Travelling to the US to Settle Arrest Warrants
Nov 21, 2017, 3:25 pm
#16
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: WAS
Programs: enjoyed being warm spit for a few years on CO/UA but now nothing :(
Posts: 2,503
The probability of getting detained when arriving on a domestic flight is low but nowhere near zero - it happens daily all over the country. The possibility of TSA notifying airport PD of an arriving pax with an active warrant for a neighboring jurisdiction, or just contact with law enforcement, is significantly greater in the aviation setting than for the bus or train, let alone a car.
Last edited by Section 107; Nov 21, 2017 at 3:30 pm
Nov 21, 2017, 3:32 pm
#17
Suspended
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Watchlisted by the prejudiced, en route to purgatory
Programs: Just Say No to Fleecing and Blacklisting
Posts: 102,095
One could of course take a domestic connecting flight but the possibility of TSA notifying airport PD of an arriving pax with an active warrant for a neighboring jurisdiction, or just contact with law enforcement, is significantly greater in the aviation setting than for the bus or train, let alone a car.
Last edited by GUWonder; Nov 21, 2017 at 3:43 pm
Nov 21, 2017, 3:33 pm
#18
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Traveling the World
Posts: 6,072
With today's technology they can pull up all of your criminal history and will detain you when they find out that there is a warrant for your arrest. They can consider you evading from the law even you have a court date to clear this up. With a warrant you will be arrested and booked and then taken to your court date. At the court you may or may not be credited for your time and may be asked to serve a sentence and pay the fines. They may deport you or have you on probation where you will be asked to sign a document stating that you will not commit another crime and if you do you will be banned from the United States for 10 years or life.
A DUI Is taken very seriously here for US Citizens so for a foreigner its worse especially you have a warrant. I would be afraid to even come here to the US until you have a letter from the US Consulate/Embassy that you are admissible to the USA.
Please keep us posted and don't be afraid to ask us questions here. I am just preparing you for what can happen and its very likely you will be held for questioning. Just know that your Advanced Passenger Information that you enter is used for this cause as they look into your crimes committed in the USA and abroad if necessary. Again you may not chance it coming to the USA without legal representation. Perhaps an international lawyer may need to accompany you through customs.
Do you have a Bail? Did you pay the Bail?
Nov 21, 2017, 6:50 pm
#19
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: MT, USA
Programs: Ex-5C club, Skymiles Gold
Posts: 454
I will also say I am not an attorney and suggest you listen to yours. The question I have is whether or not you have applied for and received ESTA permission to travel to the U.S. for this specific trip.
Nov 21, 2017, 7:51 pm
#20
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: LON, PDX
Programs: DL PM, AS MVP 75K, HH/SPG/MR Gold, Amex Plat, PRG, CSR
Posts: 2,064
Thanks for replying everyone , and in relation to it being minor offence i apologise as I was comparing it to drugs or assault, picking up on your points TWA884, if I am held in custody in miami does that mean I'm held there for wkend or am I transferred up to palm beach after a few hours?
I hate to moralize, but you really must do some serious thinking about the severity of DUI. Leaving aside your assault comparison, I think that DUI is much more severe than most drug crimes, as when you consume drugs the primary victim is yourself, but with DUI there is a tremendous potential to kill, maim, and ruin the lives of others.
Over 10,000 people die from intoxicated drivers each year in the US, mostly through absolutely no fault of their own. That is about 1/3 of all US traffic deaths.
To put the number of deaths that DUI causes in perspective, think about this: The US generates massive attention for suffering highly publicized mass shootings. Every time one happens we face days of non-stop media coverage, calls for change, and tragic stories of the victims. Yet more people die from DUI every day in the US than mass shootings kill each year.
Again, I'm very happy you're doing the right thing by facing your day in court. I think it's admirable and takes courage. But perhaps as part of this process you can spend some time thinking about how severe the results of DUI can be, and how lucky you are that you didn't kill or hurt somebody or yourself.
Nov 21, 2017, 8:14 pm
#21
Moderator: Travel Safety/Security, Travel Tools, California, Los Angeles; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: LAX
Programs: oneword Emerald
Posts: 20,583
Moderator's Note:
Folks,
This is the Practical Travel Safety and Security Issues forum. It is the place to to ask questions and receive information to help you travel safely and with minimal hassle.
The OP is asking for help to avoid being taken into custody for an old DUI warrant upon reentering the US.
This is not the forum for judging the OP or editorializing on the evils of driving under the influence.
Please reserve your opinion and commentary for the Checkpoints and Borders Policy Debate forum or OMNI.
Future posts discussing the morality/seriousness of DUI will be summarily deleted.
Thank you for understanding,
TWA884
Travel Safety/Security co-moderator
P.S. My advice to the OP about what should not be said in court was intended to avoid aggravating an already bad situation, not to judge the OP or his conduct.
This is the Practical Travel Safety and Security Issues forum. It is the place to to ask questions and receive information to help you travel safely and with minimal hassle.
The OP is asking for help to avoid being taken into custody for an old DUI warrant upon reentering the US.
This is not the forum for judging the OP or editorializing on the evils of driving under the influence.
Please reserve your opinion and commentary for the Checkpoints and Borders Policy Debate forum or OMNI.
Future posts discussing the morality/seriousness of DUI will be summarily deleted.
Thank you for understanding,
TWA884
Travel Safety/Security co-moderator
P.S. My advice to the OP about what should not be said in court was intended to avoid aggravating an already bad situation, not to judge the OP or his conduct.
Nov 23, 2017, 10:17 pm
#23
Join Date: Jan 2009
Programs: Hilton Diamond, IHG Spire Ambassador, Radisson Gold, Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 3,621
You're making several mistakes here. #1 Flying into Florida. You've flown into other places in the US before an they have flagged you for the warrant but let you go because florida does not want to extradite you on that warrant. However, if you land in Florida, with a Florida arrest warrant, there is an excellent chance you will be arrested and taken into custody. Mistake #2 - Flying in on a Friday. This means there's an excellent chance you'll be locked up through the weekend.
By being arrested on arrival, you may lose the benefit of telling the court that you "surrendered voluntarily." When cops arrest fugitives for outstanding warrants, they aren't likely to believe when the person says "Oh, I was just about to surrender at the court to get that resolved."
By being arrested on arrival, you may lose the benefit of telling the court that you "surrendered voluntarily." When cops arrest fugitives for outstanding warrants, they aren't likely to believe when the person says "Oh, I was just about to surrender at the court to get that resolved."
Nov 26, 2017, 11:49 am
#25
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Northeast Kansas | Colorado Native
Programs: Amex Gold/Plat, UA *G, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott LT Gold, NEXUS, TSA Disparager Unobtanium
Posts: 21,593
I am not giving you legal advice, but a lot depends on the warrant and its conditions. In my area, I have seen FTA warrants tossed after five years due to not being served upon the person. Are you sure the OUI FTA is still valid? Secondly and to confirm, is it a warrant issued in the State of Florida? If not, they may decide it is not worth the cost of extradition and just cut you loose. I see it all the time when somebody is run and found to have a warrant from another state, yet the warrant will specify they can only be picked up in surrounding states or counties.
Lots of places do it differently, so like others have said, your attorney should be able to guide you through the process. Above is just my two cents.
Lots of places do it differently, so like others have said, your attorney should be able to guide you through the process. Above is just my two cents.
Nov 26, 2017, 6:45 pm
#26
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 574
I hope this person made out okay.. I had a bench warrant coming back to the US and was picked up in Palm Beach Co. (just walking down the street in broad daylight) and that whole " not worth the cost of extradition and just cut you loose" talk that kept coming up in conversations with my duplicitous atty turned out to be a lot of malarkey; there are a lot of "shark" lawyers in Palm Beach who prey on people
that get into this type of jam. Feel free to PM me, OP, I know a few good lawyers down there and might be able to help.
that get into this type of jam. Feel free to PM me, OP, I know a few good lawyers down there and might be able to help.
Last edited by yandosan; Nov 27, 2017 at 10:39 am
Nov 27, 2017, 7:55 am
#28
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: MCI
Programs: AA Gold 1MM, AS MVP, UA Silver, WN A-List, Marriott LT Titanium, HH Diamond
Posts: 52,546
Wonder if we'll hear from our OP sometime later today? He's in court right now...if he's not in some Florida county hole somewhere...
Nov 27, 2017, 1:16 pm
#29
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: DFW
Posts: 28,074
Jan 28, 2018, 1:11 am
#30
Join Date: Jan 2018
Posts: 1
Pending bench warrant and arrest warrant in Kansas
I have DUI case, I was pulled over on campus in December of 2010. I also got in trouble for a lwed and lascivious behavior in May 2012.
I left US in July 2012 and didn’t go to court for the lewd and lascivious behavior as I didn’t receive a court date while I was in the US.
For The DUI , I initially went on diversion and failed it and by the time they called me to court again I had already left the US.
The reason I am writing today is that I have 2 warrant. A bench warrant for the DUI charge and an arrest warrant for the lwed behavior charge. Since I was an international student and not a US citizen once I completed my studies I had to leave the country and I couldn't follow up on the court dates. At the moment I am living and working in Saudi Arabia.
i want to get rid of the warrants and solve these cases but after getting in touch with a few lawyers in Kansas(the cases are for Sedgwick county court) it seems like even my warrants can’t be quashed without appearing in court. I have emailed the US embassy in Riyadh to grant me a visa to go to the states to resolve these matters.they have asked me to apply for a visa and set up an interview with them, I am hoping they will grant me a visa.
my question is that if I receive the visa to travel to the US will the CBP will let me enter the US. What will be the best port of entry and how long should I plan to stay to clear out these cases? Since I would need to apply for a leave with my current employers.
The DUI I received was my first ever offense and the lewd and lascivious behavior was my second offense , I have not been involved with any other trouble. Both the cases are marked as misdemeanor.
I was naive and thought that this won’t be a an issue after I left the US but I was recently denied a job after these pending cases showed up on my back ground check.
i really want to get this cases taken care of. Any help would be appreciated.
I left US in July 2012 and didn’t go to court for the lewd and lascivious behavior as I didn’t receive a court date while I was in the US.
For The DUI , I initially went on diversion and failed it and by the time they called me to court again I had already left the US.
The reason I am writing today is that I have 2 warrant. A bench warrant for the DUI charge and an arrest warrant for the lwed behavior charge. Since I was an international student and not a US citizen once I completed my studies I had to leave the country and I couldn't follow up on the court dates. At the moment I am living and working in Saudi Arabia.
i want to get rid of the warrants and solve these cases but after getting in touch with a few lawyers in Kansas(the cases are for Sedgwick county court) it seems like even my warrants can’t be quashed without appearing in court. I have emailed the US embassy in Riyadh to grant me a visa to go to the states to resolve these matters.they have asked me to apply for a visa and set up an interview with them, I am hoping they will grant me a visa.
my question is that if I receive the visa to travel to the US will the CBP will let me enter the US. What will be the best port of entry and how long should I plan to stay to clear out these cases? Since I would need to apply for a leave with my current employers.
The DUI I received was my first ever offense and the lewd and lascivious behavior was my second offense , I have not been involved with any other trouble. Both the cases are marked as misdemeanor.
I was naive and thought that this won’t be a an issue after I left the US but I was recently denied a job after these pending cases showed up on my back ground check.
i really want to get this cases taken care of. Any help would be appreciated.
