If you were denied entry to the US because of a criminal conviction (a crime involving moral turpitude, or CIMT) and you've committed only 1 offense then you might be eligible for the petty offense exception under INA §212(a)(2)(A)(ii) if you satisfy all of the following 3 statements:- he/she has committed only one CIMT;
- 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
- the offense of conviction carries a maximum possible sentence of one year or less.
In other words the individual can only have one Crime Involving Moral Turpitude (CIMT), this crime must be a misdemeanor, and the sentence that the individual received could not have been for more than 180 days.
If this is the case, the individual will be “forgiven” and the individual cannot be deemed inadmissible for this crime!
I went through National Pardon Centre to get a waiver , jumped through all the hoops and then took me completed applicatrion to the Sweetgrass border crossing , after waiting 10 minutes the officer called me up and asked me Why are you getting a waiver? You do not need one. She then explained this excemption to me and told me she would not take my money for the waiver , and that when they ask if anyone has been convicted or charged answer YES and everything should be good ! The National Pardon Centre would not givce me my money back ,and they still insist that I need a Waiver !
ReplyDeleteI was originally denied entry to the US in June of 2000.
ReplyDeleteI have only now had a chance to apply for my first waiver.
I applied on June 11, 2009 and received my waiver on September 26, 2009 dated September 21, 2009.
I received a 1 year waiver.
I will be starting the process again in March of 2010 just to be sure!
I'm hoping for a longer duration waiver.
I must say, receiving that waiver made me feel like a huge weight was lifted from my shoulders, but it is bittersweet, since I have to go through the whole process again in 6 months...
Good luck to everyone!
Is DHS finally showing a little intelligence?
ReplyDeleteI got my 4th waiver on November 30th (dated November 23rd) after applying at Ottawa airport on September 15th. This one is for 5 years and only took 2 months while the previous 3 were only 1 year waivers & took 6-8 months.
Apparently (and finally) they have decided that an FBI name check is not necessary on renewal applications.
Interesting, my latest wait time was nicely similar. I got my second waiver Dec 14/09, after applying in Winnipeg airport Oct 6/09. This one is for 5 years, and took 2 months, and the last one was for 1 year, and took 5 months. At a cost of about $1,000 to apply each time, it's nice to save a few thousand dollars.
ReplyDeletePETTY OFFENCE EXEMPTION, does anybody know if young offender charges appear on a court record where you have an adult charge? I have 1 minor adult conviction from a Kitchener, Ontario Court., My young offender charges were in Toronto. What I am asking is, do I qualify for a PETTY EXEMPTION with my Court record from Kitchener??? Any info would be helpful, Thanx
ReplyDeleteI've been going to the US for years. I never had a problem. On January 2nd, 2012 I was headed for Florida to sign the papers at the notary and the bank for a condo I had just purchased.
ReplyDeleteThe agent at the booth told me I was to go for a random check up.
To my surprise the agent performing the check up ask me if I had ever been refused an entry to the US, which I had not, he asked me if I ever was arrested or on probation, I answered no. He continued by mentionning a conviction in 1985, when I was 18 years old..... I didn't even remember this. So I told him the story of how I ended up with the wrong people at the wrong time.
He left me in the office and returned 5 minutes later and allowed me to go through and told me to fix it.
Upon my return last week I searched the web and talk to Parole Canada, the US customs office; etc.... I will be going to the customs office at the airport next week to find out how to fix it.
I will obviously apply for a Canadian Pardon and take the necessary steps to get a US Waiver.
My question is to know if I can still go to the US while my application for a Waiver is in process?
I would appreciate any feedback I can get.
Thanks
The US policy is totally strict, but I think there’s nothing wrong if we follow that policy. They have the right to do it to make sure that the people who visit their country have no criminal background.
ReplyDelete1-855-7-Waiver US Entry Waiver