Can I Get a US Visa If I Have a Criminal Record?

Having a criminal record does not automatically prevent you from getting a US visa, but certain offenses make you inadmissible under federal immigration law, and whether you can still qualify depends on what the offense was, how immigration law classifies it, and whether a waiver is available for your visa type. The categories that trigger problems are narrower than “any crime,” but broader than most applicants expect. Some offenses can be waived. A few cannot.

Which Offenses Actually Bar You From a Visa

Federal immigration law does not treat every criminal record the same way. Four categories do most of the work in visa denials.

The broadest is a crime involving moral turpitude, or CIMT. There is no single statutory definition, but the term generally covers offenses involving fraud, dishonesty, theft, or intentional harm to others: forgery, robbery, aggravated assault, embezzlement.¹ You can be found inadmissible based on either a conviction or an admission that you committed the essential elements. A narrow petty offense exception exists for a single conviction where the maximum possible sentence was one year or less and you were sentenced to no more than six months of confinement.² A separate rule catches anyone with two or more convictions of any kind where the combined sentences reach five years, including suspended sentences.

Controlled substance offenses are treated more harshly than almost anything else. Any violation of a controlled substance law, including a single simple possession conviction, makes you inadmissible.³ There is no petty offense exception. The analysis follows federal law, so a substance your state has legalized, including recreational marijuana, is still a controlled substance for visa purposes. A formal conviction isn’t even required. Admitting to a consular officer that you committed the essential elements of a drug offense can be enough.⁴

Aggravated felonies are a term of art in immigration law. The list includes murder, sexual abuse of a minor, drug trafficking, firearms trafficking, money laundering over $10,000, fraud offenses exceeding $10,000, and crimes of violence where the sentence was at least one year.⁵ Some are not aggravated in the everyday sense, and some are not felonies under state law. An aggravated felony permanently bars good moral character for naturalization and severely limits waiver options.

A few other grounds don’t require a conviction at all. Money laundering triggers inadmissibility if a consular officer has reason to believe you engaged in or knowingly assisted with laundering monetary instruments.² Human trafficking uses the same “reason to believe” standard. Prostitution operates on a ten-year lookback: engaging in prostitution as a regular pattern of conduct within ten years of applying for admission triggers the bar, though a single act of solicitation generally does not.

What Immigration Law Counts as a “Conviction”

This is where applicants get blindsided. For immigration purposes, a conviction exists whenever a judge or jury found you guilty, or you entered a guilty or no-contest plea, and the court imposed any form of punishment or restraint on your liberty.⁶ That definition sweeps in dispositions that criminal court treats as non-convictions.

Deferred adjudications still count. If you pled guilty and the court placed you on probation with a promise to dismiss the case after you completed conditions, immigration law treats the original plea and punishment as a conviction, because both were present at the time of the plea. The later dismissal doesn’t matter.

Expungements and record-sealing orders from state courts generally do not eliminate a conviction for immigration purposes. A conviction vacated because of a genuine legal defect, such as ineffective counsel or a procedural error affecting guilt, does cease to count. But a dismissal granted simply because you completed a rehabilitation program, or to help you avoid immigration consequences, remains a conviction in the eyes of immigration law.⁶

Juvenile adjudications are the main exception. A delinquency finding in juvenile court does not count as a conviction, as long as you were not charged as an adult.⁶ A minor with two or more CIMT adjudications who then commits another CIMT can still be found inadmissible.⁷

Where a DUI Fits

A simple DUI without aggravating factors is generally not a crime involving moral turpitude. The Board of Immigration Appeals has held that a basic DUI does not require a particularly culpable mental state and therefore lacks the element that defines a CIMT.⁸

Aggravating circumstances change the analysis. Driving under the influence while knowingly on a suspended or revoked license, for example, can push a DUI into CIMT territory because it adds a knowing violation of a court order.¹ Multiple DUIs can trigger the multiple-conviction rule if the sentences combine to five years. And even a clean single DUI may prompt additional scrutiny at the visa interview if the officer suspects an ongoing substance use disorder.

Disclose Everything

Report every arrest, charge, citation, and conviction on your visa application, regardless of the outcome, regardless of when it happened, and regardless of whether the record has been sealed. Visa applications ask whether you have ever committed a crime of any kind, even if you were never arrested or charged.

Failing to disclose is fraud or willful misrepresentation of a material fact, which is a separate ground for inadmissibility.² The fraud ground is often harder to waive than the underlying criminal offense. Applicants who hide an old misdemeanor that could have been waived sometimes end up permanently inadmissible for the cover-up.

You will need certified copies of court records and sentencing documents for each incident. When court records cannot be located, get official written confirmation from the court or law enforcement agency.⁹ Foreign records need certified English translations. The government also runs its own background check: USCIS collects fingerprints and submits them to the FBI, which surfaces records you may have forgotten or believed were erased.¹⁰

Waivers if You Are Found Inadmissible

Permanent (Immigrant) Visas: Form I-601

If a consular officer finds you inadmissible on criminal grounds during your immigrant visa interview, you can apply for a waiver on Form I-601.¹¹ It is discretionary relief, and the burden is on you.

For most criminal grounds, you must show that denying your visa would cause extreme hardship to a qualifying US citizen or lawful permanent resident relative. Qualifying relatives are a spouse, parent, son, or daughter.¹¹ Extreme hardship is a high bar. The normal emotional strain and financial inconvenience of family separation are not enough. You need documented evidence: medical conditions requiring your presence, financial devastation beyond routine hardship, psychological impacts supported by professional evaluations, or serious educational disruption for children.

The officer weighs the seriousness of the offense, how long ago it occurred, evidence of rehabilitation, family ties, and the hardship record. A violent felony from two years ago requires far more compelling evidence than a shoplifting conviction from fifteen years ago. Approval is never guaranteed.

One narrow drug carve-out matters. If your only controlled substance ground involves simple possession of 30 grams or less of marijuana, you are eligible for a waiver without the usual extreme hardship showing.¹² Any other drug offense, including larger marijuana amounts or any amount of another substance, requires the full extreme hardship case.

Some grounds cannot be waived by the I-601. If your aggravated felony was murder or an offense involving torture, no I-601 is available. For drug trafficking, the waiver is generally restricted to the narrow marijuana exception.¹³

Temporary (Nonimmigrant) Visas: Form I-192

If you are applying for a temporary visa, such as tourist, student, or work, a different mechanism applies. Under INA 212(d)(3), the government can grant advance permission to enter despite a criminal inadmissibility finding, using Form I-192.¹⁴

The nonimmigrant waiver does not require extreme hardship to a qualifying relative. Instead, the government evaluates three factors: the seriousness of the criminal conduct, evidence of rehabilitation since the offense, and your reasons for wanting to enter the United States. A minor, isolated offense from years ago with a clear reason for the trip presents a much stronger case than recent or repeated criminal conduct.

The nonimmigrant waiver also reaches some grounds that the I-601 cannot, so people who are permanently barred from immigrant visa relief may still be able to obtain temporary entry. It is tied to the specific nonimmigrant classification and trip and does not create a path to permanent residence.

1
U.S. Department of State Foreign Affairs Manual. 9 FAM 302.3 Ineligibility Based on Criminal Activity
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1182 – Inadmissible Aliens
3
U.S. Department of State Foreign Affairs Manual. 9 FAM 302.4 Ineligibility Based on Controlled Substance Violations
4
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 8 Part B Chapter 11 – Inadmissibility Determination
5
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 12 Part F Chapter 4 – Permanent Bars to Good Moral Character
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 12 Part F Chapter 2 – Adjudicative Factors
7
eCFR. 22 CFR 40.21 – Crimes Involving Moral Turpitude and Controlled Substance Violators
8
U.S. Department of Justice. Matter of Lopez-Meza and Related DUI Guidance
9
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 12 Part F Chapter 3 – Evidence and the Record
10
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 12 Part B Chapter 2 – Background and Security Checks
11
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility
12
Congressional Research Service. INA 212(h) Waiver for Controlled Substance Violations
13
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Instructions for Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility
14
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-192 Application for Advance Permission to Enter as a Nonimmigrant