, I was given a laser pointer violation." 

I'm stating that I'm from the UK and that the event happened while I was there on a J1 visa, I clearly wasn't hiding the fact.

Also from that link you posted "Note: Present and former residents of the United States do NOT need to submit any U.S. police certificates."


 

[IcezMan_IcezLady 582]

19 hours ago, Boiler said:

You obviously were arrested, sounds like this happened in the US, just tell the truth.

^^^ Did you forget this?

 

20 hours ago, JoeT14 said:

I now have to schedule a medical and interview in London.

While there, I was given a laser pointer violation. I had to go court, pay court/probation fees and complete 3 months probation. After it was completed, I had to go back to court and the judge said it was expunged. I still have the paper which says this.

 

^^ I guess this was my confusion. You didnt make it clear.

 

Just follow the rules, if you have no record in UK then why is the "No trace" record an issue? You have no record is it says you have none so leave the UK record at that if you know you have no record  irrespective of the "No trace".

 

Now, if the expunged record is from the US, I would suggest you get a copy of that even though  it may not be required. If it comes up at the interview, then you have your paperwork there to show that you did your due diligence. if it doesn't come up at the interview then you have nothing to lose.