Question About K1 And Past Criminal Record

[Scoobydum 0]

I am planning to file a K1 for my fiance but have a few questions. This seemed like the best place to ask it. The K1 will be sent to the Sydney embassy.

 

1. My fiance had her named changed, does she need the fingerprint check or just the name check?

 

2. She has had a past conviction for shoplifting when she was 17. Conviction was for youth/child and not on her adult record. This was well over 10 years ago, she is 32 years old now. Will this give us many issues in getting the K1?

 

3. She obtained a visa by the visa waiver program.. however she did not mention she had this past conviction on the VWP. Mistakes where made and she totally forgot she was convicted all those years ago. Will this give us some serious issues for the K1?

[geowrian 22,335]

1) Defer to others.

 

2) Theft is generally considered a CIMT, although if that's her only issue then she likely qualifies for the petty offense exception.

 

3) Nobody gets a visa via the VWP. It's a visa waiver program - by definition there is no visa involved (which is different than a Visa On Arrival system that you may have seen elsewhere). I know I might be coming off as a bit pedantic, but I'm just letting you know the difference.

Which question is the issue precisely on the ESTA (not VWP...one only applies for an ESTA to fly, and then admittance under the VWP is done at POE) application? I don't see which one would apply here: https://www.official-esta.com/esta-resources/what-are-the-esta-questions/

The 2 criminal history related questions don't cover shoplifting:

Quote

Have you ever been arrested or convicted for a crime that resulted in serious damage to property, or serious harm to another person or government authority?

Have you ever violated any law related to possessing, using, or distributing illegal drugs?

 

Edit: For awareness, the official site to apply for an ESTA is here: https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov

I just provided the other one as it is easier to get to the relevant questions. I do not support using that site for any actual ESTA application (it's privately owned and this is personal data to submit).

Edited August 18, 2019 by geowrian

[Scoobydum 0]

12 minutes ago, geowrian said:

1) Defer to others.

 

2) Theft is generally considered a CIMT, although if that's her only issue then she likely qualifies for the petty offense exception.

 

3) Nobody gets a visa via the VWP. It's a visa waiver program - by definition there is no visa involved (which is different than a Visa On Arrival system that you may have seen elsewhere). I know I might be coming off as a bit pedantic, but I'm just letting you know the difference.

Which question is the issue precisely on the ESTA (not VWP...one only applies for an ESTA to fly, and then admittance under the VWP is done at POE) application? I don't see which one would apply here: https://www.official-esta.com/esta-resources/what-are-the-esta-questions/

The 2 criminal history related questions don't cover shoplifting:

 

For #2 this is her only conviction and it was done under 17, which went on her child record and not adult record. If that makes a difference at all, hopefully she qualifies for petty offense exception.

 

Thanks for the correction on #3 appreciate it very much. She did get an ESTA, my mistake.. I thought they were the same thing.

Edited August 18, 2019 by Scoobydum

[Scoobydum 0]

Did some researching, would this apply to her? Unless I am reading it wrong, she was convicted at 17 for shoplifting and did not serve jail time. The conviction will appear on her child record, not adult which is clean.

 

8 USC 1182: Inadmissible aliens

Under Section 2. Criminal and related grounds.

 

(ii) Exception

Clause (i)(I) shall not apply to an alien who committed only one crime if-

(I) the crime was committed when the alien was under 18 years of age, and the crime was committed (and the alien released from any confinement to a prison or correctional institution imposed for the crime) more than 5 years before the date of application for a visa or other documentation and the date of application for admission to the United States

Thank you!

Edited August 18, 2019 by Scoobydum

[geowrian 22,335]

If it's her only conviction, then it sounds like she should not be inadmissible.

Just note the wording..."conviction" as used for immigration purposes include more than just criminal cases where one is found or pleads guilty.

[Scoobydum 0]

Thanks for your help, just confused about it since it's a juvenile record and not an adult. Thought I read that she would not get denied since it was under 18 and her only charge on her record,  but must disclose it. Which we fully plan to do and be upfront about everything.

[md83994 14]

On 8/18/2019 at 3:56 PM, Scoobydum said:

I am planning to file a K1 for my fiance but have a few questions. This seemed like the best place to ask it. The K1 will be sent to the Sydney embassy.

 

1. My fiance had her named changed, does she need the fingerprint check or just the name check?

 

2. She has had a past conviction for shoplifting when she was 17. Conviction was for youth/child and not on her adult record. This was well over 10 years ago, she is 32 years old now. Will this give us many issues in getting the K1?

 

3. She obtained a visa by the visa waiver program.. however she did not mention she had this past conviction on the VWP. Mistakes where made and she totally forgot she was convicted all those years ago. Will this give us some serious issues for the K1?

Others answered in relation to the conviction, but regarding #1, an AFP name check without fingerprints will be fine, but must list all names by which she has ever been known, and select the option for full disclosure (code 33 -- immigration/citizenship).

[Scoobydum 0]

16 hours ago, md83994 said:

Others answered in relation to the conviction, but regarding #1, an AFP name check without fingerprints will be fine, but must list all names by which she has ever been known, and select the option for full disclosure (code 33 -- immigration/citizenship).

Great, thank you for the information!