US Waiver for Canadians

From wikipedia:  The Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) is the central police database where Canada's law enforcement agencies can access information on a number of matters. It is Canada's only national law enforcement networking computer system ensuring officers all across the country can access the same information.  So how does it work? The first step A criminal history file is created the first time an individual is charged by police. In most cases, it will be reported by the charging police service to the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC), a central database. It is supposed to be destroyed by CPIC after five years if there is no disposition in the case. After a conviction If the charge results in a conviction, a permanent file – a "criminal record" – is created. Cases where there is an acquittal, or charges are stayed or withdrawn, also remain in the national system and, depending on the nature of the case, are purged after a set amount of time...

I stumbled across this article ( Japan starts fingerprinting, photographing visitors ) which reports on Japan's recent move to prevent terrorists and illegals from entering the country. At one point in the article it is mentioned that Japan is the second country after the United States to implement such a system. It goes on to point out: "Fingerprints and photos will be checked for matches on terrorist watch lists and files on foreigners with criminal records in Japan. People matching the data will be denied entry and deported." It didn't mention anywhere that the record check is synchronized with any foreign databases such as the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) database although one can only wonder if it is headed in that direction. It is entirely possible that in a not to distant future all individuals who have criminal records will either be denied foreign travel or would require waivers or other bureaucratic materials.

The Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) database is a central warehouse which, amongst other things, keeps records of your FPS (your finger print file). If you have ever been fingerprinted then chances are a record sits in this database and DHS has access. So if you have a criminal record and routinely cross to the US - and you haven't been caught yet - then you should to pay attention to this article I found on HighwayStar magazine . It discusses steps you can take to apply for a pardon which will remove (or erase) these records. Ah, if only I knew this before! The article also outlines the most recent costs associated with waiver applications and I did notice one interesting sentence about something called a 'September Letter' which the article claims is some sort of a permanent waiver. Wow, something new to investigate. Update: recent post about the September Letter