DUI and theft caution question

[brittt17891 0]

Hello.

I am hoping to get information on a spousal visa in order to move to the US to be with my wife, an American citizen. I am a UK citizen. My question specifically is about my past criminal record.

I have a conviction for drink driving which I got in the UK about 7 years ago. This resulted in an arrest, subsequent conviction, a small fine and a 16 month driving ban.

I also have a police caution from about 8 years ago - I accepted a caution for "theft from employer" because I was caught giving free products away to people while I was working on the checkouts at a local supermarket. I was also, obviously, fired from this job and received a small fine, although I was not arrested (to the best of my knowledge).

Obviously I want to put this foolishness behind me and move on in my life and am hoping to make a life in the US with my wife. Since then I have gone to university to get a degree and have been working in sales for a while. I have a B1/B2 tourist visa to the United States at present which I got a few years ago and have visited the US on a number of occasions.

I have two questions:

A) Will this affect my visa application process and chances? I have been advised that it shouldn't be a problem since when I got my B1/B2 visa I didn't have to file for a waiver of inadmissibility. Will this be the case with this application for a spousal visa? I have been advised I won't have to file for a waiver if I didn't have to previously for the tourist visa.

B) How will this affect my employment opportunities out in the US? Will I have to declare both of these issues when applying for jobs or not? Would they appear on the typical background checks which are done when applying for and accepting jobs in, for examples business to business sales, in the States? If I do have to declare them/or they'll appear on my background checks, would this make it very difficult to get interviews and job offers for decent jobs?

Many thanks in advance.

[mngoalie 10]

You'll need to declare them in your paperwork and provide proof that you've been good since then. Usually a background check from a national police agency. I had a similar issue for my husband and we had to provide copies of the court documents and something showing his record is clean since.