Will I be allowed to travel to the USA?

Hi.
I was wondering if I will be allowed to travel to the USA with my 15 year old son? I am 48 Years old but have a criminal record for G.B.H when I was 16 Years old. I was sentenced to 4 years due to my age and served all 4. I got out of jail when I was 20, and since then, have really changed my life. I now have a flat in Chelsea, as I said a 15 year old son and one of the best state schools in the country and a very stable income. Seeing as this was now 33 years ago, will I be allowed to go to the US or will I have to apply for something or will it just be a straight no?
Many Thanks

no

I really don't see why not if you have a regular passport from U.K. Is there something (including the magnetic strip) on your passport that would indicate your criminal past. If the crime occurred in Great Britain how would the Americans even know about it?? I suppose you could check at the American Embassy to be sure.

I think you might need to apply for a visa.

The short answer is that you have to apply for a visa.

Nationals of most EU countries can travel to the US under the visa waiver programme ONLY if they have *never* been arrested or convicted of a crime.

The visa waiver criteria stipulates:-

' Arrest or Conviction?
Have you ever been arrested or convicted for any reason in any country, even if the arrest did not lead to a conviction, or do you have a criminal record? Please note: the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act does not apply to U.S. visa law.'

If you answer yes to this - then the following needs consideration:-
''Question 8 : Arrests & Convictions
Some applicants are uncertain how to answer the question, "have you ever been arrested?"

In general, minor motoring offenses outside the U.S. that were disposed of by paying a ticket by mail have no bearing on admission to the United States. Travelers with minor traffic offenses that did not result in their arrest and/or conviction for the offense may travel visa free, provided they are otherwise qualified. If you are not sure whether or not you are eligible to travel visa free, the only way to resolve this question would be to apply for a visa. The Embassy and the Live Operator Information Service cannot provide any further guidance on this matter until you appear in person before a consular officer.

If a traffic offense occurred while you were in the United States, and you have an outstanding fine against you, or if you did not attend your court hearing, it is possible there may be a warrant out for your arrest and you will experience significant problems when applying for admission at the U.S. port of entry. The Embassy cannot assist you in this regard. You must resolve the issue before traveling, by contacting the court where you were to appear. If you do not know the address of the court then information is available from the Internet at http://www.uscourts.gov/links.html [direct link].

Is the full extent of your history of legal violations limited solely to minor traffic offenses that did not result in your arrest and/or conviction?'

Which is all pretty harsh.

So how do they know if you've been arrsted or convicted? When you are checking in for a flight - they scan your passport and it is checked against a database. If you have an arrest/conviction - it flags up and you get refused boarding.

Based on the time elapsed since your conviction, I reckon you'd have no problem getting a visa.

You may need to apply for a visa. Speak to the US Embassy. The UK FCO has contact details for all foreign embassies in the UK.

You will need a visa but I am sure that you will be allowed to get one and travel to the US.