beeldn12

On 9/14/2023 at 12:53 PM, TheGreatHB said:

Honestly, it depends on a case-case basis. You can risk not going with the letter like I did and I'm sure others before I have and you could be lucky. I think it depends on your individual situation. If you've had frequent recent mental health issues, you would need it vs Myself, not having issues since 10 years ago and I was fine; but I think it depends on the doctor in question too.

Thanks so much for your response. I appreciate it! Despite it being mentioned several times throughout the years on his medical record we didn’t need a letter. (We did have one just in case but they said they didn’t need to see it when offered). Yeah I’m not sure what criteria they use, but at least I can provide another example for future applicants of not needing a letter. 
 

Visa issued today  

1 hour ago, Micam said:

 

I didn't need an appointment to get this letter from my GP, I just called up and explained the situation. I got charged (I think around £25) for the letter though, but it was done in a couple of days. I would try this route, it may be quicker if they can do this! 

Yeah unfortunately we've been asking for this letter since June and the office has been giving us the run around ever since. We call daily and they just continue to tell us to call back. We've asked to speak to the practice manager and been refused. We've made countless appointments and the physician just never calls. We've filed a formal complaint with the NHS but doesn't help us solve anything for now. So frustrating.

On 8/7/2023 at 8:39 AM, TheGreatHB said:

Hey It was great meeting you that day! I just wanted to post something similar about how I was going in with the worry of this being some kind of horror day when in fact everyone was wonderful, sweet and kind and full of questions both making conversation to ease the tension and for the purpose of the visa.

 

I had been worried about my mental health history being a red flag with all of the horror stories online and I didn't even have documentation but after talking about it was told it would not affect my case.

 

So yeah hoping going forward that anyone who attends sees that this experience is just fine! Although I still have the bruise from having blood taken 😂

My fiance is also worried about having a history of depression. No self harm or hospitalizations or anything like that. His GP is horrendous and we've been battling to get an appointment to get this letter but I'm not optimistic. How was your experience without one? Is it just a conversation about how your mental health is currently?

Really appreciate any insight.

On 5/17/2023 at 3:16 PM, Crazy Cat said:

But it is a violation of federal law.   Good luck.  Let us know how it goes.

On 5/18/2023 at 8:16 AM, carmel34 said:

Whatever he does, it needs to be disclosed, whether it shows up on an ACRO report or not.  Non-disclosure can be viewed as misrepresentation which can cause major problems down the road. 

Long post but wanted to provide an update and what could be an important distinction for Scottish law - which differs from England/Wales. We requested a report of the incident and spoke with the Glasgow police department - “cannabis cautions” do not exist in Scotland. They do exist in England and Wales. At the time of this incident (2010), Scotland only had the option to essentially provide “a verbal warning” or formally charge and arrest someone with possession of cannabis.

Now since 2015, they have switched to a system of “recorded police warnings” for an incident similar to this and essentially for any petty crimes.  My fiancé did not get this so I have no idea if these show up on an ACRO/SAR. Recorded police warnings are deleted from the Police National Computer after 2 years. Again, they might still trigger no live trace and be on the SAR. Not sure. 

In our case, my fiancé saw a post about someone caught with a small amount of marijuana and because he couldn’t remember - assumed the ticket he got was a cannabis caution or warning. However - it was not. The officer took the joint and did not record it. The ticket he received was a fixed penalty notice for breach of the peace. (His friend and him were sitting in a car park listening to music at the time perhaps too loudly). We only have the record of the incident from the Scottish police so we’ll see if the penalty shows on the ACRO. It will be something to explain, but much easier I would expect than if he had received a cannabis caution. 

As for the medical - we will still have that potential barrier, but perhaps less of a barrier than it could have been with a cannabis caution on his record. 
 

Hopefully this could be helpful to someone if dealing with any sort of criminal history in the UK - it’s worth considering the laws and record keeping may slightly differ between the countries. 

9 minutes ago, SteveInBostonI130 said:

 

It has been a while since my wife's visa medicals, but I believe they ask if the applicant has ever used drugs in the past.  

 

The rehab in this case is routine blood testing and monitoring to verify he has actually stopped using.

 

Here is the EU case that I referred to:

 

 

We were aware of the issue with the medical which appears it could cause a delay. Although I thought I’ve read cases where an admission to very remote MJ use or one time use was acceptable by the physician. 
 

but the larger issue seems to be the marijuana caution (if it appears). Based on what I’m reading there’s really no scenario where we wouldn’t be refused the visa. It’s devastating  

I don’t even know whether we should proceed with the interview at this point. He has a lot more flexibility to visit the US than I do the UK. Once he is refused and unable to travel to the US while waiting 2+ years for the possibility of an i601 waiver doesn’t seem feasible for us. 

4 minutes ago, Redro said:

Has your partner had any reason to be drug tested in the last year? Are there any medical records indicating he no longer smokes?

This thread might be useful to you:

 

Thanks for linking this - its helpful information. He hasn’t been drug tested for any reason, so we don’t have that information. I can check if his medical records indicate it. 

7 hours ago, SteveInBostonI130 said:

A couple of cases I read resulted in the beneficiary having to undergo drug rehab and observation for 1 year.  I think one was from Chile or Argentina, and the other was from Europe.

 

If he was under 18, and if it was his only infraction, I believe the CMT can be overcome. 

I’m not even sure what he would do at rehab? He hasn’t used cannabis in over a decade. 

When you say overcome - are you suggesting that he could still be approved initially or you mean denied then need a a i601 waiver filed and then possibly approved?

13 minutes ago, Crazy Cat said:

But it is a violation of federal law.   Good luck.  Let us know how it goes.

Yup I know. No less frustrating though. Will do. 

11 minutes ago, Crazy Cat said:

A refusal could result from his disclosure of past drug use during the medical exam.

Yeah I’ve heard of that possibly happening. I’m not sure the best way to navigate that especially if he has to explain this marijuana fine. He hasn’t used any form of marijuana in many years. 
 

Really frustrating that an incident as a teenager has such a big impact on his entire future.  Especially living in a state with dispensaries on every corner…

My fiancé and I are in the process of getting our K1 visa. We just received our approval of our petition (NOA2) and are waiting for our application to be sent to the US embassy in London. My fiancé happened to stumble upon a thread here on visa journey from 2019 where an individual was denied their K1 after having a “no live trace” on ACRO and a minor possession of marijuana (one joint) on his subject access report from 2011.

My fiancé lives in Scotland and remembered when he was 17 or 18, he got a ticket for having a single marijuana joint on him. This was about 12 years ago, he was a teenager, and he truly didn’t even remember until seeing this post. 

All that said, we don’t have his ACRO report yet, so we don’t even know what it will say. But we’re both just really anxious - we are definitely planning to consult an immigration lawyer if he does have this on his subject access report. I’m waiting to pay for a lawyer consultation until I have details about the ticket/fine as I’m sure that would affect their advice. In the meantime- has anyone had experience with getting approved with “no live trace” and a marijuana charge on their SAR? Is this an automatic refusal? Does the fact that it was 12 years ago matter?

I really appreciate any insight - I know we have to wait to see what the ACRO actually says but given the wait times on those right now, it would be nice to have some peace of mind. 

Maybe this depends on age/ profession/ country of origin but it is definitely not a standard question

I'm almost positive they'll be asking, seeing as he's 21 and youngish looking

yes, thats what we've always done. He never says like i'm visiting a "friend", always girlfriend

Okay thanks so much. I'll have him sort it

As long as he can justify the question (if it is even asked) then there will be no problem.

just curious, is it actually even possible that they wouldn't ask about finances for an almost two month trip?

Thanks for the help all. I think he's going to borrow some more cash to bring with him just to be safe. I'd be really upset if he was denied entry, I haven't seen him in 5 months now.

I'm a US citizen and my boyfriend is coming to visit me in the US (he's from glasgow, scotland). He's been here three times before for shorter periods, 2-3 weeks, but this summer while we are both off school, he's planned to stay with me for about 55 days. He has got both his arrival and return ticket booked and is bringing about 700 American dollars with him; he's staying with my family and me so he doesn't need much money for food or lodging. Will this sound acceptable to customs? I'm worried about them denying entry because of insufficient funds, but we're both students and on a budget. My family takes good care of us both. I feel like I'm being paranoid, he's never had trouble with customs ever before, but because its the first time he's stayed this long I'm feeling nervous. Anyone have any insight or past experience with this?