UK/US Embassies question?

Question

I asked this before, I want to get more opinion from experts please:

John applied to a tourist visa at the US consulate and was rejected because he couldn't prove that he will leave the USA at the end of his visit.

Now John has a new clean passport and wants to apply to the UK embassy for a tourist visa and sincerely plans to return home at the end of his visit to the UK.

On the UK visitor visa application, there's a question,

"Have you ever been refused a visa for any country, including the UK?"

- If John answers "Yes, rejected a USA tourist visa", will this negatively affect the evaluation of his application?

- If John answers "No" to this question,

is there any way the UK consulate would know that John wasn't telling all the truth on this question?

Many thanks for your answer.

__________

* John is a fictitious name that I used to describe the situation. :)

Answer 1

Ethics aside, John should know the following:  Data is routinely shared between countries, including the US and the UK; making a material misrepresentation on a visa application is grounds for being permanently barred from the countries in question.

Answer 2

It is always best to be honest. If 'John' was refused, there may be a record of it and if he is caught lying he will never get a visa. The best thing for 'John' to do is to get better back up evidence to prove that he will return. If 'John' intends to return to the UK before the Visa expires, then letters of recommendation, a job offer or an offer to return to a job would be useful. If 'John' owns property then he can state that he would need to come back for that reason.

Many people get rejected for that reason. If 'John' can prove he has every reason to come back then they may....may....reconsider on these new grounds.

That is of course, if 'John' does intend on coming back.