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More than 11 years ago I had a DUI in Italy.

I recently asked documentation about this at the records office in Italy and they stated that my crime is not publicly visible to companies but it is visible to police, judges, airport guards, etc.

1. Soon I will move to the States and since I'll declare this record at my interview at the consulate (one DUI should not create troubles for a K1 visa) will it become publicly visible to US companies during a background check or only to the American police?

2. Does it have any actual value to get the "crime" cleared from my record? Is there any actual benefit in spending 2000 euro to clear it if the record will still be visible but just say "cleared"?

3. Maybe the most important part: if I give ownership of my fiancee visa process to my current employer (they offered to pay the fees and give me their attorneys assistance) will my employer find out about it or can I ask the attorney to keep it confidential? I didn't have to declare the DUI on the forms for the fiancee visa request meaning that I will get the fiancee visa (one single DUI is not an issue). Anyway, I will have to declare it on the forms for AOS (Adjustment Of Status - green card request) so at that point I would still need confidentiality. Is it feasible?

Thanks

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  • I don't have a definitive answer for the USA, but a general rule of thumb is to declare these things, because if they find out about it later somehow, they'll know about the 'lie' and get you for it. I was arrested when I was 14 for running from a police officer and I still have to declare it on visa applications, which sucks, even though it's expunged and was a $15 fine. Sucks, but that is life...
    – la femme cosmique
    Commented Sep 5, 2017 at 19:12
  • Yeh, I had no doubts regarding declaring it. The question is not about that. Thanks anyway
    – anon
    Commented Sep 6, 2017 at 17:19
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    In other places (UK, I think also Australia) it would be considered 'spent' and not used against you unless you didn't declare it -- even if expunged. I just have no idea about the US, unfortunately. Good luck
    – la femme cosmique
    Commented Sep 7, 2017 at 9:14
  • Don't assume that this advice will apply everywhere. In Canada, and some other places, how they determine the severity of a crime is by equating your crime to their criminal code. In Canada, a DUI is a serious offence, and you will certainly need a Visa/inadmissibility waiver
    – Matthew Barclay
    Commented Jul 7, 2020 at 13:20

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I moved to the US on a K1 visa last year and as part of that process they needed a criminal record check from the police in my country (UK). This included three possible outcomes, active trace, inactive trace and no trace. Basically current criminal conviction, expired criminal conviction (as yours might be) and no criminal record.

Since I have been in the US any criminal background check has only included US checks and presumably would flag outstanding international warrants that are serious enough to warrant federal attention.

I don't think there is any automated method for sharing such old and trivial criminal (or traffic) offenses between international police forces. I found when working in Europe even European countries didn't share such information (not that I was guilty of frequently speeding).

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    Only to the interview at the embassy, they didn't require it at any other time
    – Blair
    Commented Sep 15, 2017 at 12:25

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