Section A: What is a CIMT?

A crime involving moral turpitude is a category used under US immigration law to identify certain criminal conduct that can trigger immigration consequences.

Under section 212(a)(2)(A)(i)(I) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, a person can be inadmissible if they have been convicted of a CIMT or make a legally sufficient admission to having committed a CIMT or the acts constituting its essential elements. Attempts and conspiracies to commit a CIMT are also included.

An arrest by itself does not make someone inadmissible under the CIMT ground. An arrest can still result in additional scrutiny or requests for police and court records, but the arrest alone is not the legal test.

The Immigration and Nationality Act does not provide a complete statutory definition of moral turpitude. The meaning has developed through decisions of the Board of Immigration Appeals and the federal courts.

Current Board of Immigration Appeals authority requires two elements for an offense to involve moral turpitude: reprehensible conduct and a sufficiently culpable mental state. The required mental state can include intent, knowledge, willfulness or, for some offenses, recklessness.

Fraud offenses are commonly treated as involving moral turpitude. Many theft offenses can also qualify where the statutory elements contain the required dishonest intent. Serious violent and sexual offenses can qualify where the law requires sufficiently reprehensible conduct and the necessary mental state.

The category should not be confused with every other criminal ground of inadmissibility. Controlled substance violations, multiple criminal convictions meeting the statutory sentencing threshold, drug trafficking, prostitution and commercialized vice and certain other criminal activity are governed by separate provisions of US immigration law.

For example, a person convicted of two or more offenses can be inadmissible under the separate multiple-conviction ground where the aggregate sentences to confinement were five years or more. The offenses do not need to be CIMTs for that provision to apply.

A criminal case should therefore be reviewed against all potentially relevant inadmissibility grounds rather than asking only whether the offense is a CIMT.

Section B: How do I know if a crime is classed as a CIMT?

Whether an offense is a CIMT cannot reliably be determined from the name of the offense alone.

For US convictions, immigration authorities generally examine the legal elements of the offense using the categorical approach. The minimum conduct covered by the criminal statute is compared with the federal immigration definition of a CIMT.

If the statute contains several alternative elements and is legally divisible, the analysis can move to the modified categorical approach. Specified parts of the record of conviction can then be examined to determine which statutory offense formed the basis of the conviction.

Foreign convictions require separate analysis. The exact foreign statute, the version of the law in force when the offense occurred, the plea or finding of guilt, court records and the sentence imposed can all be relevant. Department of State officers can also request additional records when deciding the immigration effect of a foreign offense.

For UK applicants, the label attached to an offense is therefore not enough. Two convictions described in everyday language as assault, theft or fraud can produce different US immigration outcomes if the underlying statutory elements are different.

Fraud is one of the clearest categories because offenses containing fraud as an element are generally treated as involving moral turpitude.

Theft can also involve moral turpitude where the offense requires the relevant intent to deprive the owner of property. The precise wording of the applicable criminal statute remains important.

Violent offenses require a more detailed assessment. Murder and many serious intentional assaults are commonly CIMTs, but not every assault, manslaughter or domestic violence offense automatically qualifies. An offense based only on negligence or a lower level of culpability may fall outside the CIMT definition.

The same applies to other broad offense labels. A firearms offense is not automatically a CIMT merely because a weapon was involved, while controlled substance offenses are governed by a separate ground of inadmissibility even where they do not qualify as CIMTs.

Foreign cautions and alternative disposals also need individual assessment. US immigration law applies its own definition of a conviction and the domestic label given to an outcome does not always determine how US authorities will treat it.

Anyone with a criminal record should obtain the exact offense provision and available court or police records before assessing US immigration eligibility. The decisive issue is often the statutory wording and formal record rather than the short description appearing on a police certificate.

Section C: CIMT Exceptions

A conviction or qualifying admission involving a CIMT does not always result in inadmissibility. The Immigration and Nationality Act contains two statutory exceptions for a person who has committed only one CIMT.

These are exceptions to the CIMT ground of inadmissibility rather than waivers. Where all of the statutory requirements are met, the CIMT ground under section 212(a)(2)(A)(i)(I) does not apply.

Juvenile Offense Exception

The juvenile offense exception can apply where the person committed only one CIMT and was under 18 when the offense was committed.

For the exception to apply, the crime must have been committed more than five years before the date of the visa application or application for admission to the United States. If the offense resulted in confinement in a prison or correctional institution, the person must also have been released from that confinement more than five years before the relevant application.

The five-year period is therefore not measured simply from the date of conviction. The date the offense was committed and, where applicable, the date of release from confinement both matter.

Petty Offense Exception

The petty offense exception can apply where a person has committed only one CIMT and the offense satisfies both statutory sentencing requirements.

The maximum possible penalty for the offense must not exceed imprisonment for one year. In addition, if the person was convicted, the sentence of imprisonment actually imposed must not exceed six months.

The relevant figure is the sentence imposed by the court, not the amount of time actually served. A six-month sentence can therefore fall within the exception, provided the maximum possible penalty for the offense did not exceed one year and the other requirements are met.

An offense does not qualify for the petty offense exception merely because it was treated as minor under local law or resulted in a small fine. The maximum penalty permitted under the applicable criminal statute must be checked.

What if there is more than one CIMT?

The juvenile and petty offense exceptions apply only where the person committed one crime falling within the CIMT ground. A person with more than one CIMT cannot generally rely on the petty offense exception simply because each offense would have met the sentencing limits if considered separately.

Multiple convictions can also create a separate ground of inadmissibility. A person convicted of two or more offenses can be inadmissible where the aggregate sentences to confinement were five years or more, regardless of whether the offenses were CIMTs or arose from a single scheme.

Other grounds of inadmissibility can still apply

Meeting a CIMT exception does not remove other possible grounds of inadmissibility.

For example, a controlled substance conviction is governed by a separate provision of US immigration law. A person whose offense falls within the petty offense exception for CIMT purposes may still be inadmissible if another criminal, immigration or security ground applies.

Applicants should therefore avoid assuming that satisfying one CIMT exception resolves the entire admissibility assessment. The full criminal and immigration history should be reviewed against all potentially applicable grounds.

Section D: What if a crime is not classed as a CIMT?

If an offense is not a CIMT, that does not automatically mean it has no US immigration consequences.

Other criminal grounds of inadmissibility can still apply. Controlled substance offenses, certain multiple convictions, drug trafficking, prostitution and other specified conduct are governed by separate provisions of US immigration law.

The disclosure position also depends on the immigration application being made. A visa application and an ESTA application do not ask the same criminal history questions.

For a US visa application, applicants must answer the criminal history questions fully and accurately. The DS-160 asks whether the applicant has ever been arrested or convicted for any offense or crime, even where the arrest did not result in a conviction.

ESTA uses a narrower set of eligibility questions. It does not require applicants to list every arrest or conviction. Instead, applicants must answer the specific criminal and security questions on the ESTA form accurately, including questions relating to serious harm, serious property damage, illegal drugs and specified security or immigration issues.

Applicants should not assume that a spent conviction, caution, sealed record or foreign rehabilitation measure means the matter can automatically be ignored for US immigration purposes. The effect depends on the legal nature of the disposal and the wording of the question being answered.

Minor motoring matters should also be assessed against the exact application question rather than treated as subject to a general disclosure exemption. Whether a traffic-related offense needs to be disclosed depends on how the offense was dealt with and what the relevant form asks.

Where a visa application discloses an arrest, caution or conviction, the consular officer may request police certificates, court records, the wording of the applicable criminal statute or other documents before deciding whether any ground of inadmissibility applies.

The key point is that disclosure and inadmissibility are separate issues. A matter can need to be disclosed without making the applicant inadmissible, while an offense that is not a CIMT can still trigger another ground of inadmissibility.

Section E: ESTA or Visa?

Eligible nationals of Visa Waiver Program countries, including the UK, can generally travel to the United States for tourism or permitted business activities for up to 90 days without first obtaining a visa.

Travel under the Visa Waiver Program requires an approved Electronic System for Travel Authorization, or ESTA. ESTA is a travel authorization rather than a visa and approval does not guarantee admission to the United States.

The ESTA application includes criminal, drug, security and immigration eligibility questions. The current criminal history question asks about arrests or convictions for crimes that resulted in serious damage to property or serious harm to another person or government authority. A separate question covers violations of laws relating to possessing, using or distributing illegal drugs.

These questions are not the same as the CIMT test under US immigration law. An applicant can therefore face two separate issues: whether the facts require a particular answer on the ESTA form and whether the underlying offense makes the person inadmissible under the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Anyone completing ESTA should answer the questions exactly as asked. A criminal record does not automatically require a positive answer to every ESTA criminal question, but an applicant should not give a false answer because they believe an offense is spent, minor or unlikely to be discovered.

A refused or denied ESTA does not, by itself, mean the traveler is inadmissible to the United States. It means the person cannot use that ESTA authorization to travel under the Visa Waiver Program.

The traveler can generally apply for an appropriate US visa instead. For tourism or permitted business travel, this will commonly mean applying for a B1/B2 visa.

The visa application allows a consular officer to assess the criminal history under US immigration law. The officer may conclude that no ground of inadmissibility applies, that a statutory exception applies or that the applicant is inadmissible and requires a waiver.

A waiver of inadmissibility is therefore not automatically required simply because ESTA has been refused.

Where a nonimmigrant visa applicant is found inadmissible because of a CIMT, a waiver may be available under section 212(d)(3)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. In the normal consular process, the consular officer determines whether the applicant can be considered for a waiver and can recommend the case to the relevant US authorities.

The decision can take account of factors including the seriousness and recency of the conduct, the reason for travel and the wider circumstances of the case.

Applicants with a criminal history should prepare for the visa interview with the records needed to establish exactly what happened. Depending on the case, these may include an ACRO Police Certificate, court records, sentencing information and the criminal statute under which the matter was dealt with.

Section F: Failure to Declare CIMT and Past Convictions

Applicants must answer ESTA and visa questions truthfully and in accordance with the wording of the form they are completing.

Failing to disclose a criminal matter does not automatically amount to a separate criminal offense. The immigration consequences depend on what was asked, what information was withheld, whether the answer was false and whether the false statement was material to the immigration benefit being sought.

A willful and material misrepresentation made to obtain a visa, admission to the United States or another immigration benefit can create a separate ground of inadmissibility under section 212(a)(6)(C)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

That ground is separate from any criminal inadmissibility arising from the original offense. An applicant whose conviction would not itself make them inadmissible could therefore create a more serious immigration problem by giving a false answer about it where the legal requirements for misrepresentation are met.

Material misrepresentation can have long-term consequences. Unlike many temporary visa refusals, inadmissibility for fraud or willful misrepresentation does not simply disappear after a fixed period of time. A waiver may be available in some cases, but eligibility depends on the immigration benefit being sought and the applicable statutory requirements.

False statements can also expose an applicant to separate federal criminal liability in appropriate cases. Criminal prosecution is not an automatic consequence of every inaccurate or incomplete immigration answer, but knowingly making false material statements in immigration documents can carry serious penalties.

Travelers should also expect information provided at different stages of the immigration process to be compared. Answers given on ESTA, visa applications and at the US border can be reviewed alongside police records, court records and earlier immigration filings.

An inconsistency does not automatically prove fraud. Errors, misunderstanding or differences in the wording of application questions can matter. However, unexplained discrepancies can lead to additional questioning, refusal of a visa or admission and investigation of whether a material misrepresentation was made.

If an earlier ESTA or visa application contained an incorrect answer, the safest approach is not to repeat it. The applicant should establish exactly what was previously stated, obtain the relevant criminal records and take advice on how the issue should be addressed in the new application.

For applicants with a past criminal record, accurate disclosure is often as important as the underlying CIMT analysis. The original offense and any later immigration representations must be assessed separately.

Need Assistance?

The law and immigration rules surrounding CIMT and travel to the US are complex and subject to discretion and the particular facts of your case, which can make it difficult to predict how the adjudicator could decide on your application.

If you have a criminal record or have ever been arrested, visiting the US may seem unachievable and the rules surrounding entry can be overwhelming and unclear. If you are planning to travel to the US and have any past criminal history, should seek expert legal advice.

NNU Immigration specialize in helping travelers with any issue relating to past convictions and criminal waivers. Whether you are an employee concerned about securing a visa for a transfer to the US, a parent wanting to take your family on the holiday of a lifetime or a business owner wanting to move into the US market, we can help assess your case and advise on the options available to you.

If you are worried about the impact of a past criminal conviction on your ability to travel to the US, contact us or book a fixed-fee telephone consultation.

CIMT and Travel to the US FAQs

What does CIMT stand for in US immigration?

CIMT stands for Crime Involving Moral Turpitude. The term is used in US immigration law for certain offenses involving reprehensible conduct and a sufficiently culpable mental state.

Why does a CIMT matter for US immigration?

A CIMT can make a person inadmissible under section 212(a)(2)(A)(i)(I) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. It can affect visa eligibility, admission to the United States and applications for permanent residence. Separate CIMT rules can also affect removability and naturalization.

Does an arrest for a CIMT make me inadmissible?

No. Arrest alone does not establish CIMT inadmissibility. The ground generally requires a conviction or a legally sufficient admission to committing the crime or its essential elements.

An arrest can still lead to additional questioning and requests for police or court records.

What are examples of crimes that can be CIMTs?

Fraud and many theft offenses are commonly treated as CIMTs. Murder, robbery and some serious intentional assaults can also qualify.

Broad offense labels should be treated with care. Not every assault, domestic violence offense, manslaughter offense, firearms offense or other criminal conviction is automatically a CIMT. The statutory elements and required mental state have to be assessed.

Is every criminal offense a CIMT?

No. Many criminal offenses fall outside the CIMT definition.

Some offenses can still create separate immigration problems even if they are not CIMTs. Controlled substance violations and certain multiple convictions, for example, are governed by separate inadmissibility provisions.

Can I get a US visa if I have a CIMT?

Potentially. A statutory exception may mean that the CIMT ground does not apply, or a waiver may be available depending on the visa category and circumstances.

For a nonimmigrant visa, a waiver can in some cases be available under section 212(d)(3)(A). Immigrant visa and adjustment applicants are subject to different waiver rules, including section 212(h) where the statutory requirements are met.

What is the petty offense exception?

The petty offense exception can apply where the person committed only one CIMT, the maximum possible penalty for that offense did not exceed one year and any sentence of imprisonment actually imposed did not exceed six months.

The amount of time actually served is not the test. The sentence imposed by the court and the maximum penalty permitted under the criminal statute are what matter.

What is the juvenile offense exception?

The juvenile exception can apply where the person committed only one CIMT while under the age of 18 and the statutory five-year timing requirements are satisfied.

The offense must have been committed more than five years before the relevant visa application or application for admission and any release from resulting confinement must also have occurred more than five years earlier.

Do I have to declare a CIMT on ESTA?

ESTA does not ask applicants to identify whether an offense is legally classified as a CIMT.

Applicants must answer the criminal and other eligibility questions on the ESTA form exactly as asked. The current form includes questions relating to crimes causing serious property damage or serious harm, illegal drugs and specified security and immigration matters.

Do I have to disclose an arrest or conviction on a US visa application?

Visa applications ask broader criminal history questions than ESTA. Applicants must answer the questions fully and accurately, including where the application asks about arrests that did not result in conviction.

Disclosure does not itself mean that the applicant is inadmissible. The consular officer must still determine the legal immigration effect of the underlying matter.

Does an expunged or spent conviction still matter for US immigration?

It can. A foreign expungement, spent-conviction rule, pardon or rehabilitation measure does not necessarily eliminate the US immigration consequences of the underlying offense.

US immigration law applies its own definitions when deciding whether a conviction exists and whether the offense creates inadmissibility.

Will a CIMT prevent me from getting a Green Card?

It can, but the outcome depends on the offense, whether a statutory exception applies and whether the applicant qualifies for an available waiver.

Section 212(h) can waive certain criminal inadmissibility grounds for qualifying immigrant and adjustment applicants, but its eligibility requirements and restrictions are separate from the nonimmigrant waiver rules.

Can a CIMT affect naturalization?

Yes. Naturalization applicants must establish good moral character during the applicable statutory period and through the oath ceremony.

A CIMT committed during that period can create a statutory or discretionary problem depending on the offense and whether an exception applies. USCIS can also consider conduct outside the statutory period when assessing current moral character in appropriate cases.

Can a CIMT make me removable from the United States?

Potentially, but the removability rules are different from the inadmissibility rules.

A CIMT does not automatically make every person already in the United States removable. The applicable provision can depend on matters such as when the offense was committed after admission, the possible sentence and whether there are multiple CIMT convictions.

Do I need an immigration attorney if I have a CIMT?

CIMT cases can turn on technical differences between criminal statutes, the record of conviction and the immigration benefit being sought. Where a criminal record may affect travel, a visa, permanent residence or naturalization, legal review before filing can help identify the correct disclosure position, any statutory exception and whether a waiver is available.

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