Police Record...London

[JainaProudmoore]

Hello everyone. Firstly I hope I have posted this in the correct forum.

I was arrested 20 yrs ago and appeared in court for I think a charge of theft. A company I worked for then conducted an audit after the manager was caught 'cooking the books' and stealing 1,000's of pounds over a period of years.

Unfortunately the audit also discovered that I had been over paid by 200 pounds during my employment and therefore charges were bought against me also for theft. I appeared in court and was given an unconditional discharge after the judge was satisfied that I had no part in the fraud...my manager and members of her family were jailed.

Now my problem is that my police check came back 'clean' (due to the nature of my work I have been subject to much more intensive police checks which also were clean, so I wasn't too suprised by this). Because of this I went to the court that dealt with my case to get records from there...the court clerk checked 2 yrs either side of the date I gave him and came back with no records at all of the case.

Is admitting to this with no court or police records regarding the case going to cause me problems? Should I enclose a letter explaining what happened in the past despite there being no documentation of it, I did get the court clerk to send me a letter confirming that despite an extensive search no records were found.

To add to my worries I travelled to the US 3 yrs ago and failed to mention it on the VWP form...I wasn't trying to hide it, I just didn't think it applied to me at the time...will that come back and bite me in the butt also?:shy:

Sorry for the long winded post...I just wanted to make sure I gave as much info as possible....I am DCF'ing in London btw.

Anyone have any experience of a criminal record but clean police check? (I guess I could have just posted that to save the wall of text :bounce:)

Thanks in advance.

[JainaProudmoore]

Hehe...ok...I feel so unique and special :D thanks anyway

[douginguam]

Jaina, Your problem is rather unique and has only a very personal answer. I did my US Citizenship with acknolwedgment of an expunged case. Even though USICS knows that you cannot get any records from an expunged case - they still asked me to get them. So I produced the paper from the court that says you can't get them.
I would fear misrep above the very old and undocumented CIMT. I would disclose and just tell the facts (in a sworn statement) - but that is my way. As many have said here from time to time, telling the truth often makes the immigration process much slower and harder.

[candyfloss]

Welcome Jaina


Well I don't know about DCF'ing but I can try give you some guidance on the criminal issue :)


AFAIK For the purpose of US immigration law an Unconditional Discharge is STILL treated as a 'conviction' however this can (in your case) be overcome.


INADMISSIBILITY - Juvenile and Petty Offense Exception Clauses

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).


You would probably fit under one or both of those clauses if :

a ) Only ONE offense
AND
b ) You were under 18 when charged
OR
c ) the MAXIMUM penalty POSSIBLE for the offense was under 12 months prison (which given my albeit scant knowledge of the offense 'theft of £200' would not have resulted in a 12 month prison stretch)


VWP
As for the Use of the VWP - well it's my understanding that fraudulent use of this hinges upon the terms 'willful', 'knowing' and 'with intent' - hence IF at the time of completion you did not KNOW that you were unable to use it ( i.e you assumed that an unconditional discharge was NOT a conviction, you did not know what a crime of moral turpitude was and hence didn't know if your arrest was for such a crime) then it shouldn't present any major difficulties. Also given the time passed, the petty nature of the offense AND the fact that had you declared it then it would NOT have made you inadmissible anyways (see Inadmissibility exception clauses above) then this should be fairly easily dealt with at the interview.


Here's what I would do :

1. ACKNOWLEDGE the 'crime'.
2. Obtain a LETTER (signed and certified) from the Clerk of the Court stating that NO records exist
3. Get your CLEAR police report

Take yourself to the interview with required documentation. Be prepared to EXPLAIN what occurred. IF the issue of the VWP usage comes up (though it may well not) explain how this was done WITHOUT knowledge, most certainly NOT willful nor with intent. Keep it REAL simple, remember they probably see people everyday who have unknowingly misused the VWP due to some very old offense especially in the UK where most people (myself included) assumed (wrongly) that the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act permits its use without declaration.

All in all IMO you WON'T have any major problems with this.


*Note : I am NOT a lawyer - I can't give 'legal' advice, and nothing I say should be construed as 'legal' advice. If you require legal advice - then I would suggest you consult with a qualified lawyer- at the very least an initial consultation, which should cost you about £100 could be money well spent*

[JainaProudmoore]

Thank you both for your views I appreciate it. My gut feeling is to be upfront with everything and deal with it. I am very aware that really when it comes down to it if my record is 'clean' nobody is going to look further, but I am a born worrier and don't want to be always thinking about it, I put it behind me many years ago and moved on, but now I am having to do it all over again. The VWP I suppose is causing me the most concern...

Much thanks :)