Hello VisaJourneyers,
I'm hoping I can get some advice/counsel from you all.
My wife and I are in the CR1/I-130 process of applying for an immigrate visa. After months of waiting, we've finally been approved for the I-130 application and are at the NVC stage of collating documents for submission along with the I-186EZ and other financial documents.
I have applied for a police certificate and received the following email asking:
1. Please reply to this email, providing the following information which is required to help us ensure that all information relating to you is included in your disclosure. Have you ever been stopped and questioned or arrested by police? Please include court attendance for any offences, including those which were not dealt with by police (for example a benefits matter or offences processed abroad)? The details we request should include the date, what the offence related to, the outcome, location and the force who dealt with the incident. Please respond with as much detail as possible, this will allow us to proceed with your application in a timely manner.
2. Please provide details of all address(es) you resided at between 2003 - 2005, including any temporary accommodation.
The ACRO website states it requires 10years of address history, which would mean from 2015 till date, which has been provided. This request for address history from 22 years ago therefore got me slightly panicked and like a ton of bricks it hit me that when I was 17/18 -ish (I'm 39 now) I was stopped by British Transport Police. This would have been at the start of when oyster cards were introduced. I vaguely recall being asked to present my oyster card, asked if it was mine etc, where I going etc. At the time I was living with flat mates and we would share oyster cards for travel to/from college. I had admitted to the BTP that the oyster wasn't mine and tried to explain. At the end of it, I recall being taken aside and told I would be cautioned for..., get this, "handling stolen goods" (that term always stuck with me because it was just so absurd at the time). Young(er) and naive I thought a caution was just a warning ie verbal, so didn't challenge or argue it. I was frightened and probably just wanted to get away from it. So I believe I accepted a caution (not 100% sure), but do not recall signing anything or even receiving anything in the mail or otherwise. Total interaction - no more than 20-30mins. I've never (apart from now recalling this issue from 20+ yrs ago) been in any trouble with the police for anything else so this is the only encounter I can confidently recall esp given the dates being queried by ACRO.
On my original ACRO request form, I had indicated No to being arrested, interviewed by police under caution, or receiving a penalty notice. I've gone through much of my teenage and now adult life without ever having this impact anything such as multiple jobs requiring clearance etc so this has been an honest memory lapse and even uncertainty as to what it actually implies.
My concerns and source of worry are now:
1. Should the police certificate come back with No Live Trace, how may this scenario impacts my IV application at the counselor interview?
2. Is this to be considered as CIMT and potentially an automatic denial?
3. Haven only realized this today, I have on numerous occasions entered under VWP and now wonder if this would be regarded as being deceitful
Luckily, I have not yet submitted the DS-260, so will know how to approach the related question on the IV form but I'm extremely concerned this incident may have such a negative impact. I have also requested a SAR from ACRO in tandem.
Thanks for taking the time to read the above, I welcome any responses or questions.
