Waiver application processing times

Jill

#1242

Just to follow up on michelle’s question:

...just to confirm, did you apply 6 months after the 3 year ban was completed? or 6 months into a 3 year ban? Thanks!

Hi All, I have 1 request to make, if you have found the answers or information I have provided helpful, can you please "google" my website at www.fingerprintpardon.com or fingerprint pardon services Regina and write a review. 99% of my business is referrals, but I am trying to increase my website presence, and in this business testimonials are not readily available nor do I ask for them. I do have 1 bad review for not being open when someone stopped by on a Stat. holiday to have his fingerprints taken and I would like to move that on down the list. Thanks for your time and effort...greatly appreciated..

@Michelle done!

I think many people would agree that Michelle has given a lot of great advice and I think it would really help her to get some honest reviews about her honesty and expertise. Even if you post that she just gave some free advice, the review itself will help her. Even if done anonymously.

Its not often i give kudos to the competition, but Michelle is absolutely the kind of people we want doing this kind of work in Canada. We need businesses that are honest and have integrity and we should encourage others to use businesses that act in that manner.

I send anyone in Saskatchewan her way. I send anyone in Quebec to another colleague of mine (Manni 514-733-8571) and those are the only referrals I give.

TIMELINE

Had 2 clients today call me and say they got their waivers dated July 18th or so and they handed it in in March. Two examples that took closer to 4 months.

Possession of narcotics, assault, theft. No trafficking. Not very complex.

Any luck with people applying in the 3 to 5 year range post conviction? (LOL, you knew I was going to ask...)

@John Rogers - sorry for delay..thanks very much..I have not had time to come on here lately.

#1262. Yes, Michelle, you are indeed very helpful and knowledgeable. Plus you are just naturally a nice person. Sorry, we also have just been busy with a new service that we are offering and Summer months are the busy season here. We have not been here as much either.

@John Rogers

I'm located in Alberta. Have an overstay and was banned for 10 years.

I know you're located in Ontario but do you do cases for people in Alberta? You seem to know what you're doing/talking about.

What would be your fees for doing a waiver for an overstay?

Thanks for any feedback.

@Adelaide Alberta is no problem.

$536.75 includes the taxes, you may start with a deposit of $250.00

Call me at 905-459-9669 during business hours, if I am not in the office it automatically goes to my cell phone.

also my email is pardon.experts@rogers.com

John Rogers.

@John - asked above but didn't see a reply... have you seen any luck recently with people in the 3 to 5 year range post conviction? Last time we chatted you told me to ask you later in the year. :)

(fingers crossed)

@jazzsax I haven't seen enough to indicate they are more lenient than they were. My advice is still the same, waiting 3 years gives you a "fighting chance" but waiting 5 years is ideal.

#1273 5 years is the minimum that CBP would like to see to show rehabilitation and possibly get an approval. This also depends on the type of conviction. If you apply earlier, you definitely run the risk of rejection because honestly 3 years is not really a lot of time to show that a person's life has changed around for the better.

I have also seen cases where they said that 5 years did not show enough time. I am going to try and find the 5 years preference in the immigration manual and may post it to our site. I have seen it there before years ago but have to find it again.

Homeland Security employee manual.

No indication of how to deal with Waiver clients.

http://www.theblackvault.com/documentarchive/department-of-homeland-security-dhs-employee-manual/

Here is the Homeland Security Policy manual, specifically the part dealing with "Discretion" which would be exactly what Homeland Security "considers" when granting a Waiver.

https://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/HTML/PolicyManual-Volume9-PartA-Chapter5.html

Here is a scary article about Homeland Security monitoring social media and forums like this one.

https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/23/us/house-questions-homeland-security-program-on-social-media.html

For those who do not wish to click the link, here is an easy chart:

Non-Exhaustive List of Factors that May Be Relevant in the Discretionary Analysis

Waiver Eligibility

•Meeting certain other statutory requirements of the waiver, including a finding of extreme hardship to a qualifying family member, if applicable. [6]
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•Eligibility for waiver of other inadmissibility grounds.
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Not applicable – Not meeting the statutory requirements of the waiver results in a waiver denial. A discretionary analysis is not necessary.

Family and Community Ties

•Family ties to the United States and the closeness of the underlying relationships.
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•Hardship to the applicant or to non-qualifying lawful permanent residents (LPRs) or U.S. citizen relatives or employers.
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•Length of lawful residence in the United States and status held during that residence, particularly where the applicant began residency at a young age.
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•Significant health concerns that affect the qualifying relative.

•Difficulties the qualifying relative would be likely to face if the qualifying relative moves abroad with the applicant due to country conditions, inability to adapt, restrictions on residence, or other factors that may be claimed.
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•Honorable service in the U.S. armed forces or other evidence of value and service to the community.
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•Property or business ties in the United States.

•Absence of community ties.

​

Criminal History, Moral Character

(or both)

•Respect for law and order, and good moral character, which may be evidenced by affidavits from family, friends, and responsible community representatives.
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•Reformation of character and rehabilitation.
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•Community service beyond any imposed by the courts.
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•Considerable passage of time since deportation or removal.

•Moral depravity or criminal tendencies reflected by an ongoing or continuing criminal record, particularly the nature, scope, seriousness, and recent occurrence of criminal activity.
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•Repeated or serious violations of immigration laws, which evidence a disregard for U.S. law.

•Lack of reformation of character or rehabilitation.

•Previous instances of fraud or false testimony in dealings with USCIS or any government agency.
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•Marriage to a U.S. citizen or LPR for the primary purpose of circumventing immigration laws.
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•Nature and underlying circumstances of the inadmissibility ground at issue, and the seriousness of the violation.

•Public safety or national security concerns

Other

•Absence of significant undesirable or negative factors.

•Other indicators of an applicant's bad character and undesirability as a permanent resident of this country.

B. Discretionary Determination
When making a discretionary determination, the officer should review the entire record and give the appropriate weight to each adverse and favorable factor. Once the officer has weighed each factor, the officer should consider all of the factors cumulatively to determine whether the favorable factors outweigh the unfavorable ones. If the officer determines that the positive factors outweigh the negative factors, then the applicant merits a favorable exercise of discretion.

These...

•Respect for law and order, and good moral character, which may be evidenced by affidavits from family, friends, and responsible community representatives.
•Reformation of character and rehabilitation.
•Community service beyond any imposed by the courts.

I wonder how much of an impact these play, as the guidelines specifically say if the positives outweigh the negative factors they are supposed to approve, provide there isn't a statutory reason (i.e, you didn't fill out the paperwork properly)

Item #1 - obviously the reference letters help

Item #2 - this is unclear. What is "Evidence of reformation of character"? Strictly the passage of time? The fact nothing happened since sentencing? Or all of the positive things you've done since sentencing? Obviously they give little guidelines on how that is examined so I'm curious what others do to show this.

Item #3 - obviously worth doing. In my case I did community service to show the judge I was remorseful but wasn't a requirement, and if I knew it would assist a waiver application I would load up a ton of extra hours (LOL)

In regards to reformation of character I found this in a different section of the manual:

The following factors may be relevant in assessing an applicant’s current moral character and reformation of character:

•Family ties and background;
•Absence or presence of other criminal history;
•Education;
•Employment history;
•Other law-abiding behavior (for example, meeting financial obligations, paying taxes);
•Community involvement;
•Credibility of the applicant;
•Compliance with probation; and
•Length of time in United States.

https://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/HTML/PolicyManual-Volume12-PartF-Chapter2.html