US Waiver for Canadians

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...

Here's an interesting post about the American position on traveling to Canada with a criminal record. The War on Terror hasn't caught many terrorists. But at the Canadian border, it's snagging thousands of tourists who are denied entry due to convictions decades ago for relatively minor offenses. You can read the complete article here .

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

Today I landed in San Francisco. Another of the 6 trips to the United States that I have taken thus far with my I-194 waiver over the past few months. A couple of points from my experience: Processing time is much slower now than in the past (specifically before I needed a waiver to travel to the US). Note: Make sure you arrive at the airport with extra time before your flight! In my experience the officer always reads the waiver and cover letter in full (almost like it is the first time he/she has ever seen anything like it). They almost never ask me questions about it (like, "what did you do"). I always present my waiver right away accompanied by the completed I-94. The officer enters what appears to be a novel into his terminal (I assume it is the details of where I am going and how long I am staying and file numbers). They rarely ask me of my intended intentions in the US (in the past I used to get drilled every trip). Besides the extra time required the proce...

This afternoon I entered the US for the first time in over a year. The border process was quite simple. The airport where I fly out of has US Customs pre-screening. I approached the Officer handed her my passport, declaration and explained that I have a waiver to travel. She reviewed the waiver and asked me to complete a another form (I-94). Turns out that you will need to complete the I-94 every time you enter the US. It is an arrival and departure record. The Officer will give you an end date (when you need to be out of the US). When returning to Canada there is a section of the form that you will drop off with Canada Customs. You can read about it here . After completing the form, she processed me and sent me on to my gate. Strangely, she never asked me what my intentions were to be on this visit (I was heading down to visit a friend).

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...