This is something I don't understand other than it being a money grab. If you have a pardon your records are sealed and if your records are sealed how can they be opened.

If you go through US Customs after receiving a pardon they cannot see your record because it's sealed. The reason the ask you tell them if you've ever been arrested...convicted...even though a pardon has been granted is

A) So they've now got you on record as being a crimminal and before they didn't.

Now that they have you where they want you and they can Deny you entry unless you're willing to pay big money every 5 years to have it re-newed.


They have to pay for the war somehow....

My understanding, and you can check on the US gov't. website, is that pardon's from Canada are not recognized. It's Canada that recognizes you not as a criminal now. That being said, your pardon can be overturned and show up if you're ever convicted of a similar type offence again. So is it ever really "sealed"?

The other catch 22 is that US immigration forms ask if you have ever been charged with something even if you have received a pardon for it, so you are obligated to disclose the charge. If you don't, then you are guilty of lying to US immigration, and if they ever do find out - and you can't deny that the possibility exists - you have an even bigger problem. Any immigration benefits you have received up until that time will be cancelled and you would be deported and barred from the US for life.

If you have been stopped at any time or if US immigration or any US law enforcement agency has accessed your Canadian records before the Pardon is granted, then the information is already in their files. As Carlawarla noted, the US does not recognize Canadian pardons.

Hi there,


We have not started our paper work for my US Visa as we just decide (last weekend) to go forward with our life. My situation is a bit complicated and I have sought out this great site for some friendly advice. Much like the original poster here is the situation:

Canadian Citizen & US Citizen - engaged after 7 months of meeting each other and now we wish to be together. Me the Canadian will be moving to the USA, all going well.


Charged in 1995 in US, paid fine, spent 5 days in jail and then left.
Conditional discharge in Cdn. No criminal record. 1996
2000 - denied entry into USA during random shopping trip. B/C of record in the US.
2001 - applied for US Waiver through Pardons Canada.
2003 - US waiver granted for 1 year & then re-applied for another one
2004 - US Waiver granted for 1 year & then re-applied for another one
2006 - US Waiver granted for 1 year & then re-applied for another one
2007 - US Waiver granted for 1 year & then re-applied for another one

My last waiver expired March 30, 2008 and they have not sent me anything. When I emailed to inquire of my status, they said they were waiting for my records clearance report. They did not have an time line and that they would communicate to me in due time. That was April, 2008. Each waiver up to now, has been turned around within the year of pushing different documents from YVR to Ottawa, to the US, complete with interviews and finger prints that are taken at the nearest US border.

If anyone has any suggestions or recommendations, we would greatly appreciate it. My mistakes are in the past and for the past 9years I have been very successful in my industry. I pay my taxes each year, travel the world and live a healthy and clean life. My guy is ex military in the US and has been gainfully employed by the same corporation for the past 10 years.

Should we proceed with the I-129F "Petition for Alien Fiance" - or should we seek out legal advice from an Immigration lawyer? I do believe if I didn't have a checkered past, we are bright enough to complete the multiple forms etc., for such a transition.

Again, we appreciate your support and comments.

Well, it depends on the charge as to whether or not you will be granted a visa without having to apply for a waiver. I'm assuming if you have to have a waiver to visit the U.S., you will also need a waiver to be granted a K-1 visa.

All I can offer is that my hubby had an issue back in 1988, and although he did not apply for a Canadian pardon, I successfully filed the I-601 waiver for him, which enabled him to receive his spousal visa. You should go on and file for your visa and research as much as possible the I-601 waiver.If you feel comfortable doing the filing and documentation yourself then by all means go for it. if you feel more comfortable with a lawyer make sure to find one well-versed in waivers.Keep in mind that Canadian waivers filed at the consulate for the fiance and/or spousal visa are sent to the Vermont Service Center which is rather slow with waiver processing.

Thanks for comments. I just downloaded the I-601 and it asks that I list all relatives living in the US or are, US Citizens. I have a few cousins and an Aunt that have moved to the US. If I list them, would they be contacted? I don't have strong ties to them but I am not a estranged from them either.

Is there a mandatory length to the relationship? We are engaged now after only meeting in March '08 - its crazy, but its true love!
We have been communicating since Aug '07.
Once I get my next waiver (the one I submitted in Dec'07) I will be traveling to Denver, CO for another visit and then we will submit the Visa. All going well, it will be the July '08.

Does that sound to ambitions?

After spending all last night reading several of the other members posts, all the major govt links etc., I felt more comfortable about sharing my world.


Gracias.

I am re-reading the I-601 application instruction and I think I might have good news - I have an Alien # already maybe, just maybe, this will happen!


Thoughts?

The A# doesn't really make a difference. If you start applying now, it will probably take six months (probably more) just to get the I-129F approved, then it goes to the NVC, spends a couple of weeks there, then gets transferred to the consulate for an interview to be scheduled. . . There is a section here dedicated just to the process of getting the 129F approved and how long it is taking right now.

At the interview is when they tell you if you must file a waiver. . .THEN, Canada's waivers go to Vermont where they usually sit for a year before being touched and either approved or denied.

This link will tell you if you'll need a waiver or not. . . http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/86942.pdf

Another website that is VERY informative for waiver information is www.immigrate2us.net They have a lot of sample waiver letters and are very detailed about how to put together the waiver's supporting documents. . .It is quite a lengthy process.

I wish you luck. . .my case is going through Montreal and they are no fun :-(

Cool thanks. The yearly waivers I have received in the past have been issued directly from the US dept of Home Land Security. Hopefully when the interview time comes, I will have an active waiver as I have been obtaining them for pleasure for the past few years.

I guess I should be thankful that this site is around! Reading it is making me feel so much better about our adventure!

The waivers that you got previously--even if active at the interview time--will not make you eligible for a permanent visa because they are classified non-immigrant waivers. I know it doesn't make sense. . .a lot of things don't make sense in this system.

If you have a record that involves a CIMT from the list on the link you will still need an I-601.

I just emailed the US (again) to see how my application for my I-192 is going. Hopefully it will come through so I can travel to Denver this summer for a visit.

It would be then, that we would file for the I-129F and then, we would have more photos for my visit there, to prove our relationship once the interview time comes.

This might be a 'newbie question' but here it goes. Have any of you on this site, applied for an I-129 with out the non-US citizen ever stepping foot in the US?


Clearly there are many people who have dealt with the same or similar challenges of 'checkered pasts' and have had success! Let me and J be one of them along with all of you!

My hubby had been to the USA many times prior to us filing for his visa, but in trying to cross in Dec 2002, he was denied. We did the process from Canada,with me there with him quite alot of the time. Since we had been married since 1999, that may have made things somewhat simpler in proving the validity of the relationship.