H-1B Stamping with a Misdemeanor Theft Case on the Record - Success Story

[aryandone]

I had a misdemeanor for retail theft 2 and half years back and got it dismissed with in a month through a  pretrial diversion. I took an educational  class and later the case was dismissed and expunged. I went to India after to get my visa stamped very recently and got it stamped successfully. I am a full-time employee working for one of the fortune 500 companies. I wanted to talk about my experience so that people who are in similar kind of situation can gain some confidence and face the situation a little bravely.

 

 Firstly there are certain thing which one needs to do even before the Visa interview.

 

1.) Maintain proper documentation-  Arrest Record, Court records, a letter from your attorney, Police Clearance Certificate, pre-trial completion certificate, any other document related to your case.

 

2.) Mention about your arrest in the DS-160- This is the most important thing. Never lie about it. They will have all the information.

 

And now about the interview, 

 

 

ME: Hello mam, good morning how are you?

VO: I am doing great, thanks. Which company are your working for?

ME: XYZ 

VO: What do you do there ?

ME: XYZ

VO: What's your annual pay?

ME: XYZ

VO: Did you do your Masters in US ?

ME: Yes Mam, I did my Masters in XXXXX from YYYYY. 

VO: What was your previous company?

ME: XYZ

VO: Great ! Your visa is approved. You can pick it up in 2 days.

 

 

Yes. They didn't ask me about my arrest in the visa interview or at the port of entry as I very clearly mentioned the whole event in the description in DS-160 form I filled.

 

I hope this brings in hope for those who were arrested and not convicted. If you are convicted it's a totally different story.

 

Thanks !!!