Visa Waiver or Visa?

[dawney33]

Does anybody know if a spent youth conviction that we would need to apply for a visa to travel to Orlando? we are travelling on November with other family members. The offence was committed when he was 15 and his punishment was a 12 month referral order which is now spent and he is now nearly 19.
I have got a fear of reaching Orlando and being sent back on the next flight[msnsad]

[Robert5988]

There is no answer to your question.

Firstly 'spent' convictions, or not, have no relevance in the eligibility for a waiver. If the offence was serious enough to prevent travel on a visa waiver it wouldn't matter(in theory) if the offence was committed 50 years ago.

There have been many threads on this subject. The only advice is to read carefully the US immigration regulations on eligibility to travel on a Visa waiver. There is no point in phoning the US Embassy(or reading their website) as the only answer you will get is to apply for a Visa and attend for an interview.

If the offence involved 'drugs' - as it does with so many youngsters - then it is a fair bet that a Visa will be required.

That said offences committed when aged 15 are treated more leniently under the waiver regulations.

[dawney33]

many thanks Robert for your advise it is greatly appreciated.
I have asked the youth offending officer for the same advice and she is going make some enquiries for me and call me today.
Many thanks for you help.
[msnsmile]

[steph_goodrum]

I found thias on the Travel state website which implies that he would probably be ok to enter under visa wiaver terms unless the crime he was voncicted of could carry a possible jail term of more than 1 year (it doesnt seem to matter what he actually received in that respect but I guess that to them determines the severity of the crime?)

2) Criminal and related grounds.-

(A) Conviction of certain crimes.-

(i) In general.-Except as provided in clause (ii), any alien convicted of, or who admits having committed, or who admits committing acts which constitute the essential elements of-

(I) a crime involving moral turpitude (other than a purely political offense or an attempt or conspiracy to commit such a crime), or

(II) a violation of (or a conspiracy or attempt to violate) any law or regulation of a State, the United States, or a foreign country relating to a controlled substance (as defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802)), is inadmissible.

(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, or

(II) the maximum penalty possible for the crime of which the alien was convicted (or which the alien admits having committed or of which the acts that the alien admits having committed constituted the essential elements) did not exceed imprisonment for one year and, if the alien was convicted of such crime, the alien was not sentenced to a term of imprisonment in excess of 6 months (regardless of the extent to which the sentence was ultimately executed).

(B) Multiple criminal convictions.-Any alien convicted of 2 or more offenses (other than purely political offenses), regardless of whether the conviction was in a single trial or whether the offenses arose from a single scheme of misconduct and regardless of whether the offenses involved moral turpitude, for which the aggregate sentences to confinement were 5 years or more is inadmissible.

[dawney33]

Many thanks Steph
It was not a drugs related crime. I will let you know how I get on.