#1358 Sorry I have not been in the loop for a bit based on post #1360. So what exactly is your criminal conviction? Sometimes we can indeed use the Petty Offence defence but it will depend on a few factors.
Also, you are going through the embassy for a waiver? This is what our London and Kingston Upon Hull locations focus on. The embassy in London will look at a B1/B2 case to see if the visa will be approved. If they feel that it will not, then have the option of offering you the chance to apply for the waiver. It is up to the embassy officer.
ALso #1358 let me give you a scenario:
You go to a Discount Waiver Company to apply for a waiver. They somewhat prepare the packet and you file at the border. You then get a waiver. You then also go back to the same company and they get you a 2nd waiver.
Now fast forward 10 years later and you come to us. I tell you that you did not need a waiver and that you would have qualified for a September letter or getting cleared locally at the border(which they have done for some of our people before). The part that will hurt you is that you already had 2 waivers approved and the service has the opinion that "If you did not think you needed a waiver, then why did you apply for one 10 years ago."
So it is like a Salmon swimming upstream against the current now. It is possible but a lot more work for sure. In your case, you applied for your own waiver and now the precedent has already been set.
Also, a lot of DWC's don't seem to understand or care that under the immigration code, criminal inadmissibility is not just under the conviction category only. You could declare yourself inadmissible by stating certain information(verbally or in writing) that is not in any database. Hence, putting non-positive information in a packet that is not initially in any database.
In our case, we already have this area covered....so that this will not become an issue. #1358, I hope that this covered your question. If not, then please let me know and we will sort it out for you.