US Waiver for Canadians

Through international agreements, the RCMP shares criminal records information with foreign authorities who may register this information in their databank. A pardon / record suspension allows people who were convicted of a criminal offence, but have completed their sentence and demonstrated they are law-abiding citizens, to have their criminal record kept separate and apart from other criminal records (sometimes known as a sealed record) . This means that any search of the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) will not show that you had a criminal record, or that you were issued a pardon/record suspension. Many foreign countries, including the U.S., do not recognize a Canadian pardon / record suspension. If you have been convicted of an offence, you may still be refused entry into the U.S., even if you have since been granted the pardon in Canada. If you are renewing a waiver or completing a new I-192 application, you will need to request a copy of your pardoned criminal r...

If you have a criminal record and travelled to the US, have not yet been denied entry, be prepared for the inevitable. Do yourself a favour and don't go back until you have successfully received a record suspension (formally called a pardon) . See my previous post on Record Suspension which includes a link to the Parole Board of Canada's guide. If you have only 1 conviction, there is good news, you may not be inadmissible. See my previous post on claiming the petty offense exception . In this case, depending on your circumstances, it might make sense for you to retain an attorney or lawyer. If you are unsure about whether you will be denied entry because of your particular conviction, be sure to check out this PDF defining "morale turpitude".

In early 2012, the Canadian Government made sweeping changes to the Parole Board of Canada via the ' The Safe Streets and Communities Act' (Bill C-10) . As of March 13, 2012, the term "pardon" was been replaced with "record suspension". Click here for changes to eligibility . My update. I started my Pardon (Record Suspension) process through a third-party service  Pardons Canada back in February, 2010. The actual application was filed by them to the Parole Board (PBC) in March, 2011. So it's been about 18 months since filing and I've still not received my response. Back in June, I wrote to Pardons Canada for an update and they responded: Your Pardon application has been with the Parole Board of Canada (PBC) since March 3, 2011. The file is no longer in our hands. We are now waiting for the PBC to give their final approval. Please be patient as there are delays due to changes of legislation to the Pardon rules. Please click here www.pardo...

It's been a while since my last update. I've got less than a year on my current I-194 waiver (expires next November) and I'll be documenting my experience in obtaining a renewal. I plan to start the process again in late January (11 months should be more than enough time, right?) . Got Pardon? I don't . I'm still waiting on the pardon that I applied for through Pardons Canada back last March. I've not be on top of them to do so, but their lack of updates has not impressed me much. I can just hope that they are making good progress (note to self: follow up with Pardons Canada) . The main reason why I chose to go with them in the first place was so that I could free myself from the paperwork, bureaucracy, etc. To have to chase after them for updates washes that reason away just a little. Thanks to those who have been keeping the comments alive. I've seen some good discussions about wait times and other irregulaties. Don't forget you can always subscribe ...

Here are a few Immigration Law blogs that I currently follow. Border Immigration Lawyer Blog -Sarah E. Murphy, Esq. Often posts about the waiver of inadmissibility process and her clients' experiences. How do I get a Pardon? -Jared Church (expresspardons.com) Although primarily focused as a pardon service, the blog does cover issues around US travel. Matthew Kolken on Deportation And Removal -Matthew Kolken, Esq. US Immigration advocate, covers a wide ranges of immigration related issues. The Immigration News Blog -Matthew Kolken, Esq. Another immigration blog by Matthew Kolken. Pardons Blog -Pardons Canada (pardons.org) Blog focuses on the pardon service but does cover issues around US travel. Immigration Blog For US & Canada -Bomza Law Group, Toronto Immigration Law Firm Not much about waivers of inadmissibility but US immigration in general from a Toronto Immigration Law Firm. Pardon Services Canada blog -same (pardonservicescanada.com) Another pardon service blog, co...

After much hesitation, consideration and a little bit of research I have decided to apply for a pardon. What's a pardon? A pardon allows people who were convicted of a criminal offence, but have completed their sentence and demonstrated they are law-abiding citizens, to have their criminal record kept separate and apart from other criminal records. Pardons are issued by the federal government of Canada. This means that any search of the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) will not show that you had a criminal record, or that you were issued a pardon. CPIC is the information system which the US CBP (Customs and Boarder Protection) share and use to check if a Canadian individual entering the US has a criminal record. If you've never been stopped while crossing into the US and the CBP has never searched CPIC, then potentially you can apply for a pardon and have you record removed from this database. In my situation, having a pardon does not help for US travel as I am...

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