TexasCHLforum.com

Hi,

Have relocaed to the US and am a "non immigrant" alien on a 3yr L1-A working visa I have "resident" status and have recently recieved my Texas driving license along with SSN and lease documents to prove current address ( am actually about to purchase a home rather than current rental address but thats probably not relevant )

As far as I can tell based on research on this site and reading the Texas laws associated with application the above plus an easily obtainable hunting license would be all I require to initially purchase a handgun and also apply for a CHL

However 20 years ago back in my student days in the UK I was charged with "simple possesion" of less than a gram of weed, the offense was considered a misdemenor in the UK as the fine was approx $ 50 and no other repercusions, I have had no contact with the police in any way since then.

When I applied for my visa I was totally honest about the offence and although it delayed the issuing process ultimately wa not a problem due to the time that has passed since, my current position of responsability & the relatively low severity of the crime ( I had to apply for a waiver of inelligability which involved background checks by the DHS )

Would this make applying for a CHL etc impossible for me ? or is the fact that a visa was issued an good indication that a background check would be OK ?

thanks,

SS

First, welcome both to the forum and to the US.

Now, were you actually arrested or just cited?

If arrested, you will need to have a certified copy of the final disposition. With that I think you will be ok. The only drawback would be you are not a citizen and an immigrant with a record. There are others here that can answer this better than me.

If you were just cited and not arrested, then you dont even have to list it.

Hi Im not really sure what cited means ?

I wasnt actually arrested simply given a ticket to appear in court ( along with everyone else in the room at the time ) and we were all given a fine on appearing in court.

In the Uk this level of possesion is really concidered "minor" and is concidered "spent" after 5 years, which means it does not appear on a standard records check it is however always on your permanent record as there is no such thing as being truly "expunged" at least in UK law.

I realise any form of drug related crime is concidered very serious US which is why I disclosed it during the visa application process, chances are if I hadnt mentioned it no one would have ever known but I didnt want to take the risk.

SS

Steve - Cited is when an officer gives you a citation, commonly known as a ticket. Usually if you are arrested, they will book you and take a mug shot and fingerprints.

IMO, once you get all of the paperwork figured out you should be fine to get your CHL.

I believe that something like that & it being over 20yrs ago shouldn't be a problem. As stated above, get all of your paperwork in order - including the final disposition & give it a shot. If you don't want to risk the $250 or so on actually going through the process, you could consult with a 2nd Amendment-friendly attorney first. The disclaimer on all of this is & always will be: I'm not a lawyer & this advice may turn out to be exactly what you've paid for it. But welcome x2 & good luck!