John and Ken: I had a client deliver his application to Regway, MT POE..and they removed his (3) reference letters and his income tax (he is a business owner) and said these are no longer required. The rules just changed last week...I am very surprised at this, as it is unusual that USA would stream line such important documents. I will likely continue to have my clients submit these, have either of you heard any feedback from your clients???? Thanks!
Waiver application processing times
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@Michelle I would be shocked at that as well. That's definitely a differentiator for borderline cases. I wonder if the guy was new?
#1620, congrats! wondering whats-up with mine, it sucks that you can't do an inquiry!
# 1620, Great congrats. Can you provide us with some details about your applucation. Thanks
# 1623 Doug Burch, I feel the same way too. I submitted my waiver spplication @ Rainbow Bridge on Dec. 12, '18. and nothing yet, hopefully soon, very soon.
Although I have a friend, submitted her waiver application (1st time) @ Rainbow Bridge on August 30, and got approved on Nov. 19, '18. But she only got it in the mailbox around 1st of Dec. because of the Canada post strike. She even told me that she feels lucky bec. CBP wrote her address not in the right way, but somehow the Canada postman/woman was able to figure it. Good job to him/her.
They are all over the map right now. I wrote how many people are waiving from December, but in 3 cases people got waivers recently despite handing them in AFTER New Years. One client handed waiver in Feb 6th, waiver granted dated Feb 19th. Very bizzare.
@Michelle clients are handing in waivers here at the Rainbow Bridge all the time and no mention of new rules. I will let you know if I hear anything, but in a week clients of mine tend to hand in at least 3-5 waivers. Many of them are re-applications. Therefore I should know right away if there are any changes.
#1623 -why cant you inquire? I was so shocked...my first waiver I filed was in 2016,it legit came in 2018,2 years later.I had honestly given up,then I got a call from my lawyer. I hope you get some answers soon
#1625- details ? It was a us entry waiver,my second and (renewal)
#1624-I’m a Canadian and I had an American arrest and conviction,so after serving my time I was banned from the USA for life,I waited 13 years then applied for a waiver,took 2 years and I got my first one
#1627 you need to wait 150 days before you can inquire. They will either ignore you or delay your application further, from what I understand.
I received mine today 16 weeks exactly it was my first one and amazingly it's valid for 5 years
I also prepared it with the help of commissionaires it only cost 230 dollars and I also enclosed my bank statement and house insurance. My friend dropped his off 3 weeks before me same location and he hasn't heard back yet
#1629 - @Tommy
What did you need a waiver for if I may ask?
Assault with weapon and obstruction
Assault with weapon and obstruction . I felt the need to respond with my timeline as too how long I had to wait because I too watched this forum daily for updates but people never seem to post much to give everyone a sense of where things are too . People when u get an update post it please
@Tommy, how old were the convictions? I assume you got a 1 year, then a 5? I assume you also wrote a personal statement etc? You only mentioned the bank statement and house insurance.
10 years ago and it's my first waiver I dropped it off in Halifax airport nov 28 and got it yesterday dated March 11 valid for five years yes I did a personal statement also along with reference letters . I sent bank statements to prove financial ability to travel and house insurance (no mortgage so I went this route) to show I have assets to come back too along with owning a business for 20 yrs. people told me it all wasn't needed but I sent it anyway and it must have helped. Like I said my friend did his 3 weeks before me same location and hasn't heard as of yesterday
What was your friend charged with? Could be the charges, could be a variety of factors.
In your case you were 10 years past conviction. The longer past the better the waiver from what we see people posting here.
@Tommy, Commissionairs only charged $230? That is extremely low priced..can you confirm what was included in that price? and what you paid extra for? Also did they help you with reference letters and personal letter? I ask this, because I want people to understand that sometimes companies advertise a "low fee" but you are required to do most of the work and there are can be "extras" on top of the "low fee". Also it is not uncommon for a 5 year waiver to be issued for Assault with a Weapon or obstruction. Sometimes here in Saskatchewan, the Border's won't even accept a waiver application for these offenses, and tell people not to worry about it...(I can only speak for Saskatchewan)...Neither of these offenses are very serious to USA . Especially because a weapon can be anything from a stick to a gun, and everything in between.... I am assuming yours was not that serious...It is nice to hear when a waiver goes smooth and quick...thanks for the update..
yes commissionaires charged me 230 because i paid the $20 locally for the court record and i also paid them 80 separately for the fingerprints for rcmp so it would really be 330 if billed together and they done all the work except for the personal statement and references which you have to do yourself regardless . it took 10 days to get the rcmp record back and another week to get the package from commissionaires it was simple and easy to deal with them and my charge was an indictable offence which made me inadmissible trust me i know i got stopped at border for 3 hrs in 2013
Tommy, thanks for giving us more about your story, it really helps. BTW, do you know what kind of financial statement/s your friend submitted? (employment certificate, bank account, investment acct. ex. RRSP, TFSA. etc.) ect. Thanks
@Michelle certain markets are also completely different in terms of pricing as well. The Commissionairs here (Ontario) charge a similar charge to us and other companies that do pardons and waivers. Tommy is in Halifax, so cheaper pricing might be par for he course there, as well as making the client write their own letters etc.
My friend Manni in Montreal has always claimed in Quebec the pricing we offer here would never work. When I first did pardons and waivers for Pardon Services Canada in Vancouver, all three offices had the same pricing. (Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver). Toronto and Vancouver did very well, but Montreal always struggled, because people found the pricing structure too high.
I have advertised in PEI, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, and I have found that the same pricing doesn't always work in those places.
My observation is that men generally only care about pricing to a certain extent. Women are much pickier about "value for price". Men are worried about speed and "how much work will I have to do".