US Waiver for Canadians

I was fortunate to receive my pardon just before our current government decided to have the Parole Board of Canada (PBC) re-introduce 'pardon' as 'record suspension' and the subsequent user fee hike from $150 to $631. Anyone who filed before the changeover took effect, was given the option of waiting in cue for the originally requested pardon, or withdrawing his or her application and submitting a new request for a record suspension. Com'on, who in their right mind would do that? Well as it turns out, this may have been a worthy strategy for some.  First, PBC made a decision to process only pardon applications for summary offences in the backlog (indictable offences are not being processed) . Second, because of the full-cost recovery model (the $631 user fee) the Board felt it more appropriate to give priority to the higher paying record suspension applications. Initially scheduled to be cleared by March 2014, the backlog of original pardon applications is mo

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