U.S. TRAVEL WAIVERS

The US Travel Application process starts when we meet with you at our office or a mutually designated convenient place. Considerable personal biographical information is obtained from you in order to complete an I-192 Application Form and Biographic G-325A Form. At the same time your fingerprints will need to be taken by us or another accredited agency and returned to us for forwarding to the RCMP in Ottawa for certification and to obtain a Criminal Record Abstract should there be one. The waiting period for the RCMP response is approximately two weeks where no record exists to up to 120 days should you have a Canadian Criminal Record.

During this waiting period all efforts will be made to obtain copies of your Court Certificates of Conviction. In order to obtain these court certificates the actual Conviction dates and the Court must be known.  Sometimes this is only known on receipt of your Criminal Record Abstract from the RCMP.  Also, you will be asked to provide a photocopy of your birth certificate, driver’s license, citizenship card or landed Immigrant papers if applicable. Also required is a Personal letter from you to the United States Customs and Border Protection providing details of your life, convictions, and why you need to enter the USA.   (An outline of this letter will be provided to you), a letter from your employer or potential employer, documentation confirming if you are receiving benefits from EI, WCB or Social Services.  You will be asked to provide any other additional information required to complete your Application.

Once all this information is obtained, a US Travel Waiver Application will be assembled into a Formal Waiver Package, which can be picked up by you or mailed directly to you. A covering letter from OTS Services to the USCBP, Instructions of where and when to take the Application will be provided with the Waiver package.

When you take your Waiver package to a designated United States Customs and Border Protection Port, you will be fingerprinted on FBI Forms, your Application checked and sent to the Admissibility Review office in Herndon, VA, USA for decision.

At present the cost in US dollars for a Waiver Application is $585.00. This funding is required at the time of presenting your Application and is to be in US dollars.

Each Applicant for a Waiver has a unique set of circumstances and each Application is judged on its own merits. There is absolutely no guarantee that an Application will be treated favorably. If an Application is denied you will receive in writing the reason for your rejection and provided the opportunity to appeal. If you are successful your Waiver will be mailed directly to you in from 5-12 months time.

 ADVANCE PERMISSION TO ENTER THE UNITED STATES AS A NON-IMMIGRANT – WAIVER APPLICATION FORM I-192

Grounds for inadmissibility include criminal acts involving moral turpitude, with certain petty crimes excepted, (a crime of moral turpitude is defined as one with an intent, e.g. theft, break enter & theft, rape, robbery, etc.), controlled substance (e.g. drugs) violations, multiple criminal convictions, prostitution or procuring of prostitutes, communicable diseases, drug addiction/abuse, involvement in espionage, terrorism, genocide, Nazi German persecution, detention, retention or withholding of custody of child from US Citizen, etc. In cases of Young Offenders (under age 18) one is inadmissible if the conviction involves drug trafficking or if one has more than one crime of violence but single convictions for a drug possession or one crime not involving a crime of violence does not render one inadmissible. Alcohol related and criminal code driving offence convictions do not make one inadmissible to enter the USA.

The authority to grant waivers despite certain grounds of inadmissibility is discretionary, and the granting of a waiver is considered on its merits, which include the presence of mitigating or extenuating circumstances. Consideration for authorizing a waiver is generally defined as: (1) The risk of harm to society if the applicant is admitted. (2) The seriousness of the offence(s) involved. (3) The nature of the Applicants reasons for wishing to enter the USA. The recency of any criminal conviction and the extent of rehabilitation on the part of the Applicant are very important in the decision making process by the USCBP. It is important to remember that each Applicant has a unique set of circumstances and each case is judged on its own merits.

Waivers are conditional and are usually good for a period of one to five years and your first waiver is usually only good for one year and could be considered a probationary waiver.   If you are in the process of renewing a waiver, the process should usually commence at least 9 to 10 months before the expiry of your current waiver, hopefully your second waiver will be good for five years.  If an Application is denied, the USCBP will advise the Applicant of the reason for refusal and provide the opportunity to appeal the decision. [There is an appeal process.]

Canadian Criminal Records Act Pardons (now called Record Suspensions)  are not accepted by the USINS for entry into the USA.

The United States Citizenship & Immigration Service currently requires approximately 5 months to process a Waiver Application.  The US Citizenship & Immigration Service Fee is not refundable and one must wait in Canada while the Waiver request is being processed.