What are my family’s chances of getting a visa?

IDear Miss Walker-Huntington, AM currently an international student in Canada and my husband and our two-year-old son reside in Jamaica. In June 2020, my cousin will be getting married in Florida and we are all invited.

I have a USA visa, but my son and husband don’t. My husband applied when he was 18 years old and was rejected, as he was told he didn’t have enough ties to Jamaica. I also took our son when he was one year old in 2018 for his visa, but he was denied after the officer asked me where his father was and I told him he was waiting outside, as I did not know he could have accompanied us inside.

My husband has been employed with the same company for 11 years and is now a highly valued senior member. In 2006, he made the mistake of yielding to peer pressure and was charged for larceny as a servant and received a suspended sentence. His record is now clean, as it was expunged in 2019.

What are the chances of them getting US visas if they applied together to attend the wedding? Do you think it would be better to apply individually? If so,who do you think should apply first?

Given the state of the world with the pandemic, is the US issuing visas at this time? If not, when do you think would be safest to apply? I would go to meet them there for the wedding.

Thank you so much in advance for your assistance. I look forward to your response.

Regards.

– A.

Dear A.,

Unfortunately, your husband’s past is going to affect his ability to obtain a visa. Although his record was expunged, it technically cannot be expunged from US immigration. Certain limited convictions that occur within the United States and are expunged may be considered removed for immigration purposes. However, when that conviction occurs outside the United States, it is still considered a conviction for immigration purposes.

In the case of your husband, he would have to admit to the conviction on his visa application, and would require a non-immigrant waiver before the US Embassy would consider granting him permission to travel. If he does not admit his conviction, that could amount to visa fraud.

As with all visa applications, the consular officer must be convinced that the applicant is admissible and will return home once their trip is over. Even when an applicant is admissible and has significant ties to their home country, the consular officer can deny the visa application. No one is entitled to a visa; it is a privilege and not a right. Everyone basically takes a chance when they apply for a non-immigrant visa, and it is left to the discretion of the consular officer.

US embassies all over the world are temporarily closed because of the global pandemic and will most likely reopen based on both US Department of State guidelines as well as the countries within which they are located. The Department of Homeland Security in the United States has extended the cancellation of in-person appointments to June 4, 2020. Consider, also, that most of the United States have a limitation on the number of persons who may gather in one location -- that may have an impact on the wedding taking place in June 2020, as previously planned.