US Immigration, UK Criminal Record?

Question

OK, this basic question has been asked in infinitely different ways where people are trying to twist the question to get the answer they want, but I am trying to snoop out some solid facts, not personal experience.

I have a UK criminal record for Section 3 Unlawful Violence in Public (drunken punch-up) which means that I do not qualify for a Visa Waiver. I was charged just over a year ago, finger prints and DNA samples were taken, I attended a Magistrates Court, plead guilty and was fined.

I plan to visit New York in 3 weeks and I need to weigh up my options.

I'm currently living in China under a Temporary Residence Visa and hold a work permit, both of which I attained by declaring "no" to a criminal record. Part of my job requires me to do a lot of international travelling and in the last year I have visited China, Malaysia, Japan, Germany, Finland and Egypt with no problems...but I know the U.S. is a different animal.

I have already visited the US once in 2009, but this was before I received a criminal record.

I have 4 options:

1) Apply for a Visa before travel declaring my criminal record.
2) Apply for a Visa before travel not declaring my criminal record.
3) Declare my criminal record on my Visa Waiver Application.
4) Do not declare my criminal record on my Visa Waiver Application.

For option 1) I need to understand time-frames. From what I understand, I must:

i)	Apply for my criminal record via ACRO:      This sounds time consuming, and I can't supply them the proof of ID they require (proof of address through letterheads) remotely from China.

ii)	Fill out a Non-Immigrant visa application form declaring my crimes.

iii)	Attend an interview at US Embassy (Probably will have to be in native country, UK) The criminal record declaration also delays this process.

iv)	Hopefully receive a Non-Immigrant Visa.

What is the general timeframe for this process?

In regard to option 2), I successfully did this for my Chinese Visa application. Do not under estimate this, as Chinese immigration is extremely strict; however I think the difference is information sharing between the two countries.

Do the US Embassy perform a criminal record search with every application?

Option 3) I don't declare my criminal record on my Visa Waiver and try to slip through customs.

I've heard so many success stories about this (I'm guessing those people who are refused entry are not so keen to talk about it) but I'm really struggling to understand this process.

I have heard of incidents though where people HAVE been refused admission into the USA because of petty crimes that are lingering on criminal records, so therefore they must have the facility to check certain databases.

The way I see it, the US Immigration can either have access to your information or not, I can't believe that this can be a pot luck scenario where they maybe search for you on criminal databases or they don't, i.e. 1 in 50 get searched for example.

So to me, this sounds like it is not a 'blanket' database, but more a selective one; i.e. nature of crime (drugs, violence - to be covered my 'Moral Turpitude') severity of crime, severity of punishment, how recent the crime was, bio-data taken from criminal (DNA, fingerprints).

US Immigration take fingerprints and retina scans upon entry - is this cross referenced against UK crime data? 

This seems to be such a hazy and seldom understood process...I'm hoping someone can provide some facts on this and not hearsay.

Option 4) I declare my record on the Visa Waiver Application and obviously am refused the waiver and then likewise entry.

Any facts would be greatly appreciated.

Paul

John · Answer

Immigration Criminal Record

Essie · Answer

1

Anonymous · Answer

The absolutely free background check sites generally provide the most basic of information, such as name, age and address. To get further information, money will have to be paid. The free searches do not provide much more than what can be found through the phone book or personal knowledge. It's impossible to get a free background check.

Stay away from shady background check sites, most likely you won't get any information after you make the payment. Not to mention you won't get a report and you won't get an answer if you try to call for a refund. Stick with a reputable background check site like http://backgrounddetectives.info/Inteligator-349.html that has been around since 1999. If I remember right it's $19 for a full report.

Shari · Answer

UK Criminal Record --  https://backgroundreports.im/criminalcheck

Anonymous · Answer

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Anonymous · Answer

In the source you can find the best option to get criminal records. It is important to keep in mind that a free background check on the Internet will only take you so far and also that some companies may only update their information periodically therefore you may be looking at information that is no longer relevant (such as an address for example). Before beginning a search on someone else consider doing one on yourself to see what information you come across. Is the information accurate or not?
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Anonymous · Answer

Hello, I am a retired Police Officer here in the US and I can confirm to you that these types of records, for the most part, are not available to the general public.  You won't be able to obtain them for free.  That's the reality of it.  Even if you came into the station for a particular police report to which you have a right to possess, you are often required to pay a small fee at the clerk's counter for the paperwork.  There are however, to my knowledge, just a couple LEGITIMATE services that have full access to these types of records, and OFFICIAL approval/certification to provide them.  The one which comes to mind is http://www.echeck.pcti-system.com - and if I recall correctly, They do provide these records at a relatively small cost.. especially considering the highly personal, confidential, or otherwise sensitive nature of the information within.  Here you will find things such as:

Reverse Phone Search
 Criminal Records
 Inmate Records
 Sex Offenders
 DUI/DWI Records
 Court Records
 Arrest Records
 Warrant Records
 Police Records
 Address History
 Death Index
 Marital Status
 Relatives and Associates
 Property Records
 Felonies and Convictions
 Alias and Date of Birth
 Business Search

http://www.echeck.pcti-system.com

The only other way to obtain this type of information is to be working in certain areas of the public sector, such as Police work.  Please do not use this any information you may discover for malicious purpose, as many States do provide criminal penalties under statutory law for certain acts regarding invasion of privacy.  Hope this helps.

Clay · Answer

Criminal Record Search Database : http://www.SearchVerifyInfo.com/Official

Anonymous · Answer

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Anonymous · Answer

I just tried https://webmd.im/verispy last year to see if I could Locate my birth-father. My bio father left me when I was 7, and has refused to be a part of my life since. I grew up with my bio Mother and Step-father. I have only ever talked to my biological father a couple times until now. All I knew of him personally when I conducted the search was his first name, last name, and the street address of a previous address he used to have.

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I haven't done anything with the info, But I found what I was wanting to have.

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US Immigration, UK Criminal Record?

12 Answers