At age 17 my friend was charged with assault and served a short prison sentence. Now aged 30 he wants to visit the United States with his young family for a five-day sightseeing trip. Will he have any trouble at immigration when he lands in New York? Does he have to declare anything before he goes? He has already booked and paid for air tickets and a hotel and now is worried he won’t be let in. – Sue Green, via e-mail.

Times travel expert, Julia Brookes, responds: He may well have problems. The official line is that anyone who has been arrested, let alone convicted, cannot enter the US under the visa waiver scheme used by most tourists. Under US visa law, people who have been arrested have to declare the arrest when applying for a visa. If the arrest resulted in a conviction, they may be permanently ineligible to receive a visa but they might be able to get a waiver of permanent ineligibility. (The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act does not apply to US visa law, so even travellers with a spent conviction have to declare the arrest and/or conviction.)

Getting a waiver will depend on several factors, including the nature of the crime, sentence served and the period of time since the conviction. Your friend would have to attend an interview at the US embassy where the assessment would be made – this needs to be done at least eight weeks before travel.

Full details can be found on the US Embassy website: www.usembassy.org.uk, or by ringing 0904 2450100 – calls are charged at £1.20 a minute.

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