Is ESTA Required for Travelers Under VWP? (Ⅰ)

The US Congress has set up stringent measures to determine classes of foreign nationals who may be admitted into the United States, and the grounds for which foreign nationals may be removed. According to the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) certain conduct may disqualify a foreign national from entering the United States (inadmissibility) or provide grounds for his or her removal/ deportation. Prominently featured among this conduct is criminal activity.

Criminal activities that can affect your immigration status include violations of federal, state, or, in many cases, foreign criminal law. Criminal activity does not cover violations of the INA that are not crimes, most notably, being in the US without legal permission. Thus, the term legal alien, an alien without legal status should not be held synonymous with criminal alien.

This article will discuss some of the potential immigration consequences of criminal activity by a foreign national criminal activity. It generally refers to conduct for which a foreign national has been found or plead guilty before a court of law, though in some limited circumstances immigration consequences may attach to the commission of a crime or admission of acts constituting the essential elements of a crime. Consequences may flow from violations of either federal, state or, in many circumstances, foreign criminal law.

Most crimes affecting immigration status are not specifically mentioned by the INA, but instead fall under one of the broad categories of crimes, such as crimes involving moral turpitude or aggravated felonies. In addition, certain criminal conduct precludes a finding of good moral character under the INA, which is a requirement for naturalization and certain types of immigration relief.

A foreign national, therefore, if found guilty, will become subjected to the grounds for inadmissibility or deportability. Criminal conduct may also affect an al