Arrests and/or Convictions

How they affect your application for a non-immigrant visa

A previous arrest or conviction will affect your entry into the United States. In most cases, it makes you ineligible for the Visa Waiver Program which means you must apply for a visa instead. In some cases, a previous arrest or conviction might also make you ineligible for a visa, although, depending on the nature of the offense and its outcome, a consular officer may find it appropriate to recommend a waiver of this ineligibility.

In all cases, you should gather any documents already in your possession which relate to your offense and any subsequent conviction, including court records, arrest sheets, and charge sheets. If you are applying for a visa, you should also be aware that during the course of your application, you may be asked for further documents, such as a current Police Certificate based on a fingerprint check. Acquiring these records, and the processing of any subsequent request for a waiver of your ineligibility by the Consulate, will require several weeks, so it is important to apply for a visa well in advance of your proposed travel dates.

The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) permits travelers from 35 countries to visit the United States for up to 90 days for business or tourism, provided they meet certain conditions and are not otherwise ineligible for the program or inadmissible to the United States.

VWP travelers must obtain electronic authorization online prior to travel, via the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA).

ESTA will assess your eligibility for travel to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program. The assessment includes questions regarding previous arrests and/or convictions. If you have been arrested for or charged with a crime you may require a U.S. visa and, in some cases, a waiver of ineligibility. If you choose to apply for electronic travel authorization via ESTA, the system will advise you whether you must visit a U.S. Embassy or Consulate to apply for a visa.

At your visa interview, a consular officer will determine whether or not you are eligible for a U.S. visa. Should you be found ineligible, there is the possibility that the interviewing Consular Officer may be authorized to submit a waiver request on your behalf to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), a part of the Department of Homeland Security. The recommendation for a waiver is at the discretion of the interviewing Consular Officer and will be based on the nature, recency, and severity of your offense(s).

Approval of a waiver can take some weeks, and you may need to provide details of your conviction in the form of court records and a National Police Certificate based on a fingerprint check. Be aware that it is your responsibility to obtain these records should they be required.

In general, a Consular Officer is unable to recommend, nor will CBP approve, a waiver within 5 years of the completion of any sentence, nor for applicants convicted of serious felonies such as murder or kidnapping.

Most short term visitors traveling for business or pleasure apply for a B-1/B-2 Business/Tourist visa. Visa applicants must generally appear in person for an interview at the U.S. Consulate serving the state in which they reside. Consulates are located in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.

General information on how to apply for a B-1/B-2 visa can be found on our website.

Please refer to the following webpage for further information about applying for a visa if you have a potential ineligibility. The page includes guidance on how to obtain police records.

Extra requirements when applying for a visa

When completing the DS-160 application form you must provide information on each offense, including the type of offense, your court date, and the outcome of the case. If your police certificate says "no disclosable court outcomes" but you have committed a crime, you must provide court documents reflecting the charge.

In most cases, particularly those involving multiple offenses or drugs, final consideration of the visa application cannot be completed until we receive an official police fingerprint check.

Please note that obtaining court records or a police certificate does not guarantee that you will be granted a visa, and you must bear any expenses involved in the further processing of your application.

It is your decision whether to obtain court records and/or a police certificate based on a fingerprint check in advance of your visa appointment, or to wait until after your interview for confirmation of what you will need to submit. You will need to weigh the costs and time involved in acquiring records beforehand against the possible delay in processing your visa application if you wait until after your visa appointment to apply for records should they be required. Also, bear in mind that, once you submit records of your offense, we may then need to request a waiver of any visa ineligibilities for you from the U.S. (see below), requiring several weeks additional processing time for your application.

In cases where the nature of your offense means you are ineligible for a visa, the consular officer may find it appropriate to recommend that a waiver of your ineligibility be granted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Our ability to issue a visa in such cases is based on decisions made by DHS in the U.S. In general, DHS will view recent and/or multiple convictions unfavorably.

Once we receive any required documentation from you, we will request a waiver of your ineligibility from DHS, authorizing your temporary admission into the U.S. Only DHS can approve this waiver request. The processing time for obtaining a waiver is approximately 4-8 weeks from the date we receive your police clearance (if required) and any other requested documentation.

An outline of costs and procedures in obtaining police records in each Australian state is given below, along with a link to the police authority’s website. Please check with the police authority or court for current costs and an estimate of the time taken to process request for records.

Obtaining a Police Certificate

If you reside in New South Wales

Make an appointment, then appear in person to be fingerprinted at your local police station. You must pay the prescribed fee of A$175 (subject to change, please check the current fee with the police) and complete an application form, which the police will forward to

NSW Police Department
Criminal Records Section
Level B3 NSW Police Headquarters
1 Charles St
Parramatta, NSW 2150

Tel: (02) 8835-7888. Please find further details at the New South Wales Police website.

If you reside in Queensland

Check with your local police station if you need an appointment, then go in person to be fingerprinted. You must pay the prescribed fee of A$142.60 (subject to change, please check the current fee with the police) and complete an indemnification form required by the Queensland Police Department. You must then forward the fingerprints, completed indemnification form, and payment to

Inspector of Police
Information Bureau
Miscellaneous License Section
GPO Box 1440
Brisbane, QLD 4001

Please find further details at the Queensland Police website.

NSW and Queensland residents

For NSW and Queensland residents, your police record will be sent directly sent to the U.S. Consulate in Sydney by the police department, and the Criminal Records Section will notify you that this has been done. If you do not receive this notification within 3 weeks of your application, we strongly recommend that you ascertain the status of your records by checking at the police station where you initially made your request.

Please contact the Consulate only after you have received notification that your police report has been sent to us. Once we receive the report, we can request a waiver of ineligibility on your behalf.

Finally, we will contact you as soon as a decision is received from DHS. If your visa is approved, you should return your passport to us and the visa can normally be issued within 24 hours.

If you reside in the ACT

Check with your local police station if you need an appointment, then go in person to be fingerprinted. You must also pay the prescribed fee for this (please check the current fee with the police) and complete an indemnification form required by the Australian Federal Police. This process normally takes a minimum of 15 working days after which the results are posted to the applicant, which you must then forward to the U.S. Consulate. Please find further details at the AFP website.

If you reside in Western Australia

If you reside in Western Australia, you must request a national police certificate based on name and fingerprints from the Australian Federal Police (AFP).

Overseas applicants must also apply to the Australian Federal Police (AFP).

The AFP can be contacted at (02) 6202-3333 or through their website.

Please note that although the WA Police provide both a National Police Certificate (having discontinued a State Police Certificate in 2003), and a State Traffic Certificate, these are not suitable for U.S. visa purposes as neither involve fingerprint checks, so you must request the name and fingerprints check from the AFP in Canberra instead.

If you reside in Victoria

Victoria Police provide a Police and Fingerprints Records Search. Fingerprints can be taken by appointment at any police station or the Victoria Police Centre at 637 Flinders Street, Melbourne. Appointments can be made by phoning 03 9247 5622. A Police and Fingerprints Records Search costs A$120.40 (subject to change, please check with the police directly), and processing time is a minimum of 10 working days.

Further information is available from:

Public Enquiry Service
PO Box 418
Melbourne, Victoria 8005

Tel: (03) 9247-5907
Email: publicenquiryservice@police.vic.gov.au
Web: http://www.police.vic.gov.au/content.asp?Document_ID=274

If you reside in Tasmania

Criminal History Services provides a National Police History Record & Fingerprint Check, but you must be residing in Tasmania to apply. Residents of other states should direct enquiries to the police service of the state or territory in which they reside.

Applicants are required to submit copies of 3 different types of ID with their application form, and must attend their local police station to take fingerprints. The fee for a National Police History Record & Fingerprint Check is A$120 (subject to change, please check with the police directly) and the average turnaround time is 5 working days for the National Police History Record, additional time may be needed for fingerprint checks.

Please find guidance and application forms on the Tasmanian Police website.

If you reside in the Northern Territory

Please see guidance and application forms from the Criminal History and Warrants Unit.

A name check is A$30 and fingerprint check is A$100 (subject to change, please check with the police direct) and the turnaround time is 2-3 weeks for fingerprints and 5-10 working days for namechecks. Both checks include disclosable traffic convictions and criminal records held by the Northern Territory and most interstate police jurisdictions. Applicants must attend their local police station with their ID, please call ahead to check if you need an appointment.

If you reside in South Australia

National Police Certificates will only be prepared for those people who reside in South Australia. South Australian residents who may be living overseas should refer their request to the Australian Federal Police or their email address. Residents of other states should direct their enquiry to the police service of the state or territory in which they reside.

The standard timeframe to process a NPC is between 5-15 working days.

The fee for a National Police Certificate is A$45.50, for a Fingerprint Check A$93.90 and for a National Police Certificate & Fingerprint Check A$140 (subject to change, please check current fee direct with SA police).

For more details and an application form, please see the South Australian Police website.

Last update: Thursday, 17 September 2009 GMT+1000