Immigration Corner | Is my arrest preventing me from getting a visa?

Dear Mrs Walker Huntington,

I am a Jamaican who has been in the education sector for over 15 years. Every time I apply for a visitor’s visa to the United States, I am rejected (three times already). The most recent time was in February.

I am suspecting that it is because I was charged for conspiracy in Jamaica, and the case was dismissed in 2008 (no-case submission) on the third court visit. Am I being barred from entering America though I was not guilty of any crime? If this is so, what steps can I take to have the immigration revisit my situation?

R

Dear R,

A United States non-immigrant visa, e.g., a visitor’s visa, is issued at the discretion of the United States government. All applicants must overcome the ‘intent to migrate’ standard’ and the consular officers review applications under the presumption that anyone who applies for a visa intends to remain in the United States beyond their allotted time. The consular officers review whether the applicants have enough ties to their home country to which they will return. They look at age, marital status, children, employment, and financial obligations, among other criteria to determine if a person has sufficient reasons to make them return home after a brief visit to America.

In addition to the ties, a person must be admissible to the United States to be granted a non-immigrant visa, and a criminal past is an impediment to admissibility. Depending on the criminal conviction, a person may be permanently ineligible to receive a US visa, or they may be eligible to apply for a non-immigrant visa.

Persons lacking good moral character (GMC) in the opinion of the consular officers will also be denied visas. The GMC standard is hard to define, and the officers rely on their own standard to make that determination. However, if a person has been arrested – even if not charged and/or convicted, that could prevent them from being approved for a visa. Sometimes mere association with known criminals can result in your being denied a visitor’s visa. Officers use the ‘reason to believe’ standard to bar persons suspected of being involved with drug trafficking (even their family members) from being granted US visas.

In your situation, questions you were asked and what you were told by the consular officers during your interviews should give you an indication of the reasons for your denials. You could be eligible to reapply for a visa with a non-immigrant waiver addressing the facts and presenting legal arguments why you should be granted permission to travel to America. Keep in mind that both the non-immigrant visa waiver, and ultimately, the grant of a visa are subjective.

Dahlia A. Walker-Huntington, Esq. is a Jamaican-American attorney who practises immigration law in the United States; and family, criminal and international law in Florida. She is a diversity and inclusion consultant, mediator and former special magistrate and hearing officer in Broward County, Florida. info@walkerhuntington.com