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Denied F1 Visa - Crime of moral turpitude

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  • Denied F1 Visa - Crime of moral turpitude

    Hi there! I apologize for the essay ahead.

    I was previously a student in the U.S (Washington State ((2012 to late 2013)). Before I had to go back to Norway due to a family member getting sick.

    While I was in Norway I worked at a grocery store. One day I forgot my wallet but took some grocery items with me home that I came back and paid for the next day. This was later caught on random inspection of the CCTV recordings. (At least that's what they told me). The police was contacted and I was fined $600 with the option of 10 days in jail instead of paying it.

    In Washington State, from what I can understand, this would be considered "Theft in third degree" which is a gross misdemeanor and has a maximum penalty of 364 days in jail and/or fines up to $5000.
    While in Norway, where I was fined, the maximum prison penalty is 3 years. Worth noting here is that Norway does not have any law/paragraph that would give a maximum prison sentence of less than two years when it comes to "normal" theft.

    When the time came for me to go back to the U.S I didn't want to lie on the F1-visa application and told them I had been convicted of a crime, but when I came to the embassy for my interview I had forgotten to bring a police report. This meant I was unable to explain myself as I was simply told to send the police report via mail. I feel like this didn't help my case at all.

    So my question is; If I am to reapply for a F1-visa this summer, what are the odds that they'll change it from a crime of moral turpitude to a petty offense? And if there's no chance of that happening, what would be the next step for me? Should I file a non-immigrant waiver of inadmissibility? I'd hate for my future in the U.S to be ruined by a moment of lack of judgement.



    Additional notes: This is my first ever offense, it happened in early 2014. I applied for a new F1 visa in December of 2015.
    Last edited by Norway; 01-19-2018, 11:21 AM.

  • #2
    If I understand correctly, you were convicted for theft where the potential sentence was 3 years. This theft occurred after you were age 18. If that is the case, your crime doesn't fall under either the petty offence exception, nor the youthful offender exception

    This is not a matter of discretion. Even if you had the opportunity to provide the consular officer with color & context of your crime, he is barred by statute from issuing you a visa. You can however apply for a waiver of the ground of inadmissibilty

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    • #3
      Originally posted by inadmissible View Post
      If I understand correctly, you were convicted for theft where the potential sentence was 3 years. This theft occurred after you were age 18. If that is the case, your crime doesn't fall under either the petty offence exception, nor the youthful offender exception

      This is not a matter of discretion. Even if you had the opportunity to provide the consular officer with color & context of your crime, he is barred by statute from issuing you a visa. You can however apply for a waiver of the ground of inadmissibilty
      Thanks for the response!

      I guess I'll apply for a waiver then. When doing so will I get a chance to explain the situation etc then? And how likely, if you were to take a educated guess, do you think I am of getting a F1 visa?

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      • #4
        If you are contrite about your actions, and clearly articulate how you've grown from that experience into being the kind of person who wouldn't do that again, you have a good chance of obtaining a waiver. At that point, the consular officer will decide to issue you a visa based on whether you overcome their presumption of your immigrant intent. You come from a country with a high standard of living and low rate of visa violations, so they will look favorably on your strong ties to your family and home in Norway.

        If, instead, you attempt to rationalize your actions, your chances of obtaining a waiver is less than average. A pet peeve of waiver adjudicators is when criminal aliens try to "explain away" their actions, feign ignorance of the law & it's consequences, or play the victim

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        • #5
          Originally posted by inadmissible View Post
          If you are contrite about your actions, and clearly articulate how you've grown from that experience into being the kind of person who wouldn't do that again, you have a good chance of obtaining a waiver. At that point, the consular officer will decide to issue you a visa based on whether you overcome their presumption of your immigrant intent. You come from a country with a high standard of living and low rate of visa violations, so they will look favorably on your strong ties to your family and home in Norway.

          If, instead, you attempt to rationalize your actions, your chances of obtaining a waiver is less than average. A pet peeve of waiver adjudicators is when criminal aliens try to "explain away" their actions, feign ignorance of the law & it's consequences, or play the victim
          Thank you so much for your help. You've made me feel more confident that I'll get a waiver, though I realize one can never know for sure. And I'd never try to "explain away" my actions as I've always taken full responability for it and it was also the reason I chose to be honest on the first visa application that got refused.

          Thanks again!

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          • #6
            As for me, I think that it is better to try again to test your luck and to submit an application

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            • #7
              Friend very unpleasant circumstances have happened to you. To be honest, I do not really understand this, I did not have any problems with a visa, although it is always very difficult to get it, judging by the stories of my friends. But I just wanted to support you and say that you should probably listen to the advice that has already been written, I think that everything will be fine in this case. Oh, those cameras, of course. They install some Ajax and then you can't prove anything. "We have a camera, we saw everything." You won't even agree. I wish you good luck sincerely, friend.

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