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Drink driving

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PNGMK
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Post by PNGMK » Fri, 19 Jul 2013 4:02 pm

bloodhound123 wrote:http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/86942.pdf

http://forum.murthy.com/index.php?/foru ... al-issues/ - this is some famous immigration law firm in US and they have some good newsletters and posts which your friends might want to peruse through.

http://www.murthy.com/2012/10/01/dos-po ... g-records/

I have seen discussions on forums in UK and other countries that don't require a visa to visit US and a lot fo them do travel on the visa waiver program with DUI. However us embassy London clearly states that anyone with an arrest record should apply for a visa. I am getting a feeling that consular offices across the world and the us customs are not on the same page. This one is an interesting and an informative read

http://www.justanswer.com/immigration-l ... icted.html
What's interesting in all that is that a DUI is not a trivial issue - and what pisses me off is that some forums I read (in Australia) make it out to be.... it really messes up people's lives. In Australia the largest paying sector is the mining sector and basically a DUI (or any conviction) is a show stopper for working in that industry.

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Post by bloodhound123 » Fri, 19 Jul 2013 5:20 pm

Absolutely. DUI is no trivial issue. Why is it a showstopper for the mining industry? Do companies not hire ppl with DUis? I work in a bank and I informed my employer abt my offense. Got a warning and they didn't fire me.

Jut curious - the ones that you were dealing with for US visa all had recent offenses (i.e still serving the license ban )? If they are Aussies then they can use vwp to go to US for training. Why did they apply for a visa in first place?

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Post by PNGMK » Fri, 19 Jul 2013 6:11 pm

bloodhound123 wrote:Absolutely. DUI is no trivial issue. Why is it a showstopper for the mining industry? Do companies not hire ppl with DUis? I work in a bank and I informed my employer abt my offense. Got a warning and they didn't fire me.

Jut curious - the ones that you were dealing with for US visa all had recent offenses (i.e still serving the license ban )? If they are Aussies then they can use vwp to go to US for training. Why did they apply for a visa in first place?
To get on a mine site or oil rig you need a security clearance from a third party company - they flag things like DUI's and that pushes you down the list of potential hires. Obviously diamond mines don't want convicted thieves and mine sites with large equipment don't want piss heads.

Yes - your point is spot on - they should not have applied for a visa but gone on the VWP - however they declared it and the cat was out of the bag. The most recent even was a young guy with a DUI prior to being 18. The older chap had an actual criminal conviction (not DUI) and the other fellow I can thing of has an old DUI and has decided not to push his luck. IT's not just the actual risk of rejection but the perception of the risk that comes into play.

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Post by bloodhound123 » Fri, 19 Jul 2013 6:45 pm

I don't come from a VWP nation, but I was generally filling the ESTA form and I ticked yes for the crime inv moral turpitude question. Got a pop saying if I really wanted to do so and to check the DHS site fir confirmation. I think you can safely tick no for VWP.

I think US needs to iron out the differences in their approach to so called "petty crimes" between the customs and the visa consular offices across the world.

I can understand the perception of risk that your guy is undergoing. I am undergoing the same thing. To be frank , I didn't understand the gravity of the impact of a DUI until i committed one and then investigated about it's repurcusiions. The sad part is I drove several hrs after drinking when I felt totally stable and no influence. But I learnt that u need to wait for 1 day before driving. Learnt it the hard way.

After several days of web crawling I pretty much confirmed I have started digging my own grave.

DUI is very very serious.

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Post by PNGMK » Fri, 19 Jul 2013 7:49 pm

bloodhound123 wrote:I don't come from a VWP nation, but I was generally filling the ESTA form and I ticked yes for the crime inv moral turpitude question. Got a pop saying if I really wanted to do so and to check the DHS site fir confirmation. I think you can safely tick no for VWP.

I think US needs to iron out the differences in their approach to so called "petty crimes" between the customs and the visa consular offices across the world.

I can understand the perception of risk that your guy is undergoing. I am undergoing the same thing. To be frank , I didn't understand the gravity of the impact of a DUI until i committed one and then investigated about it's repurcusiions. The sad part is I drove several hrs after drinking when I felt totally stable and no influence. But I learnt that u need to wait for 1 day before driving. Learnt it the hard way.

After several days of web crawling I pretty much confirmed I have started digging my own grave.

DUI is very very serious.
Well it just adds a constraint. Don't get depressed over it. At least you don't have a CP conviction like a friend of mine does.

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Post by bloodhound123 » Fri, 19 Jul 2013 9:39 pm

Yes OSOD. There is no point in getting depressed over it. I was extremely depressed over it for a month after my conviction but I have moved on since then. I was getting a very good move to the USA next year but now I have to let it go. Its not about going to the USA but the job profile is very good and would have been a strong plus for my career and my resume.

As you mentioned a lot of people seem to talk down the effect of a DUI, though in a reality it could hit you real hard where it hurts the most. A lot of Singaporeans seem to be taking it lightly which I fail to understand. They say - "you were just slightly over the limit, thats a very minor offense, why do you worry", but this is NOT the reality.

I have been trying to spread this message of waiting for a day before driving if you drink amongst the people so that so they dont screw up like me. But being on a work permit is a huge negative in Singapore in terms of getting volunteering positions. You either need to be a Singaporean or a PR to get officially posted.

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Post by PNGMK » Fri, 19 Jul 2013 10:04 pm

bloodhound123 wrote:Yes OSOD. There is no point in getting depressed over it. I was extremely depressed over it for a month after my conviction but I have moved on since then. I was getting a very good move to the USA next year but now I have to let it go. Its not about going to the USA but the job profile is very good and would have been a strong plus for my career and my resume.

As you mentioned a lot of people seem to talk down the effect of a DUI, though in a reality it could hit you real hard where it hurts the most. A lot of Singaporeans seem to be taking it lightly which I fail to understand. They say - "you were just slightly over the limit, thats a very minor offense, why do you worry", but this is NOT the reality.

I have been trying to spread this message of waiting for a day before driving if you drink amongst the people so that so they dont screw up like me. But being on a work permit is a huge negative in Singapore in terms of getting volunteering positions. You either need to be a Singaporean or a PR to get officially posted.
Tell your story to the media (about the lost opportunity). I rarely drink and these days if I have to go somewhere to drink I always take a taxi THERE so I don't lose my license by assuming I can drive. As for the next day that's something I need to watch. I'm getting my FDW a drivers licence so she can drive me around in the future.

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Post by bloodhound123 » Fri, 19 Jul 2013 10:23 pm

A trivia to show how strict Canada is with DUIs

When George W.Bush was the President of US he had to travel to Canada and had to be given a special waiver as he had a DUI is the state of Missouri in 1976. :wink:

So anyone with a DUI can very safely assume that the Path to Canada is closed for good - whether it s a 2 yr old DUI or a 20 yr old DUI.

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Post by bloodhound123 » Fri, 19 Jul 2013 10:28 pm

Thanks OSOD. I spread this message to one more person :) . Yes I think I will go to the media. I have been talking to a few cops in TP and may be I will ask them if i can do something like what you suggested.

I dont know how strict the cops are in Australia, but in Singapore it is hell. If you are involved in an accident and even if you are the innocent party and the cops find out that you have trace of alcohol in your breath/blood you get charged for drink driving etc etc.....

The advice to wait for 1 day was given by the cop who caught me. Very kind of him to give this advice to a potential convict.

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Post by PNGMK » Sun, 21 Jul 2013 3:14 pm

bloodhound123 wrote:Thanks OSOD. I spread this message to one more person :) . Yes I think I will go to the media. I have been talking to a few cops in TP and may be I will ask them if i can do something like what you suggested.

I dont know how strict the cops are in Australia, but in Singapore it is hell. If you are involved in an accident and even if you are the innocent party and the cops find out that you have trace of alcohol in your breath/blood you get charged for drink driving etc etc.....

The advice to wait for 1 day was given by the cop who caught me. Very kind of him to give this advice to a potential convict.
Why don't you write a post about the whole thing (including esp the longer term implications and post it to SMS etc and see if they will sticky it)? I'd call it "Why you don't want a DUI in Singapore"

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Post by bloodhound123 » Sun, 21 Jul 2013 9:19 pm

Why don't you write a post about the whole thing (including esp the longer term implications and post it to SMS etc and see if they will sticky it)? I'd call it "Why you don't want a DUI in Singapore"
This is done and SMS stickied it. For the benefit of people who visit this thread the link is

http://forum.singaporeexpats.com/ftopic96411.html

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Post by PNGMK » Mon, 22 Jul 2013 7:49 pm

bloodhound123 wrote:
Why don't you write a post about the whole thing (including esp the longer term implications and post it to SMS etc and see if they will sticky it)? I'd call it "Why you don't want a DUI in Singapore"
This is done and SMS stickied it. For the benefit of people who visit this thread the link is

http://forum.singaporeexpats.com/ftopic96411.html
I'd add cost of insurance, inability to obtain a drivers licence and/or insurance in some jurisdictions as additional consequences to your sticky.

For some professions (lawyers, air crew, MP's) having a criminal conviction can be the kiss of death to their career as well.

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Post by bloodhound123 » Mon, 22 Jul 2013 11:42 pm

I'd add cost of insurance, inability to obtain a drivers licence and/or insurance in some jurisdictions as additional consequences to your sticky.
Just curious - in which country is it not possible to obtain a driver's license after your first DUI? Canada ? They consider a DUI as an outright felony so would not be surprised by such a law.

Singapore lets you apply for a license after the disqualification period and you would need to sit through the entire process again including the driving lessons.

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Post by bloodhound123 » Mon, 22 Jul 2013 11:47 pm

For some professions (lawyers, air crew, MP's) having a criminal conviction can be the kiss of death to their career as well.
George Bush, Al Gore had DUIs prior to their office term :wink:

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Post by PNGMK » Tue, 23 Jul 2013 1:35 am

bloodhound123 wrote:
For some professions (lawyers, air crew, MP's) having a criminal conviction can be the kiss of death to their career as well.
George Bush, Al Gore had DUIs prior to their office term :wink:
They're congressmen. In Australia they would have trouble if the DUI resulted in a prison sentence.

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