EnglishLove

Just now, carmel34 said:

There have been a few different VJ posts, in the last few days, on questions about criminal records and inadmissability under US immigration law.  I suggest you review those posts as they will give you more in-depth information on situations when a waiver after denial of the visa might be possible.  In some cases it's not worth pursuing, as the law is pretty clear on when a waiver can be tried and when it can't.  Do more research and then decide on whether or not a lawyer is worth spending money on.  If there's no way a waiver will be successful, you may have to consider immigrating to the UK.

I have but there's no clear answers really or they are all conflicting answers. I'm going to be consulting with an attorney but I'm hoping since it's in the UK, they will be more lenient from what I've been told from other UK filers. 

4 minutes ago, Paul & Mary said:

Is that different then If I get pulled over for speeding?  I have two options.   I can pay the ticket or go to court.  In court I'm found guilty.  I was speeding.  Why would I want to waste the day and go to court? 

 

Sounds like he was smart enough to take the caution.

 

Too bad it causes issues with immigration.

Exactly!! No different than that or breaking up a bar fight and just getting a warning. I think it's ridiculous but nothing I can do about it. I just really hope that they will let him explain and understand.

Just now, John & Rose said:

Have you tried getting his Police Certificate?  I suggest doing that even if you have to get another one closer to the interview.  If it is clear you have no worries.

Yes we have. When we first met, he was very forthcoming about his past as he was a bit wild in his teen days. He applied for a new job and had to order a police certificate and it came back saying no criminal record. When we ordered for the visa however, it showed every caution he has had plus his juvenile charge. Besides his one charge and  one other caution, they're all for fighting and only two of those cautions on his adult record and the rest are all when he was 14-16 years old. 

8 minutes ago, EM_Vandaveer said:

Exactly. If you feel you're innocent you don't have to accept the caution. BTW approval is extremely unlikely. I'd wait until denial and if he's told he can file a waiver then hire a lawyer for that.

Well most of his cautions was when he's a juvenile for fighting and like I've said earlier, they basically force you saying you either take a caution or go to court. You're caught fighting, it would be a waste of money and time to take to court. But I will consult with more attorney's before anything. I've talked to some people who had criminal records for shoplifting and was approved so who knows.

10 minutes ago, EM_Vandaveer said:

No personal opinion, just an FYI: a UK caution is not like a US caution for a minor traffic-related offense. A UK caution includes admittance of guilt so it makes sense it's treated as a conviction (this is basically the same as pleading guilty/no contest in the US).

Yes I understand this, but working in law, if they didn't got to court and be found guilty of it, then it shouldn't matter. There are many time officers from the US break up a bar fight and simply tell them to knock it off with a warning. That wouldn't show up on their records. From what I've heard from a few people from the UK, it's either they accept a caution or get send to court for it which is almost like coercion in my opinion but I understand that's how the law is the law works there.

Hello,

 I've asked a question before in regards to the same topic and have gotten mixed answers for the k-1 visa. I've even called multiple immigration attorneys and they won't help until I've paid a $2,500-3,500 retainer. My fiancee has one charge on his record when he was a juvenile for having a knife. I know that UK counts cautions as convictions (which coming from the US is ridiculous to me) but he has two cautions for common assault when he was 14 and then his charge which he received no jail time or fine, only 9 months probation. He then has a caution for common assault in 2012 and then another caution for receiving stolen goods because he bought a motorcycle that was reported stolen. He was able to prove to the officer that he was completely unaware so he wasn't charged but did receive a caution because he was "in possession" of it in 2015. 

My question is, during the interview process, will they let him explain what happened or just look at it and automatically deny? Should I write something up explaining the situation so they are able to reflect back on it once he leaves the interview? I guess I'm hoping for input from filers in the UK that have had similar situations. Thank you! 

2 minutes ago, geowrian said:

My case's RFE was for evidence that OK Cupid is not an IMB, not a divorce record. Usually OKC was not questioned, but we recently started seeing a lot of people getting RFEs for that reason with OKC, so we wanted to be prepared.

We sent that evidence + a letter to CSC before we got an RFE. About 2 months later we got an RFE for it anyway. We re-sent the evidence as-is and the petition was approved days after receipt of the response was acknowledged.

Oh okay. I'll probably just wait to see if I get an RFE then. Thank you!

19 hours ago, Cara&Jack said:

Pooley, I've seen that the NOA2 typically is 2-3 weeks after you send the RFE docs.  Worse come worse it delays the process by that much time.  Since we're going to wait for 6 months, couple of weeks won't make much of a difference in the long run.

I guess that's not too bad of wait. Here's to hoping that they won't send and RFE. Thank you!

5 minutes ago, geowrian said:

It's not their job to look anything up that is required to be submitted. The onus is always on the one seeking the benefit to show that they qualify for it.

 

There's no harm in sending something before an RFE. But myself and numerous others have been unsuccessful for an I-129F to do so. Unlike AOS where you are dealing with NBC and field offices, service centers tend to be a different beast in matching up documents.

Yes, I understand it's not their job to look it up, I only meant that if submitting a court stamped page along with a certificate of divorce isn't enough or they still doubt it, it's public record. In regards to sending additional information like the whole judgment of divorce, are you saying you still got an RFE after sending it to the USCIS?

1 minute ago, beloved_dingo said:

As a fellow divorcee, I completely understand. I was just lucky that my divorce was simple and only required sending 2 pages. 

 

At the beginning of all this an RFE feels like a terrible thing to happen, but in all honesty, as long as it is for something simple and you reply quickly it doesn't necessarily cause much of a delay.

 

The downside is you may not know if you're getting an RFE or not until 6+ months down the road. VJ a good place to help keep yourself from doing crazy during the wait though

Yes, my divorce was very simple and I did it myself so it lists everything down to who gets the trash can🙄 But if they want to go through all that then not much I can do. But I was gonna ask how much of a delay will that cause but you answered that so thank you lol.

2 minutes ago, beloved_dingo said:

Since you sent the certificate of divorce, that may be sufficient. But, it is very possible that they will request the entire divorce decree since you sent only a portion.

 

They don't care who got what in the divorce, but they do care about receiving a legal document in its entirety. Honestly, I would throw worrying about your privacy out the window. Throughout this process you (and your fiance) have to share a lot of information you wouldn't volunteer to just anyone. 

Yes, I'm beginning to see that. It's not like it's not public information so they could easily just look it up but oh well.

1 hour ago, Cara&Jack said:

Hello All,

 

Thanks for being a great resource for people seeing information about various Visas.

 

I have filed 129f on Dec 4th, 2018 for my fiancee Cara.  I received a text and then NOA1 with the date of Dec 7th.  I did not receive any case transfer text or email but the NOA1 letter was sent from Laguna Niguel, CA, and I don't know if the case has been transferred to California or not.  Regardless, while reading this forum and RFE master list, I noticed that there has been lot of RFE for sending the complete Divorce judgement/decree.  I have only sent the first couple of pages and not the signature pages.  Why would they want the complete judgement which consists of financial information and other information which might have nothing to do with the visa process?  DO you think I can send in the complete judgement before receiving the RFE?  I will appreciate your thoughts on this.

 

Thanks,

Jack&Cara

I was just about to ask this myself. I only attached the first page that stated this was the Judgment of Divorce and has the Court stamp on it along with my Certificate of Divorce. I didn't feel they needed all of my private information and who got the stuff in the house.. I wish they would have specified they wanted the entire thing or must have a signature on it. 

Hello,

 I'm curious to anyone in the UK who has had their medical exam of what to expect? What were you required to bring and what type of questions did they ask? Were the results sent to you or straight to the embassy?

On 10/31/2015 at 7:57 AM, Kat&Jon said:

Please click the link below to see the new RFE Master List:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1bzoWOXOCsvHICvLEZt540eG2CkqEFaPV8MY18Q6E0f0/edit?usp=sharing

I have compiled the data from the 125 page original RFE Master List Post and put it into a google sheets doc. Please keep a few things in mind when viewing this list.

1. It is easiest to view this new list from a PC but if you want to view it from your mobile phone please make sure to have the Google Docs app downloaded to your phone. It will open the link in a much more easily viewed version for your cell phone.

2. If you posted in the original thread and do not see your name on the list that is due to a few things: Timeline was not fully updated, information regarding what your RFE was for was not provided, or how you answered your RFE was not clearly provided.

3. Date Approved on the document corresponds to when members received their NOA2 after responding to their RFE.

Notes moving forward.

1. I will continue to update this list with new data as it comes but to be added to the list and to continue making it helpful please make sure your timeline is updated with all the dates, you post exactly what your RFE was for, and exactly what you did to respond to your RFE.

2. If you have a question about your RFE please continue to post them in this new thread but make sure to actually view the document before asking what you should send. I did try and make what was requested and what was sent in short and simple to not make the document to large, so if you do not understand what I put please PM me with the LINE of the document you are unclear about and I will give you a more detailed answer. (I kept the long answer on a side document only for me to view if needed) ex. Line 61 says "Left various questions blank on form I-129F" what did they leave blank? I would answer your PM with They forgot to check the questions NO for convicted of crime related to IMBRA.

General FAQ's From the Thread Answered from Completing the Document.

1. What does RFE mean?

Request For Evidence- This is when USCIS needs more information in order to approve your petition.

2. How long does it take to receive my RFE hard copy?

According the data it is usually 1 to 2 weeks. If it takes longer, contact USCIS and put in a service request to have a new one sent.

3. How long after I respond to my RFE will I get an approval?

According to the data it is usually 2 weeks to get an approval. There are plenty of outliers that are shorter and longer but the average is two weeks.

4. What documents do I need to provide translations for in English?

All legal documents such as birth certificates, divorce decrees, legal name change documents, and if able it helps to translate hotel receipts but these are not required.

Thank you! This really helps. There are two things that I think I didn't do. First is the divorce. I didn't give them my entire divorce decree as the whole thing just goes over custody and lists everything we split between us and I didn't think they needed that. The second is I didn't copy the back of my birth certificate. Hopefully they'll just accept it but we will see..

My Fiancee (the beneficiary) has only one actual charge from his juvenile days (he was ordered 9 months probation with no jail time or fines) for having a knife. He also has a couple warnings and cautions, the last one being almost 4 years ago now. I have order the SAR and I will be getting the court records from his juvenile charge before his interview. My question is, do you think we have a chance of being denied because of this charge and his cautions (even though he was never charged with those)? 

I would love some examples of others being successful or denied with similar situations as mine. My anxiety is kicking in as this could be the only thing that hurts us. We have met numerous times in person, I meet the financial requirements and I have never had so much as a speeding ticket. Desperate for advice or input!

2 minutes ago, yuna628 said:

You can order the SAR from ACRO, same as the police certificate. The site gives instructions how to get it. Pretty much a must for anyone with a No Live Trace.

His certificate does not say No Live Trace. It shows it all. I have already ordered a Subject Access Request and it pretty much says the same thing as the Police Certificate. It shows the date, charge, and the outcome. I'm guessing I need to get in touch with the court and order the actual court documents of the disposition?

3 minutes ago, jakejon said:

Hey! I completely agree with @yuna628 above. You will need to get a Subject Access Report (SAR) and perhaps court documents (if available) for the London Embassy for interview. I understand that these 'offence/s' may not show up on his normal background check as in the UK offences can be 'Stepped down' which may happen after a certain period of time therefore not always showing on a background check from there. However, I believe that ACRO doesn't 'step down' any criminal charges/convictions etc . All charges will appear as 'No live trace' regardless of whether stepped down in the UK.

 

Best advice is to get all necessary documents prior to the interview and be completely honest on all accounts. Nobody can know for definite but  'No live trace' doesn't necessarily mean a visa will be refused.

 

Good luck  

Thank you. His police certificate does not say "No Live Trace". It actually shows the date, charge, and the outcome. So it either says caution, warning, or on his only actual charge, it says he got 9 months referral and no costs. 

14 minutes ago, Pooley said:

We have ordered his Police Certificate and it shows all his cautions and warnings and his one actual charge when he was a juvenile. It shows the date and charge and the outcome. I have not heard of a SAR, I've only read about ordering all court documents. I'm hoping it won't be a problem! 

2 minutes ago, yuna628 said:

I cannot say how it will affect you. However your fiancé will have to obtain a police certificate which likely show No Live Trace, meaning there is something on the record. Then you will also have to order a SAR, which will detail the offenses for the immigration officer reviewing the case. Your fiancé should be prepared to discuss the matter in detail, and they should also bring any other items related to charges or court records/results.

Thank you. I have not heard of a SAR, I've only read about ordering all court documents. I'm hoping it won't be a problem! 

Hello, I have a question about my Fiancee (the beneficiary) having criminal record from England. He only has one actual charge when he was a juvenile that he got 9 months of probation (no jail time) for having a knife in public. Of course, his normal background check says he has no criminal record but the one for the visa shows even his warnings and cautions which he has a few of those as well. What worries me is the initial charge was wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm since the police had encountered an individual that had a cut on him and automatically assumed it was him. After looking into it, it  was not him that had done it and he was only charged with having a knife on him. My only hope is that all this happened when he was about 15 years old. How do you think this will affect our chances of being accepted?