I read that even with a waiver you may not be admissible if your drug charge was for over 30 grams of marijuana.
http://uswaiver.blogspot.ca/2014/12/us-waiver-inadmissibility-decision-chart.html
Has anyone managed to acquire a waiver and successfully enter the USA with charges beyond drug charges beyond 30 grams of marijuana?
I would like to know this as well
I have done many waivers for clients who had large drug offences. As long as its over 5 years since the conviction. No problem. Drugs aren't as big a problem as people let on.
I too have done waivers for clients who have drug convictions, and agree with John Rogers, it is not that big of a problem.
Hey, so I made the mistake of going to the border on a wrong turn with 6 grams of weed and a bong and no passport (I was headed to on a ski trip 9 months ago). No criminal record, just denied entry, what's my prognosis? will I be needing a waiver every 5 years?
Its not great. I assume they consider you to have "tried to enter with marijuana" despite the fact you had no intention.
Not only do you NEED a waiver, but you have to wait. We can't really argue you "have changed" in the short time since the "offence" occurred.
You probably will have to wait a minimum of 3 years to have a shot, and if you want to get it for sure, probably wait 5 years.
with yesterdays pot legalization I would like to hear from people who know of others crossing the US border with Waivers.
Any problems, questions or delays.
3 clients so far crossed and said no difference whatsoever.
#6, I have not heard of any problems from my waiver clients...will post if I do..
I crossed first day was legal in Canada at the newer Calais border crossing....no mention at all of weed.....was there 45 minutes though , new person working.....frustrating...
hi guys!
I would appreciate any help/info/guidance.
I was convicted for fraud OVER 5000$ back in 2012. My probation finished in 2015. right when my probation finished I applied for a waiver and was refused because I didnt wait long enough to apply.
I waited a year and then re-applied..it took almost 2 years before I got a response which was a NO! ....
Its very important for me as I have a child who lives in the US. I really want to go.
on my second refusal they told me I haven't waited long enough.....HOW LONG DO I HAVE TO WAIT????? and they also mentioned that my letter didnt show much remorse.
I am not so good at expressing my feelings on paper. its very hard for me. I want to re-apply but im so skeptical. Should I wait? 3 years have passed since my probation was finished.
I did not have any jail time. I was on house arrest? no ankle bracelet I just had to curfew. My probation officer always writes the best letters which I include in my file that I send to the ARO but they don't care. My prob officer indicated that it was my first offence ever and I am not likely to re-offend.
SUGGESTIONS WELCOME........
@nonameplease Now that it has been 6 years you have waited enough time if.....
You write the proper letter and fulfill all other requirements.
The biggest obstacle in Waivers for smart people doing their own is usually the personal letter. Smart people tend to defend their actions or at least justify them.
Get a professional to do your waiver, you have tried twice and now that you have waited longer, it should be successful.
Where do you live?
Michelle is in Saskatchewan, I am in Ontario. I am sure either one of us will get you a successful waiver.
Michelle's info:
1810 Albert Street
2nd Floor
Regina, SK S4P 2S8
http://www.fingerprintpardon.com/
306-205-2532
My Info:
John Rogers
96 Kennedy Road South
Suite 201
Brampton On
905-459-9669
1-888-874-2652
PWE SERVICES
Pardon and Waiver Experts / On the SPOT Fingerprinting
905-459-9669
info@pweservices.com
www.pweservices.com / www.getfingerprinted.ca
LIKE us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PardonWaiverExperts
If your not close to either of us, calling both of us will give you two opinions on the subject. Either one of us will take good care of you.
I am located in the province of Quebec. Do you have any contacts for people in Montreal?
I thought I waited enough time too but someone told me that ARO starts counting as of the day my probation finished which was in 2015 therefore it would only be 3 years instead of 6. Is that true?
also, I hired a lawyer and thought it would be a successful case but clearly I was wrong.
Hiring a lawyer has zero relevance on whether you get through. It's all about how the case is presented and all the various factors, plus remorse.
Manni Jason is a local guy I know in Montreal. 514-733-8571.
Hey so, even with marijuana legalized will there be any changes in procedure?
Should I get a doctors note for medical marijuana use? Would that change anything? Soup Kitchen?
Also what happens if I'm flying and for some unforeseen reason we have to emergency land in the states? Am I at fault for entering the states without a waiver? Can I still go to Cuba? Or the Virgin Islands?
@skiingBUmm if you have to emergency land in the States and are already inadmissible, just a) be happy your alive and the plane didn't crash and b) I am sure they would just ask you to leave asap.
#15 - @SkiingBUmm
In all likelihood it wouldn't be your fault... really how could it be? If you were to land in America they most likely would feel (one would hope) the prudent thing was to sequester you somewhere in the airport given your non-waiver and inadmissible status. Given the aggressive and ignorant propensities of some CBH officers you never know however.
CBP officers (NOT "CBH" officers as per my typo in my original comment).
I just wrote a couple of answers in other topics, but this is a general observation about the waivers that are NOT approved.
One of the results of seeing a lot of waivers at the airport that I did NOT apply for, but still able to stay in contact with the applicant is that I have seen a LOT of waivers rejected in the past 3 years. The people will come and see me to ask if an Appeal is warranted.
In some cases, I strongly advised them not to hand the waivers in, because of shoddy work or other factors that I thought would lead to the waiver being rejected, but they handed it in anyways.
My background is actually in English. I was an English major in University. (Jazzsax1 has just confirmed every stereotype of my left wing existence in his own mind. But no I did not wear a beret.)
The reason I mention this is because I have always had a background in using words, interpreting words, and coupled with a lifetime of doing pardons and waivers and pardon appeals and waiver appeals, I can "see" what a rejection letter is "telling me".
The general perception is that Homeland Security weighs all these factors and comes to some logical conclusion and then explains it in its rejection letter. In the past couple of years this has changed in a number of cases.
Its become clear that Homeland Security in many case decides "no", and THEN justifies why. And I mean in the majority of cases now.
I have done a couple of appeals recently where the people actually were GRANTED a waiver, for a year, then re-applied, and THEN were turned down. In both cases the client basically repeated what got them the first waiver and both clients were very articulate and the waivers were decent. But in both cases the offences were non-violent but serious, and the letters claimed they should have never been granted the earlier waivers.
They then went on to build the case using arguments about rehabilitation, but these were weak because in fact both occurrences were one time unique events.
How they MADE their case was by jacking up the argument that even probation and things like "weapons bans" had to be added on to the time served and therefore the offences were too "recent".
To anyone who uses words and language as tools, its a desperate attempt to justify a "I don't think this guy should have been given a waiver".
If you have an offence that looks "icky". Or seems like a big deal. Don't depend on common sense to prevail, or that a long period of time elapsing will mean you get a waiver. Sometimes someone decides "no" and then makes their case around that decision. Its clear it happens in many of the rejections.
I want to emphasize this is some insight I have based on reading over 100 rejections in the last 2 years, and not some connection I have with Homeland Security. I also don't want this to seem like a sales pitch. Many of these waivers I would have discouraged even doing in the first place. In one of the cases I did the appeal, but not the waiver, but the client is a former US Attorney, so very articulate and the waiver was pretty decent. He even got help on it.
I bring this up partially because when I saw the debate on "voyeurism" people are talking as if "technically" he should get a waiver. Guaranteed he would NOT. He plead GUILTY (that's the only way to get a conditional discharge) and no matter how we "massage" the facts, the offence is going to sound a bit 'icky'. That's not a shot at the person who did the offence. But I think I can accurately look at something and KNOW what they are going to say "yes" to, and what they are going to probably say "no" to.
If @Javier applies for a waiver BEFORE 5 years, I give him little chance of success. Worse, he has now handed this record to Homeland Security on a platter. Wait three years, destroy the records, and then move on.
@John LOL gonna leave that one alone... don't want to hurt your feelings. (oooo, university leftwing snowflake burn??)
On a serious note though, are you now seeing that they are taking probation as an argument for too soon?
Not sure how that could apply -- especially if your probation term had zero supervision tied to it, or as in my case had the supervision component completely removed at the P.O discretion).
For me the only reason I was given probation was because the judge wanted to make sure I was paying a minimal amount of monthly restitution while I was working out my employment status, and that was the only way he felt he could monitor that. I've been paying *way more* than the court has been expecting / requiring. I could hopefully argue I have been going above and beyond what's expected and hopefully have that count in my favour.
@jazzsax1 I could sense seeing I was an english major warming the cockles of your ice covered conservative heart.
In many cases they seem to be "tacking on the sentence".
But the main point of my long essay was that I am sensing "no waiver for you" decisions followed by justifications AFTER the decision is made.
So theft under in 2014 with a 2 year probation will probably GET a waiver.
Robbing a bank in 2004 with 3 years in jail and 10 year probation, they decide "no waiver" then use the long sentence to argue the "recency" is the issue when in fact they just don't like the fact its a black male who used a disguise to rob a bank.
And yes, I think race is a factor, although I have no proof. I will say that the vast majority of my waiver clients tend to be white. Because I do business in Brampton, South Asian is probably second.
