Everyone knows it’s dangerous and stupid to drink and drive, right? But there’s a special problem for anyone in the US on a nonimmigrant or temporary visa. That’s anyone who doesn’t have a green card and includes students (F-1), exchange and business visitors (J-1, L-1, H-1 or 2), tourists (B-2) and many other visa categories. The State Department now has a policy to require consular officers to “prudentially revoke” nonimmigrant visas of individuals arrested for, or convicted of, driving under the influence or driving while intoxicated, or similar arrests/convictions, that occurred within the previous five years. This doesn’t mean you’re going to be immediately deported or that you have to leave the U.S. But when you do leave the U.S or if this happens while you’re abroad. you won’t be able to return without applying for a brand new visa at your foreign consulate.
Even an arrest for drunk driving or DUI can make you ineligible for a visa under the Immigration and Nationality Act section 212(a)(1)(A)(iii) as a physical or mental disorder with associated harmful behavior that is likely to pose a threat to the property, safety, or welfare of the applicant or others in the future. If you have one alcohol related arrest in the last five years, two or more arrests in the last 10 years, or where there is other evidence suggesting an alcohol problem exists, the consulate will refer you to a panel physician abroad for a medical examination before issuing a visa, to determine whether this provision applies.
If the arrest took place before you applied for your original visa and was disclosed on your application, the revocation provision should not apply because the consulate already took the problem into consideration before issuing the visa. But if you are or were in the U.S. and the consulate learns of the arrest, they will revoke the visa. The traveler will not be able to board a plant to return to the U.S. on that visa, or if allowed to do so, will be refused entry at the airport when Customs checks the electronic records.
