US Waiver for Canadians

The following notes are an excerpt from a document posted on state.gov with which the Admissibility Review Office (ARO) appears to use in determining ineligibility of visa applicants (source included at the bottom of this post) – and of particular interest – waiver review. Determining Ineligibility When adjudicating a visa application for an applicant that ARO have reason to believe has committed a crime involving moral turpitude, the officer must determine whether: The offense was purely political The offense committed involves moral turpitude (CIMT) The applicant has been convicted; and The applicant has admitted or may admit that he or she has committed acts which constitute the essential elements of a crime Exceptions to Ineligibility Certain statutory exceptions may prevent a determination of ineligibility by reason of a conviction for a crime involving moral turpitude. These exceptions relate to: Crimes committed prior to age 18; or Certain purely ...

Found this short note on the CBP site: Beginning in 2015, the United States intends to enter into negotiations in order to expand air preclearance operations to new locations. Through preclearance, the same immigration, customs, and agriculture inspections of international air passengers performed on arrival in the United States can be completed before departure at foreign airports instead. Currently, preclearance operations take place at 15 foreign airports in six different countries, benefitting air passengers, airports, and air carriers, in the United States and abroad. CBP also staffs a Pre-inspection facility for passenger/vehicle ferry traffic to the U.S. in Victoria, Canada. There are 9 pre clearance facilities presently in Canada with locations in the cities of Victoria, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Halifax. There are obvious benefits for travellers in having these centres. Outside of Canada, CBP also has pre clearance locations in ...

Another recent article this time by CBC highlights the continued difficulties many people endure when travelling to the US from Canada. Four men of Turkish decent (3 of them Canadian citizens) were held and questioned for 6 hours at the Peace Bridge border crossing in Fort Erie before being refused entry to the US. Two of the men work full-time, one owns a business and one is a student. All of the men are well educated and they all own homes in Toronto. So why were they denied entry? According to Guidy Mamann, an immigration lawyer quoted in the article, racial profiling at the border is not new: "The idea that immigration officers don't racially profile is nonsense," he said. "No matter how unsettling or intimidating, that type of questioning is perfectly legal." During the questioning the men held in separate rooms were asked about the war in Syria, fingerprinted and photographed. Ultimately the men say they were told the officers didn't believe t...

Unlike what many of the pardon/waiver companies  (the ones that offer to help you process a US entry waiver) would have you believe, even IF you have successfully received a pardon in Canada  (or record suspension) , you are still obliged to tell the truth at a US border crossing. Remember: a Canadian pardon is not recognized by the US government. If a person attempting to enter the United States fails to disclose the existence of a criminal record, even for crimes that would not otherwise exclude them from crossing the border, they will likely be denied entry, possibly face permanent ineligibility, and/or be detained at a U.S. Department of Homeland Security enforcement facility. Let's take the quote above: if a US border officer (CBP) asks 'have you ever been convicted of a crime', you'll have to tell the truth, even if you have that pardon. So what if the CBP officer asks 'do you have a criminal record'? If you have the pardon, would saying 'no, you...

There have been some changes in the process for getting a replacement waiver (the process you'll follow if your US waiver has been lost, stolen or destroyed) . If an individual has aquired an approved Form I-192 or Form I-212 and is in need of a replacement copy of his or her original decision. This process is to be used when the original decision has been lost, stolen or mutilated. Under these circumstances a replacement for the decision may be requested from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection?s Admissibility Review Office (ARO). You may also obtain a replacement for a previously issued indefinite decision that was issued in conjunction with Form I-185, Nonresident Alien Canadian Border Crossing Card (BCC). A replacement for an approved decision that is still valid may be requested by submitting Form I-824, Application for Action on an Approved Application or Petition. You can view instructions of the Form I-824 at this U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services websi...

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...