Skip to main content

First Post - Day 1

Hello. I'm a Canadian who works in the High Tech industry. I've done so for the last 15 years. I'm in my early 40s and my job requires frequent travel to the US. On average I spend between 30 to 50 days in the US per year. While considering a new management role, I was asked by the company I work for to apply for a US work visa (an L1B). Thinking that this was a good opportunity for advancement, I went ahead and applied for the visa.

The process involved my company's legal department drafting up some papers. While traveling to the US on one occasion I arrived at the airport early to submit my application and have my interview. Strangely for me, at one point during the interview the officer left the room briefly. He returned to ask me if I had ever had a criminal record. I did. I had been involved in delinquent activity when i was 18 and unsuccessfully attempted to steal a car stereo and then a second attempt to steal an actual car. On the first occasion I received a warning but for the second I was charged with theft under a $1,000. I paid a small amount of restitution and was on probation for 1 year. Afterwards, I went to college, straightened out my life and never looked back... until now.

The officer informed me that with a criminal record, not only could he not process my application for the work permit, but that I would now be inadmissible to the USA - FOREVER! In order to return, I would need to file for a waiver. The waiver is called an I-192. It would permit me to travel to the United States for business and leisure for short periods of time.

This blog is about my experience of applying for and hopefully receiving that waiver. I hope my experience will help others as I plan to post often.
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Do you have an I-194 waiver?

Thanks to those who participated in my recent poll "Do you have an I-194 waiver?". It turns out that of those who participated over half have applied or intend to for the I-194 waiver (Advance Permission to Enter as a Non-Immigrant). It is also interesting to note that the amount that have 1 year or 5 year waivers are very close (3 to 4). I had read somewhere that the waivers were granted as 1 year or 5 based on the degree or seriousness of the past offenses. If this is true, then wouldn't a person expect that if he/she were granted a 5 year waiver, he/she should always expect the 5 year waiver? I'd be happy to hear your comments and personal experiences on this. Update: See  I-192 Waiver Application Process
167 comments
Read more

Check Your Waiver Application Status

I've never tried, but apparently there is an email address to check your waiver application status. CHECKING THE STATUS OF YOUR WAIVER REQUEST: Please allow at least 120 days from the date of submission of your I-192 before making an inquiry about the status of your application. As stated earlier, a full review of your circumstances can take up to a year, and requests for status updates may add to that timeline. However, if for some reason you are concerned about the status of your request, and you filed at a CBP Preclearance location or at a land border port of entry after August 26, 2007 you may ask for an update by emailing inquiry.waiver.aro@dhs.gov . In the email, be sure to provide your full name, DOB and your A number. If you filed at a land border port of entry prior to August 26, 2007, please contact them directly. Phone numbers are on our Web site. Attorney inquiries: attorneyinquiry.waiver.aro@dhs.gov If you have submitted an application and you have had a chang...
74 comments
Read more

I-192 waiver application cost going up?

As mentioned by a contributor on the I-194 waiver forum , a recent article on CBC ( Have you ever smoked weed? ) has made claim that the cost of an I-192 waiver application is increasing from $585 to a whopping $930 US ($1,200 CDN) later this year. There seems to be some truth as found on a US Federal Register under a section labelled "TABLE 9—PROPOSED FEES BY IMMIGRATION BENEFIT" (see here: https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2016-05-04/pdf/2016-10297.pdf ) If these changes move ahead Canadian's who have been previously denied entry to the US will see a 59% increase on their US waivers. There is some potential good news in that all waivers after the fee increase may be issued for a set 5 year (instead of the current 1, 3, 5 year) with limited exceptions for sexual assault convictions but that has yet to be confirmed. Waiver renewal application processing seemed to have gotten quicker over the summer with some applicants commenting on 3 month returns. So perhaps we can f...
10 comments
Read more