Each day we recieve calls from distressed Canadians who have been turned away at the US border because of old criminal charges and convictions.
Even if you have traveled to the US one hundred times, you may still be denied entry if a particular US border official decides to do a random criminal check.
If you are denied entry to the US then you will require a US Entry Waiver (I-192) to re-enter the US. The process of obtaining a US Waiver is complicated and can be expensive.
To avoid the need for a US Entry Waiver you may obtain a Canada Pardon or File Destruction which will remove your criminal record from CPIC which is the database that the Americans search when doing a criminal check. However, once you have been denied entry you will need a US Entry Waiver no matter whether you obtain a Canada Pardon or not.
Here is a letter from a client we recently helped to obtain a Canada Pardon so that they would not need a US Waiver:
“It feels great to have this pardon.”
“My son is studying and playing baseball in the US and I was crossing the border to see him when a border official asked if I had a criminal record, to which I lied and answered no.”
“I became very nervous because I had a criminal record from when I was only 18 and I’m now 60 yrs old and retired.”
“I decided to obtain a pardon in order to save face with my son and his girlfriend.”
“I feel so much better now that I have the pardon so I can feel good about crossing the US border without any worries and not have to lie to the police officer and think that they will turn me back.”
If you have any questions regarding this topic or about Pardons and US Entry Waivers email us at info@pardons.org or call 1-877-929-6011 or 416-929-6011.
