Misdemeanor theft and what it means for my tier 4 student visa?

I am looking for any and all advice regarding my upcoming tier 4 student visa application. I have a record (parking ticket as well as speeding ticket but not worried about those) what I am worried about are 2 charges for misdemeanor theft. One happened when I was 17, the other when I was 18. Both were dismissed, only had to pay court costs (no additional fines) and neither resulted in any jail time. If I interpreted what I read online correctly, these (because they were dismissed and it has been over a year) should both be considered spent, is that correct? And once a charge is spent they cannot use it against you on a tier 4 visa application? Everything else on my visa will be fine, and we are hiring someone to help guide me through the process so that no  unnecessary errors are made, but does this sound correct? Should I be ok? I am extremely worried. (by the way I am 19 now, and from the U.S) does anybody have any experience with a situation similar to this? Please let me know so I dont have a heart attack! Thank you in advance.

Please don't take my advice as 100% truth because I am just going to tell you my personal experience.

I have had about 6 traffic infractions (speeding, red light violations, talking on cell phone etc) and one serious infraction (driving on a suspended license). Only 1/6 of these previous convictions were "spent" when I applied, but I did the following:

1. Got ORIGINAL copies of my violations from the courts that issued the violation. If I couldn't get original copies, I got the clerk to certify the print out showing my name, violation type, consequence (fines) and the fact that I paid.

2. I declared every, single, infraction according to the visa directions. On my Tier 4 visa application, it asked for all of my violations, so I gave everything I had, even things 9 years old.

I got a Tier 4 visa and a Tier 2 visa with no issue. That being said, your situation is different because
-you have a misdemeanor which is more severe than my traffic infractions
-your violation has been spent

I suggest that you retrieve those original documents ASAP because the courts can sometimes take ages to send them to you. The most important thing you need to do is to declare everything. If they know you are transparent, they should be fine. Also, take a look in the "general guidance for refusals". It shows what types of violations they MUST refuse someone for. As far as I can remember, it was offenses that result in a consequence of jail time, but please look to be sure.

If I interpreted what I read online correctly, these (because they were dismissed and it has been over a year) should both be considered spent, is that correct?

I cannot reiterate enough to please declare your convictions. Even the spent ones. Some people may say it is "unnecessary", but my Tier 4 and Tier 2 visas were not denied when I declared my spent convictions. Better to be safe than sorry.

and we are hiring someone to help guide me through the process so that no  unnecessary errors are made, but does this sound correct?

By the way, what has your lawyer said?

Please don't take my advice as 100% truth because I am just going to tell you my personal experience.

I have had about 6 traffic infractions (speeding, red light violations, talking on cell phone etc) and one serious infraction (driving on a suspended license). Only 1/6 of these previous convictions were "spent" when I applied, but I did the following:

1. Got ORIGINAL copies of my violations from the courts that issued the violation. If I couldn't get original copies, I got the clerk to certify the print out showing my name, violation type, consequence (fines) and the fact that I paid.

2. I declared every, single, infraction according to the visa directions. On my Tier 4 visa application, it asked for all of my violations, so I gave everything I had, even things 9 years old.

I got a Tier 4 visa and a Tier 2 visa with no issue. That being said, your situation is different because
-you have a misdemeanor which is more severe than my traffic infractions
-your violation has been spent

I suggest that you retrieve those original documents ASAP because the courts can sometimes take ages to send them to you. The most important thing you need to do is to declare everything. If they know you are transparent, they should be fine. Also, take a look in the "general guidance for refusals". It shows what types of violations they MUST refuse someone for. As far as I can remember, it was offenses that result in a consequence of jail time, but please look to be sure.

Thank you!! I looked up the guidelines for refusal, and read the ones that were seemingly relevant, and it used the term "high profile" often. I assume this means a more serious crime? I have talked to a lot of people and everyone seems to believe I will be ok and the visa should be fine, but because they were both dismissed, does this mean that they are both spent? If they are I would be a lot less anxious because if they are and all the other visa things are in place, it should be ok? (I am hoping that the fact that they were both dismissed, as well as the fact that I spent 0 time in jail will help my case)

I cannot reiterate enough to please declare your convictions. Even the spent ones. Some people may say it is "unnecessary", but my Tier 4 and Tier 2 visas were not denied when I declared my spent convictions. Better to be safe than sorry.

By the way, what has your lawyer said?

Do not worry, I 100% plan on disclosing all of my record!! I just want to know if they are spent because I read online that they are not allowed to reject your visa if the charge is spent. We have not found a lawyer yet (not many around here have enough knowledge about this specific visa)

It's alright, I was in a twist when I found out about how stupid mistakes could jeopardize my studies abroad. I had so many anxiety attacks and read the refusals guide a million times. I know how you feel. I am not sure exactly what high profile means, but if you look under "mandatory" refusals, you should see the types of convictions. I wouldn't get too hung up on spent versus unspent, but I do believe that if your conviction resulted in a fine, it is spent after a year for 18 and over and  6 months for under 18.
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/299916/rehabilitation-of-offenders-guidance.pdf

Your 1 year long countdown begins from date of conviction, not crime committed (i.e. if you commit a crime that results in being sentenced to paying a fine on 10 January 2015 but you were seen by a judge, convicted, and sentenced on 10 April 2015, your spent date will be 10 April 2016).

I feel like someone else can chime in on this and feel free to correct me if I am wrong anyone!

My driving on a suspended license (which could technically be a misdemeanor, but was an infraction in my case) was not spent when I applied but I was fine 

I also have seen some threads on this forum of people with misdemeanor DUI's getting Tier 4 visas.

It's alright, I was in a twist when I found out about how stupid mistakes could jeopardize my studies abroad. I had so many anxiety attacks and read the refusals guide a million times. I know how you feel. I am not sure exactly what high profile means, but if you look under "mandatory" refusals, you should see the types of convictions. I wouldn't get too hung up on spent versus unspent, but I do believe that if your conviction resulted in a fine, it is spent after a year for 18 and over and  6 months for under 18.
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/299916/rehabilitation-of-offenders-guidance.pdf

Your 1 year long countdown begins from date of conviction, not crime committed (i.e. if you commit a crime that results in being sentenced to paying a fine on 10 January 2015 but you were seen by a judge, convicted, and sentenced on 10 April 2015, your spent date will be 10 April 2016).

I feel like someone else can chime in on this and feel free to correct me if I am wrong anyone!

My driving on a suspended license (which could technically be a misdemeanor, but was an infraction in my case) was not spent when I applied but I was fine 

I also have seen some threads on this forum of people with misdemeanor DUI's getting Tier 4 visas.

 Thank you so much! That really does make me feel a lot better. I've been driving everyone crazy because I've been going nuts for like a week since I realized that something I did could completely ruin my chances of attending my dream school. I do feel like it should be fine, and I am going to the courts tomorrow to try and get all my documents pushed through early, I am just super nervous.

My school in the UK had an international student advisor who basically knew all the ins and outs of the student visa process. Anytime I felt overwhelmed, he would kindly tell me about all of the students he had helped get visas and how he was confident my history would not hinder the approval. If your school has anything like this, it may be worth it to contact them asking for some advice. They want to help you!

I agree about using your schools international department who assist with visas.  You won't be the first person with a misdemeanour to apply.

If you want to use a lawyer (will not come cheap), two that can be trusted are Laura Devine (offices in NYC and London) and Victoria Sharkey with Medivisas (London).  Both can assist no matter where you are located as you won't need to meet with them in person.

Alternately, the UK uni I went to told me they were 'not allowed to help at all' with the visa process, so prepare for any type of response from them.  Hopefully they'll be better than mine was.  Mine just issued my CAS number and then were like, this isn't our problem. 

Alternately, the UK uni I went to told me they were 'not allowed to help at all' with the visa process, so prepare for any type of response from them. 

How very unhelpful of them. It might be different now as a refusal of a Tier 4 visa is black mark for the sponsor with UKVI.

How very unhelpful of them. It might be different now as a refusal of a Tier 4 visa is black mark for the sponsor with UKVI.

I can agree with this. My good friend works in education and refused visas are a BIG deal and can actually end up with their teaching rights being removed.

How very unhelpful of them. It might be different now as a refusal of a Tier 4 visa is black mark for the sponsor with UKVI.

Good.  It was terrible to be completely alone in the visa application process as a student.  At least for the spouse visa I had my husband's eyes on the application as well!

My student visa was 4 years ago so I'm hoping it HAS changed.