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Update

I haven't posted in sometime so I thought it prudent to give you an update on my situation. In the last post I mentioned about an expectation of delays at Person. It appears this secondary screening now happens at most Airport border crossings. Whether you are subjected to it or not seems to be up to the official. It can be rather embarrassing if you are traveling with friends or colleagues because they'll move you to that secondary room and if busy - will keep you there until just prior to your flight.

ALWAYS make sure you are there well before your departure. I now give myself at least 2 hours prior to my flight. If I have a connection, I always make sure there is plenty of times. I've seen on a few occasions people in the secondary screening rooms actually miss their flights.

I've made approximately 12 crossings since my last post. I travel down to the US often for work. So much so that a lot of the officers actually know me by face now. This can help particularly if you show respect and you are prepared with you papers and are cordial. At the end of this month I'll be making my first crossing for personal reasons. My wife and kids are planning a holiday in the southern US states. I'll post about my experience at that time.

I get a lot of personal messages regarding application wait times. If you have recently received your waiver I would be interested in how long the process took for you. You can message me privately or in response to this post. Thanks and good luck.
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Comments

  1. AnonymousDecember 22, 2007 at 11:00 PM

    My husband applied for his waiver on January 15, 2005 - almost three years ago. Our lawyer checks regularly and is always given the same answer ... the file is still in the FBI background check process. I've followed many blogs over the years and I can say that I've never heard of anyone waiting anything close to three years! We are extremely frustrated. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousJanuary 3, 2008 at 2:58 PM

    Do you have an "A" number? You should, and with it you can call and check for yourself. 3 years indicates a problem with your application.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousJanuary 5, 2008 at 9:45 PM

    Yes, we have an "A" number. Our lawyer regularly calls the office where the application was filed and the answer is always the same. We have been assured that the file is not lost but is in for the FBI background check. We are have been that occasionally background checks can take this long. Are you suggesting we call someone other than the office where the application was filed? If so, please advise who we should contact. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousFebruary 2, 2008 at 3:02 PM

    I applied for my waiver at Pearson Int'l in July or August of 2005 (was that a bad year for waiver applications or something?). I finally received my waiver in October of 2007. I hand't been making enquiries about it, having seen so many stories about applications being stuck in the FBI name check process - I assume that's what it was. I did get asked for a current RCMP CRC (criminal record check) in about June of 2007 - I guess I should have supplied it in the first place, despite advice that I had gotten that supplying my sealed (due to a pardon) criminal record was all that was required. So, yeah, wait times can vary widely.

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousDecember 16, 2009 at 6:02 PM

    Just got my i-194 after 4 1/2 months waiting. Application was done at Pearson airport. It was issued for 1 year and I must say I was surprised to get it so soon. Thanks for great info on this site. It helped me a lot!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Grateful citizenFebruary 23, 2010 at 5:41 PM

    I filed my I-192 form in march 2009 at Champlain, NY and received a one year I-194 waiver in January 2010. 10 months wait.

    By the way, thanks for the info on your blog! Very useful.

    ReplyDelete

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