US Waiver for Canadians

Having lost access to the US because a criminal conviction or an overstay can be quite stressful to career and family life. I know first hand, because it happened to me. I was denied entry to the US back in 2005 after years of successful US business and family vacation travel. It was a shock to learn that a couple of age old criminal convictions (2 very bad decisions from my late teens) had come back to haunt me. After I was denied entry, I learned that my criminal record was downloaded from CPIC into the DHS and FBI database systems. The result was that I would now be inadmissible to the USA - FOREVER! Well almost... In order to return, I would need to file for a document called a 'waiver of inadmissibility'. This waiver (an I-194) would essentially negate my inadmissibility, once again allowing me to work, visit or even live in the US. In November of 2006 I received my first waiver which was valid for 5 years. Filing for a US waiver is an administrative and dau...

When weighing their decision on a waiver application the Admissibility Review Office (ARO) must take into consideration these 3 factors: The risk of harm to society if the applicant is admitted; The seriousness of the applicant's immigration or criminal law violations; and The nature of the applicant's reasons for wishing to enter the U.S. In addition to these factors, the ARO can also consider the following: The nature of the offense; The circumstances which led to the offense; How recently the offense occured; Whether it was an isolated incident, or part of a pattern of misconduct; Evidence of reformation or rehabilitation. This builds on my previous posting about intent: Be clear about your intent . Something to consider while completing your waiver application.

You may file for an I-194 waiver in person at a designated land border port of entry. When you bring in your application, you will be given a receipt for your application fee and the U.S. set of fingerprints will be taken. Ensure you have completed these steps in your  I-192 waiver application process . List of land border crossings: Portland Port of Entry 312 Fore Street Portland, ME 04101 Phone: (207) 771-3600 Fax: (207) 771-3608 Houlton Port of Entry 27 Customs Loop Houlton, ME 04730 Phone: (207) 532-2131 x 0 Fax: (207) 532-4153 Fort Fairfield Port of Entry 4 Boundry 4 Line Road Fort Fairfield, ME 04742 Phone: (207) 473-7474 Ft. Kent Port of Entry 401 West Main Street Fort Kent, ME 04743 Phone: (207) 834-5255 Van Buren Port of Entry 137 Bridge Street, P.O. Box 146 Van Buren, ME 04785 Phone: (207) 868-3391 Madawaska Port of Entry 63 Bridge Avenue, Suite 101 Madawaska, ME 04756 Phone: (207) 728-4376 x 0 Calais Por...

There have been a few changes to the steps needed to apply for the I-194 (advance permission to enter the United States) after being denied entry at the US border. The changes below are in bold . Find your local fingerprint office (call to see if you need an appointment). Bring your passport, photo identification that shows your address (driver's licence for example) and approxiametly  $25 CDN (most places seem to accept debit / credit cards) . Cost is between $25 and approxiametly   $60 depending on whether the facility forwards your information electrically to the RCMP (if this is the case, skip step 2). Mail the C-216C form to the RCMP. Include a check for processing (approxiametly $25 CDN but call to confirm).  Wait up to 1-3 months for a reply... When you receive your completed C-216C from the RCMP ensure it includes the fingerprint chart with a date stamp and the documentation related to your conviction and disposition. Complete a personal statement...

Ottawa and Toronto pre-clearance centres are now processing I-192 waiver applications only on Saturdays between 10am and 6pm. These are handled on a first come, first served basis. Unsure about other pre-clearance centres.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has expanded on its explanations of the grounds of inadmissibility for which one might require a Form I-192 waiver. Form I-192, Application for Advance Permission to Enter as a Non-Immigrant and Inadmissible Canadian Information In general, you might be denied entry: If you have a communicable disease, If you have a criminal record for crimes of moral turpitude, For possession of or trafficking in a controlled substance, If you have any involvement with terrorism or terrorist organizations (no waivers can be approved for this category) , If you have trafficked in persons, If you have been involved in money laundering, If you might become a public charge because of limited financial resources, If you have been previously removed (deported) or have overstayed a previous period of admission to the United States A comprehensive list of the legal descriptions can be found here: Legal Descriptions (opens a PDF document)

US attorney Laurel Scott (of Scott and Associates ) has been providing a live chat on her site for the past view months. She specializes in the I-601 hardship waiver but seems to answer all immigration/waiver related questions including those around the Canadian application (I-192) for the waiver I-194. The chat session is held every Wednesday at 11am (central time) at the following website: Scott and Associates chat room. The chat sessions are anonymous . Archives of her previous chat sessions can be found here: Laurel Scott chat logs. For legal advice and representation on obtaining an I-194 waiver of inadmissibility Laurel recommends attorney Daniel E. Green. His website and contact information are here: Hudson Valley Immigration Law.

Here's the update to an earlier posting about a Canadian teacher in Indiana who when renewing his permit as a temporary worker was found to have an age-old conviction from 1964. A Canadian, Stephen R. Gill, was teaching English at Indiana University South Bend. Gill learned late last week that U.S. Customs & Border Protection gave him a 90-day extension on a humanitarian parole. That extension expires April 1. “I’m happy about it,” Gill said Tuesday from his South Bend home. Late last year, Gill had been ordered to leave the country and return to Canada by Monday. You can read the complete article here: " South Bend man gets reprieve on deportation to Canada ". The article incorrectly states that Gill has applied for the I-192. The I-192 is only the application form (Application for Advance Permission to Enter as a Non-Immigrant) which you submit in order to be considered for an I-194 waiver. I'll be surprised if U.S. Customs & Border Protection...

There is a thread over here ( I-601 and extreme... ) on the IWL discussion board which includes some excellent information regarding the filing of an extreme hardship waiver. Some additional information and the original post material can found over here ( general guide for waivers... ) on the Family Based Immigation forum . Hardship waivers are usually applied for when the individual intends to immigrate to the US but has been deemed inadmissible (excluded) because of: Health related problems (HIV, TB, etc) Criminal and related violations People likely to become a public charge on welfare Security and related violations Illegal entrants and immigration violators Document violations etc. Although this blog is mostly focused on those who wish to travel to the US but have no intention of immigrating (where an I-192 application is needed - Application for Advance Permission to Enter as a Non-Immigrant) I do intend to post when possible anything related to I-601 waivers in general.

I thought it might be useful to briefly recap the steps needed to apply for the I-194 (advance permission to enter the United States) after being denied entry at the US border (you can read about when I was refused entry and my background here ). Find your local fingerprint office (call to see if you need an appointment). Bring your passport and $25 CDN. See this previous post for details. Mail the C-216C form to the RCMP. Include a check for processing ($25 CDN). Refer to this post . Wait up to 2 months for a reply... When you receive your completed C-216C from the RCMP ensure it includes the fingerprint chart with a date stamp and the documentation related to your conviction and disposition. See this post about when I received mine. Complete a personal statement regarding your intended activities in the US. If you are inadmissible because of a criminal conviction you must also complete a statement explaining the circumstances of each arrest, conviction and the sentence or fi...

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...

Now that I have my waiver, I'm starting to consider what the process might be to renew it. Some questions that I will be pursuing: Do I need to re do the C-216C and resubmit it to the RCMP for a date stamp and endorsement? Do I have to request again the document from the RCMP showing my prior convictions? Do I have to reappear for the interview with the US border office to complete the application I-192? Will processing of the application be faster the second time? Can I expect, based on my current waiver that the next one will be good for 5 years? And some additional questions which are directed at my career aspirations: With the waiver, can I apply for an L1 work visa? Can I relocate to the USA? I'll be focusing on finding answers to these questions. If you have any insight, please use the comment section of this post. Thanks

I stumbled on to an interesting article which could effect those applying for waivers. There is a proposal by the USCIS to increase the fees for processing. For example, the I-192 application for advance permission to enter as a nonimmigrant is currently $265 US. The proposal would increase it to $545 US (a, $280 or 105.7% increase). You can read the full article here: Proposed USCIS Fee Adjustments

It took just over 9 months since submitting my I-192 application and almost 12 months since my process started but today I finally received my I-194 US waiver! For those of you that haven't gotten yours yet. Here is what it looks like: It comes on an ordinary letter sheet and includes a cover letter. The letter was dated November 3, 2006 and reads: Your application for advance permission to enter the United States as a nonimmigrant has been been approved. Enclosed is a copy of form I-194. The terms and conditions are: You are granted multiple entries into the United States at various points of entry as a visitor for business/pleasure/employment for a period of stay to be determined by the admitting officer, provided that you are not inadmissible to the United States under any other section of the law other than Section 212(a)(2)(A)(i)(I) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended. VALID FOR FIVE YEARS FROM THE DATE OF APPROVAL. This letter and the form I-194 must be present...

Today I went to the Border Protection office (at the airport) and submitted my application (I-192) for my I-194 US waiver (Advance Permission to Enter the United States). The Officer reviewed my documents including my statements. He took a photo of me (another mug shot) using his webcam and then took me to a room where I was fingerprinted on to the FD-258 form. Afterwards he packaged up my application and placed it in another room (I assumed it was a mailing room). He told me the documents would be sent for processing in Minneapolis and that I should receive a response in about 6 months (gulp). Finally, he took my credit card and charged me for my filing ($265.00 US). I received a receipt (form G-211) and then escorted out of the Border Protection office. The process lasted approximately 2 hours (about an hour was spent in the waiting room).

I called the Border Protection office today and an Officer advised me that they don't make appointments - just show up in person to submit the application. He reminded me to bring $265.00 (US), my passport, and the rest of the items from the checklist. Here it is again: Completed and signed I-192 form Form G-325A (get it here ) The completed fingerprint chart C-216C which was endorsed and time dated by the RCMP (see previous post on where to get this) Canadian passport The copy of my court record, conviction and disposition (which I received from the RCMP - see this post ) My personal statement regarding my intended activities in the US A personal statement explaining the circumstances of my conviction There was another requirement (FD-258, another fingerprint chart) but this is completed by the Border Protection Officer when I submit my application.

Today, after almost 2 months I received my C-216C! It included a cover letter which read: Dear Sir/Madame, The enclosed fingerprints have been certified as being identical to the Fingerprint Section (FPS) file number: (and my file #). The information relative to this FPS file are being returned to you. It also included the returned fingerprint chart with a date stamp and the document relating to my conviction and the disposition. Now I'll complete my 2 statements and by early next week I will visit the airport and the Border Protection office to submit my I-192 application for the I-194 waiver.

Of note: I've discovered by reading multiple bulletin board threads that the I-192 is actually the application for the waiver. The actual waiver that I hope to receive is called the I-194. It comes in the form of a 2 page letter (8" x 11") and is valid for either 1 year or up to 5 years.

3 weeks since I mailed my C-216C to the RCMP and still nothing. I've read on a few bulletin boards ( like this one ) that processing times for the I-192 are taking upwards of 10-12 months.

Check list for I-192 Application for Advance Permission to Enter the United States. All listed items below must be provided at the time you present yourself for fingerprinting by the US Customs and Border Protection Service: Completed form I-192 signed and submitted by you (no copies - download it here ) Fingerprint chart FD-258 (this will be done at the time you submit your application by a US Customs Officer) Form G-325A completed and signed by you (download it here ) Completed fingerprint chart C-216C contact the RCMP or your local police department for fingerprint locations you'll need to send this to the RCMP to be endorsed and time dated once returned, you will need to submit it as an original Your passport proving that you are a Canadian citizen A statement regarding the purpose of your intended activities in the US (e.g. business, vacation, etc) A copy of the original court record from the actual court of conviction indicating plea indictment, conviction and disposition for...