Hi, my name is Iain, and I would very much appreciate any and all advice and information on obtaining either a permanent visa to the United States, or a temporary one which allows me to apply for a permanent visa once I am there.

I am 22 years old, from England and will be graduating from university with, I hope, a 2.1 level bachelor's degree in Creative and Professional Wirting and English in June. After this, my plans are to move to America, so I can continue my relationship with my current girlfriend, but moreover, so that I can begin the next preverbial chapter in my life. Her father owns and runs his own business, so I suspect obtaining work will not be a problem. In fact, there is already talk of me being employed as a press release writer, or in another, similar role.

One potentially massive fly in the ointment, however, is that, about one year ago, I stupidly committed, and was charged with, a drink-driving offence (a DR-10, for those in the know; basically I was just over the legal limit, not that that matters). As a result of this, I served a 9 month driving ban (reduced from 12 months due to my attending and completing an educational course), but, more importantly, I now have a criminal record because of this offence. Obviously, I do not want to hide or conceal this information; I want to be open and honest in my application, and covering this up may have extremely serious consequences in the future.

My question, then, would be can anybody give me any help, advice, or information as to which would be the most suitable visa to apply for, and what extra measures will I need to take to apply successfully, given my conviction?

Thank you for your time.

Generally, a first-time, simple drunk driving offense will not have any effect on your visa application unless you have been diagnosed as suffering from alcoholism. Nonetheless, because there are so many variations in criminal statutes and in sentencing options – both in the US and overseas – if you want a more individualized review of your criminal court file, you should have a US immigration attorney examine it BEFORE submitting your visa application.

Also, if you plan to apply for an H-1B work visa – which may be the most appropriate visa if you’ll be graduating with a bachelor’s degree – keep in mind that the application should be submitted as close to April 1 as possible. If you wait too long, the H-1B quota will be filled and your visa options will become much more limited.

If you’d like me to further review your case, your wife can call my office at (617) 889-0215 to schedule a consultation. You can also reach me by e-mail at E.Weiner@immigration-aux-usa.com

Edward Weiner
Attorney at Law

E-mail: E.Weiner@immigration-aux-usa.com
Internet Site: http://www.immigration-aux-usa.com/