Banned for life?

[Back2back 1]

So I have searched and searched and searched till I am a funny shape. . . I cannot find ONE way to redeem myself on having 2 old drug related charges.

 

Has anyone ever heard of ANYONE who has found a way out of this? What about the waiver for having 2 or more crimes not totalling 5 years, could that apply for anything or just CIMT? 

 

And if I'm barred for life, that means I'm barred from travelling ANYWHERE for life right?

 

Wow. I'm screwed aren't I? 😕

[JFH 12,190]

1 minute ago, Back2back said:

 

And if I'm barred for life, that means I'm barred from travelling ANYWHERE for life right?

 

Wow. I'm screwed aren't I? 😕

Not necessarily. You may or may not be banned from the USA but that decision does not affect any other country. Each country sets its own rules on immigration. 

[Hypnos 6,576]

There is a lifetime bar from the US for a drug conviction or guilty plea when you were 18 or older.

 

There is an exception for possession of marijuana under 30g which was for your personal use. No other waiver is available.

 

So it would depend upon the precise nature of your convictions.

Edited December 10, 2017 by Hypnos

[Back2back 1]

1 hour ago, JFH said:

Not necessarily. You may or may not be banned from the USA but that decision does not affect any other country. Each country sets its own rules on immigration. 

Well that's something at least.

[Back2back 1]

18 minutes ago, Hypnos said:

There is a lifetime bar from the US for a drug conviction or guilty plea when you were 18 or older.

 

There is an exception for possession of marijuana under 30g which was for your personal use. No other waiver is available.

 

So it would depend upon the precise nature of your convictions.

Yep. Precise nature is I had one known charge and one unknown charge. Game over.

[JFH 12,190]

5 hours ago, Back2back said:

Yep. Precise nature is I had one known charge and one unknown charge. Game over.

Charges or convictions? 

 

 

[Back2back 1]

Convictions.

[Boiler 45,670]

Not sure how many other countries are happy to admit those with multiple drug convictions, depends what they were for.

[OptimusSpice 164]

 

That's a decent thread to read for a little hope.  I've seen more - I won't copy all of them - where people have had multiple charges, multiple convictions, etc and still been approved for a waiver.  Sometimes people on the forum respond based on the hearsay from other posts as if it is a universal fact and are quick to say "you have no chance".  Very few actually respond based on their own personal experience or a deep scouring of the issue to discover all the options.  Don't give up hope.  It is likely that you will need a waiver and it might be a good idea to talk to a lawyer - even if it's just an initial consult.  Something else you might look up in this forum and in a few other forums is "Waiver Approval Letter Examples".  Most of what you will find in a search regarding waivers are big scary article from lawyers who want you convinced that you have to use them to get approved.  That's not true.  Some cases, maybe it is.  But often - if you just take the time to search deeply and use a variety of terms, you'll be able to find what you need to apply for a waiver with a reasonable hope for success.  There is another thread I will try to find where there were specifically multiple drug charges and the waiver was approved.  We are not done with our process, and no - we don't have a drug related charge or conviction but we are in the waiver process for a similar reason so I've done 100s of hours of research on it.  There is hope still.  You're not screwed, but this process will feel like a walk through hell.  It's not fun, it's not easy, but it's totally possible.  There are other factors - what the charge is, how long ago it was, etc.   It may not work out, but it's not set in stone one way or the other.

 

 

Edited December 12, 2017 by OptimusSpice

[Boiler 45,670]

4 minutes ago, OptimusSpice said:

 

That's a decent thread to read for a little hope.  I've seen more - I won't copy all of them - where people have had multiple charges, multiple convictions, etc and still been approved for a waiver.  Sometimes people on the forum respond based on the hearsay from other posts as if it is a universal fact and are quick to say "you have no chance".  Very few actually respond based on their own personal experience or a deep scouring of the issue to discover all the options.  Don't give up hope.  It is likely that you will need a waiver and it might be a good idea to talk to a lawyer - even if it's just an initial consult.  Something else you might look up in this forum and in a few other forums is "Waiver Approval Letter Examples".  Most of what you will find in a search regarding waivers are big scary article from lawyers who want you convinced that you have to use them to get approved.  That's not true.  Some cases, maybe it is.  But often - if you just take the time to search deeply and use a variety of terms, you'll be able to find what you need to apply for a waiver with a reasonable hope for success.  There is another thread I will try to find where there were specifically multiple drug charges and the waiver was approved.  We are not done with our process, and no - we don't have a drug related charge or conviction but we are in the waiver process for a similar reason so I've done 100s of hours of research on it.  There is hope still.  You're not screwed, but this process will feel like a walk through hell.  It's not fun, it's not easy, but it's totally possible.  There are other factors - what the charge is, how long ago it was, etc.   It may not work out, but it's not set in stone one way or the other.

OP has not shared the details so nobody is in a position to comment.

 

Hopefully has shared them with their Lawyer.

[OptimusSpice 164]

No one can say if it's a hopeless situation and no one can say it would be approved - but there is nothing wrong with providing examples of situations that looked hopeless or very stacked against the applicant and turned out well.  It shows that there is more to it than black and white "30g possession once" or else absolute denial.  OP knows the details, we don't need to know them - OP asked for opinions - " Has anyone ever heard of ANYONE who has found a way out of this? What about the waiver for having 2 or more crimes not totalling 5 years, could that apply for anything or just CIMT?"  Based on the question - yes - I have heard of people with 2 or more drug related crimes being approved for a waiver.  Nothing wrong with a supportive answer (so many seem so quick to crush people's hope on here in the name of "just telling them hard truths" when there are in fact other experiences that DO give hope).  Maybe OP needs a lawyer, maybe not.  Maybe OP can message someone who HAS been approved and get some first hand advice.  OP has options.  No reason to say otherwise. 

[Boiler 45,670]

Devil is in the detail, unlikely there is someone in exactly the same situation and without knowing what that situation is not possible to comment other than in the round.

[Jawaree 718]

A lifetime bar for drug CIMT means you are barred from the US  Canada, UK and AU will be privy to the info so in attempting to travel to those

countries first disclose to them...if many yrs have past you may get an approval, you can travel to other countries. As to the US you have 2 options

to set foot here with that bar a D3 waiver, or a humanitarian visa which is given sparingly especially to those with cimt...You cannot get an immigrant visa as there is no waiver for total lifetime bar 

Edited December 14, 2017 by Jawaree

[Back2back 1]

Thank you optimusSpice, you don't realise just how nice it is to get ANY bit of positivity, this year has been one of the worst with just one thing after another, probably the worst run of bad luck I've ever had.

 

I have posted before so it doesn't particularly matter, I had a drug charge 25 years ago for a capsule of oil. This in itself was difficult to know if I would come under the 30g waiver or not, sent away for police record to see if they had listed a weight and to my horror it came back with an additional charge from the same incident of allowing someone to smoke in my house. The maximum punishment for that was tenfold. I never knew it existed.

 

I too have spent months researching, day and night, and I have not found ONE case of 2 drug convictions getting a waiver. I have found it nothing but disheartening that something that happened so long ago could be held against me forever, and effectively change the course of my life. I find the laws archaic, and quite frankly unfair that waivers are available for crimes which in my opinion far outweigh mine. And I think the one that gets me the most, is the availability for a waiver for immigration fraud. Crazy to think that someone could effectively lie about their past, wait to get caught and then apply for waiver. But unfortunately I'm not wired that way and want to do this properly and honestly.

 

I always thought Canada was one of the hardest places to get into, but when I checked their policies I saw that they have an option to prove "rehabilitation" so that these sorts of things don't impede your life forever. No such thing with the US.

 

So thank you for sending that ray of hope, its what I've been looking for for so long, I havent seen this one so I gather my word searches have been too limited. You've made my day 😊

[Villanelle 4,122]

I remember your thread about the cap of oil.  Sorry to hear this bad news.

 

I somewhat disagree with the poster who said its not black and white. It is. ... The first thread they linked is about someone who was concerned about their previous drug use being an issue. They had no convictions. The second and third thread from cyggie. Well he had a caution and a conviction.  Cautions are something they do in the UK and its not the same as a conviction.

 

Backtoback is not going to find any cases with 2 drug convictions because they dont exist. The only thing he can do is spend the money and wait to see if hes approved or if the waiver is available. It will 99.99% be denied and told theres no waiver.