Immigration Attorney

[EnglishLove 112]

Hello,

 I have a question about immigration attorney's. I am the American petitioner for the k-1 and my fiance is the the UK beneficiary. My fiance has a criminal record so I got a hold of an immigration attorney here in the US (thinking that since he's trying to move here to the US, that she would know) but apparently didn't know anything and kept saying she practices only US law and not English law. So should I be contacting an immigration attorney in the UK for answers about how cautions will affect us?

[PushaKee 35]

You could probably read a lot of the forums here without even needing an attorney. From what I understand, as long as you and he are truthful about what happened and it's on the forms that's all that matters. Now I have heard that DV could be an issue so that's something to consider.

 

[EnglishLove 112]

5 minutes ago, PushaKee said:

You could probably read a lot of the forums here without even needing an attorney. From what I understand, as long as you and he are truthful about what happened and it's on the forms that's all that matters. Now I have heard that DV could be an issue so that's something to consider.

 

Sorry, hopefully not a dumb questions but what is DV? 

 

And I'm doing everything myself, I just wanted to consult with an attorney but she knew absolutely nothing, and still took my money. She told me about six times that she doesn't know English law and she only practices US laws so she was no help. She didn't even know what a caution was...

[PushaKee 35]

4 minutes ago, Pooley said:

Sorry, hopefully not a dumb questions but what is DV? 

 

And I'm doing everything myself, I just wanted to consult with an attorney but she knew absolutely nothing, and still took my money. She told me about six times that she doesn't know English law and she only practices US laws so she was no help. She didn't even know what a caution was...

DV is Domestic Violence. I hate the attorney took your money knowing full well what you were there for! I hate that!!!! Hopefully you all will be ok in the process. It's a long road but worth it!

[EnglishLove 112]

Just now, PushaKee said:

DV is Domestic Violence. I hate the attorney took your money knowing full well what you were there for! I hate that!!!! Hopefully you all will be ok in the process. It's a long road but worth it!

He has no DV on his record. She said they seemed petty and she wouldn't be worried but seeing as she didn't even know what a caution was I'm not sold on her advice. I know it all boils down to the consulate officer and if they will hear him out. They were very petty, even though the last one sounds bad. But I guess all we can do is wait and see. Thank you for all your help!!

[millefleur 5,035]

38 minutes ago, PushaKee said:

You could probably read a lot of the forums here without even needing an attorney. From what I understand, as long as you and he are truthful about what happened and it's on the forms that's all that matters. Now I have heard that DV could be an issue so that's something to consider.

Actually generally when criminal records are involved, lawyers tend to be helpful as that may elevate the case from beyond mere DIY territory.

 

1 hour ago, Pooley said:

I got a hold of an immigration attorney here in the US (thinking that since he's trying to move here to the US, that she would know) but apparently didn't know anything and kept saying she practices only US law and not English law. So should I be contacting an immigration attorney in the UK for answers about how cautions will affect us?

It's a really good question. Sorry to hear reaching out to the US attorney was of no help at all and you still had to pay. I'm going to move your thread to the UK subform as this is a very country specific issue.

[millefleur 5,035]

**Moved from K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports to UK regional subform; OP's question is country specific regarding beneficiary's criminal record in the UK**

[Wuozopo 4,285]

2 hours ago, Pooley said:

So should I be contacting an immigration attorney in the UK for answers about how cautions will affect us?

 

They would probably tell you they don't know US immigration law. 

[EnglishLove 112]

Just now, Wuozopo said:

 

They would probably tell you they don't know US immigration law. 

HAHA, I could actually see this happening too. I ask for advice and get told to seek an attorney and they tell my they don't know the laws lol. I guess not much we can do now but just wait and see. I've heard the the UK officers are very nice and relaxed and I think if they will just let him explain, they'll see it really wasn't that bad. But time will tell. 

[Richard Purves 58]

This is an ever changing part of UK law and you should get proper legal advice regarding UK criminal records. I am not an attorney, nor do I play one on TV.

I do occasionally write them 😉

 

--

 

Cautions are in the UK treated as "immediately spent convictions", but in the US this concept doesn't exist so they regard cautions as convictions and thus if you have one you have a criminal record.

 

Now the UK has been shaking up the disclosure and retention rules on/off since 2004, and it's about to get far more complicated with a recent Supreme Court ruling that the retention policies for convictions and the like are too strict. So this is the point where you have to ask, what information are they actually holding and disclosing? The easiest way is for your fiancee to do a "subject access" request here: https://www.acro.police.uk/subject_access.aspx

 

When that turns up you'll get one of the following. "No Trace" meaning no record. "No Live Trace" meaning there's something but they're not disclosing or the worst case is a laundry list of offences. From that, you can make an informed decision about how to proceed. Your fiancee will HAVE to disclose any criminal records on an immigration petition and that's the point where a US attorney can advise you.

 

On the UK side, there's a faint possibility of getting records actually removed for non serious offences and depending on severity your fiancee could discuss with someone like http://crbproblems.co.uk/background

[EnglishLove 112]

1 hour ago, Richard Purves said:

This is an ever changing part of UK law and you should get proper legal advice regarding UK criminal records. I am not an attorney, nor do I play one on TV.

I do occasionally write them 😉

 

--

 

Cautions are in the UK treated as "immediately spent convictions", but in the US this concept doesn't exist so they regard cautions as convictions and thus if you have one you have a criminal record.

 

Now the UK has been shaking up the disclosure and retention rules on/off since 2004, and it's about to get far more complicated with a recent Supreme Court ruling that the retention policies for convictions and the like are too strict. So this is the point where you have to ask, what information are they actually holding and disclosing? The easiest way is for your fiancee to do a "subject access" request here: https://www.acro.police.uk/subject_access.aspx

 

When that turns up you'll get one of the following. "No Trace" meaning no record. "No Live Trace" meaning there's something but they're not disclosing or the worst case is a laundry list of offences. From that, you can make an informed decision about how to proceed. Your fiancee will HAVE to disclose any criminal records on an immigration petition and that's the point where a US attorney can advise you.

 

On the UK side, there's a faint possibility of getting records actually removed for non serious offences and depending on severity your fiancee could discuss with someone like http://crbproblems.co.uk/background

Thank you! This is very good information. I know the US counts them (which that baffles me.) When we were ordering his police certificate, we checked the box that asked if this is for immigration purposes. His certificate shows the exact same thing the SAR shows which is the date, the offense, the place, and the disposal, so we are going to order the judgment on his juvenile charge. (His basic police certificate shows None Recorded). 

[Richard Purves 58]

Ok you've two choices then:

1) Declare everything in advance to a US immigration attorney and see what they say

2) Use a UK solicitor to find out if it's feasible to contest the juvenile charges, go through that process THEN apply for the visa while continuing to document your relationship.

 

My country is weird on this stuff. They were supposed to transfer all records into the Police National Computer ... but they didn't, or it's still ongoing. What you end up with is all modern infractions end up in the PNC but each Police Service also maintains it's own record keeping, paper and otherwise. It's a giant mess. The net effect of this is a simple search of the PNC can reveal no records but an E-CRB check (which goes around all the services one by one) can reveal things.

 

In this situation I cannot stress being honest about all of this highly enough. Assume they know everything.

[EnglishLove 112]

1 minute ago, Richard Purves said:

Ok you've two choices then:

1) Declare everything in advance to a US immigration attorney and see what they say

2) Use a UK solicitor to find out if it's feasible to contest the juvenile charges, go through that process THEN apply for the visa while continuing to document your relationship.

 

My country is weird on this stuff. They were supposed to transfer all records into the Police National Computer ... but they didn't, or it's still ongoing. What you end up with is all modern infractions end up in the PNC but each Police Service also maintains it's own record keeping, paper and otherwise. It's a giant mess. The net effect of this is a simple search of the PNC can reveal no records but an E-CRB check (which goes around all the services one by one) can reveal things.

 

In this situation I cannot stress being honest about all of this highly enough. Assume they know everything.

Yes, I fully plan to disclose all of it. I don’t know how we wouldn’t when we are required to turn in those documents. I think for now I’ll wait on an attorney because I really don’t think they can do anything but guess what will happen lol. But I think if they will just listen to how they happened, he’ll be okay. I’ve read a couple of others stories who had criminal record and London seems to be patient and listens which gives me some hope. And yes, every country has their faults for sure but a lot of U.K. laws are hard to wrap my head around.