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When Your Past Catches up to You

This definitive article written by a Windsor law firm and published by the Ontario Bar Association on January 24, 2006 covers everything your lawyer needs on gaining you lawful admission into the US. You can read the entire article here (PDF).

There are a couple of interesting points. On page 5 for example, there is a piece under Crimes Involving Moral Turpitude (CIMT) called the US Petty Offence Exception:

Pursuant to the US petty offence exception, a non citizen may be determined admissible, notwithstanding a single CIMT conviction if three essential requirements are satisfied: (1) he/she has committed only one CIMT; (2) he/she "was not sentenced to a term of imprisonment in excess of six months (regardless of the extent to which the sentence was ultimately executed"; and (3) the offence of conviction carries a maximum possible sentence of one year or less.


Unfortunately all 3 don't apply to me (I was convicted of 2 minor offences) but it is worth considering and might be a good reason to involve an immigration lawyer.

Also, another interesting point on page 8 under the section: I-192 Application for Advance Permission to Enter the US. It states,
When applying for an I-192 extension, a new RCMP Criminal Record Statement is not required - though the I-192 extension application must be supported by a current set of RCMP C-216C fingerprints.

I'm hoping that someone who has already gone through the process of reapplying for an I-194 can confirm/deny that this is the case.

The document also includes some additional correspondence which the law firm has had with various US officials. If you haven't already, read the entire article here (PDF).

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Comments

  1. seelanMarch 13, 2007 at 7:18 PM

    I am not sure about the criminal record as I did not have one, but I was required to produce RCMP finger-print record as part of renewal application

    ReplyDelete
  2. MeMarch 16, 2007 at 4:27 PM

    I am in the process of re-applying ..( for the fifth year in a row!)

    I have to resend fingerprints every time... thats all...

    JG- Windsor Ontario

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ryan SmartyMarch 19, 2007 at 11:06 AM

    Thanks for your update Jimmy. I curious: when you resend your fingerprints, do you need to have them time stamped by the RCMP first? Good luck on getting your waiver.

    ReplyDelete
  4. seelanMarch 19, 2007 at 2:30 PM

    Ryan, You have to send finger-print (original) stamped by the RCMP. Which means every time when you apply/renew your waiver, you need to get a new one. They won't accept photocopies

    ReplyDelete
  5. SanAugust 28, 2007 at 4:16 PM

    Is there a webpage that details the procedure for the renewal application? I would appreciate more info on this as I have just received I-194 that is valid for one year. I wonder whether the renewal process is exactly the same with the first time application for I-192. Thanks,

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousDecember 12, 2007 at 3:18 AM

    Yes, I have a renewal question - I see I am in the "lucky camp" to get a 5 year wavier and am renewing now...

    But unlike many people I'm actually IN the U.S. - I'm here for school - so since I'm not traveling to a Port of Entry will they just send it to me here in the U.S. - seems unlikely....

    FWIW...In 2002 for me it was a 22 year old minor possession charge that the RCMP and local police "forgot" to remove from their records - They reacted VERY quickly and in 11 days they destroyed it. I showed this to BCIS/INS but the INS said "Well, now that we know about it there's nothing we can do." So EVEN though the record doesn't even EXIST I have to get a waiver for life. Nice huh...

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousFebruary 2, 2008 at 2:37 PM

    Jimmy Graham said...

    "I have to resend fingerprints every time... thats all..."

    How about the other stuff? Like, letter explaining circumstances of conviction, letter explaining need for waiver, criminal record check, personal references, letters from employers, letter from doctor (for drug-related conviction), etc, so on and so forth. Idon't know why they should, they've got it all on file already, but as well all know, common sense and reasonableness is not part of the CBP/DHS's vocabulary.

    I really hope I can get a 5-year this time, as they've now bumped up the application fee to over $500 (at least our dollar is at par now, but still - ouch!). What a pain in the ass. I know, it's my own damned fault for getting a conviction in the first place, but you'd think I was some sort of master criminal or something with the hoops they make you jump through.

    ReplyDelete
  8. AnonymousFebruary 2, 2008 at 3:05 PM

    Unfortunately the link in your post to the "When your past catches up to you" article is now broken. I wish I had saved it when I viewed it previously. I've had my waiver for a few months now and am contemplating the renewal process. What a pain this is...

    ReplyDelete
  9. AnonymousSeptember 9, 2009 at 8:28 AM

    Does anyone have a copy of 'the definitive article written by a Windsor law firm and published by the Ontario Bar Association on January 24, 2006' referred to in this post?

    ReplyDelete
  10. RPSSeptember 10, 2009 at 11:54 AM

    Hi Anonymous;

    I do have a copy (Adobe PDF file) of this "definitive article" which I downloaded while the link was good.

    The file is 7 MB in size.

    I could email it to you if you provide an email address.

    Thx,
    RPS

    ReplyDelete
  11. US Visa WaiverMay 5, 2013 at 5:25 PM

    The Canada Pardon & US Waivers Experts provides solutions for Canadian citizens with criminal records who want to obtain a record suspension/pardon, or anyone looking to simplify the process of obtaining a US waiver or other type of travel visa. Our dedicated professional case workers have over 10 years of experience providing these services and more across Canada.

    US Visa Waiver

    ReplyDelete

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