Q. I was refused entry to the US due to an assault charge many years ago. I am married with two kids and need to travel to the US for business and pleasure.
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A. Applying for a US Waiver due to a criminal conviction in the past is an involved process. What you have to do is complete I-192 and G-325 Application forms and provide the required supporting documentation including:
- court records of your conviction
- a personal statement about what specifically happened with respect to your offence
- letters of reference
- information about your ties to Canada including employment, assets, family
- If your offence was drug-releated, you would also need to submit a blood test from a doctor
- RCMP Report
There are other documents that need to be submitted but these are the essentials. Once you have all the required documents and information, you then will have to submit your US Waiver application to a Canada/US border at a designed time. The application is then sent to a USCIS office in the US for processing. The application can take around 6 months to process.
The duration of the Waiver is up to 5 years, after which you will have to apply for a renewal.
For more information, visit our US Waiver page.
President & CEO
Michael Niren
Mr. Niren is CEO of VisaPlace LLC and the President and Managing Partner of VisaPlace Legal Canada, an immigration law firm based in Toronto, and VisaPlace Legal US a law firm registered in The District of Columbia, USA. Mr. Niren is a graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada, the Canadian Bar Association’s Citizenship and Immigration Section, American Lawyers Association, and an Associate Member of the American Bar Association.
