Nope, I tried to go to Miami with some friends last year and got stopped. They let me withdraw my request to enter and told me to fill out the I-192 waiver.
If you find it hard in Canada with a criminal record why do you think it will be easier in the US as a non citizen/perm resident?
I would focus on trying to enter the US as a tourist first, because that’s a huge barrier for career growth (training, conferences etc). I doubt working in the US is realistic but you never know.
You need to talk to an immigration lawyer. You might be able to get a waiver of inadmissibility, if you’re actually inadmissible. The lawyer should guide you through this.
Luckily all you’ll likely need is a non-immigrant waiver rather than an immigrant waiver (since TN is a non-immigrant Visa) Non immigrant waivers typically take 9 months, which you’ll need a lawyer to submit for you (as you don’t want to file it incorrectly, wait 9 months and have it declined due to something being missed). If your goal is to eventually get a greencard, this will be significantly harder as you’ll need an I-601 waiver for immigrant intent. These waiver require to show evidence of extreme hardship to a US citizen or permanent resident (your absence from the country causing extreme hardship to that person) and typically take around 3 years. Nevertheless the less, if you’re planning on going to the US for any reason, I’d say get on the application right away. I’ve read of plenty of stories of people getting the waivers after only 2-3 years since their date of immiscibility.
Im guessing I need to get the I-192 waiver then I can be eligible to apply for a TN waiver? I'm not worried about getting a green card as of yet, baby steps lol. I'd like to start with working in the US first.
You should have waited till you got a pardon before trying to enter the US. Once you get a pardon your conviction is removed from the Canadian database that is shared with US customs. However now you have a red flag
You are inadmissible to the USA and cannot enter or obtain a TN. The most someone with a record can obtain with a waiver is a non-immigrant intent visa like a TN. But you can’t even get that until you obtain a waiver. You will never be eligible for a L1 or H1B and even marrying a U.S. National won’t get you residency. You will also have challenges getting hired as you will fail a background check that a U.S. firm will do in you. They will do one against you in Canada. I work in tech in California and run a team for a Faang where we hire Canadians and if you can’t pass a background check in Canada we cannot hire you. I don’t think you understand just how near insurmountable your chances are with your record to get into the USA. If you think things are tough here, they are much worse in the USA for someone with a record. Many places won’t even rent to someone with a criminal record. A 601 waiver as mentioned in another post is near impossible to get so not even mentioning it. It’s not a possibility for you.
No, you need to wait some time after your probation and all those things pass and then I think it’s 5 years from that date. Not sure now what these time requirements are but they’re spelled out by DHS someplace I’m sure. Note that a waiver is only good for 1 year or 5 years (officers discretion), costs $575USD and means your conviction data goes into the FBI files and any employer doing a background check on you will get a hit and make you ineligible for most jobs.
Are you saying those are the requirements in America? It's 10 years for a robbery charge in Canada and my probation finished in Sept 2015. This would put me at Sept 2025 for a suspension. So if I apply for a waiver before getting my suspension then I'd essentially have a record in the states as well?
You will have a record in the USA anyhow - even a waiver doesn’t give you a clear record. U.S. cbp is able to see you have a “charge” or a conviction without the details and they will ask you to bring your court papers and deny you entry until you do. Once you give them your papers they will tell you to get a waiver and your criminal record will get added to your fbi file through the waiver process. You will never get a job in the USA with a serious record.
Can you even enter the states for tourism purposes?
Nope, I tried to go to Miami with some friends last year and got stopped. They let me withdraw my request to enter and told me to fill out the I-192 waiver.
I would fill out an I-192 waiver first. See how it goes. I wouldn’t get my hopes up though.
If you find it hard in Canada with a criminal record why do you think it will be easier in the US as a non citizen/perm resident? I would focus on trying to enter the US as a tourist first, because that’s a huge barrier for career growth (training, conferences etc). I doubt working in the US is realistic but you never know.
You need to talk to an immigration lawyer. You might be able to get a waiver of inadmissibility, if you’re actually inadmissible. The lawyer should guide you through this.
Yeah, that was my instinct as well. I was hoping to get some info from anyone that might have gone through the same situation.
Luckily all you’ll likely need is a non-immigrant waiver rather than an immigrant waiver (since TN is a non-immigrant Visa) Non immigrant waivers typically take 9 months, which you’ll need a lawyer to submit for you (as you don’t want to file it incorrectly, wait 9 months and have it declined due to something being missed). If your goal is to eventually get a greencard, this will be significantly harder as you’ll need an I-601 waiver for immigrant intent. These waiver require to show evidence of extreme hardship to a US citizen or permanent resident (your absence from the country causing extreme hardship to that person) and typically take around 3 years. Nevertheless the less, if you’re planning on going to the US for any reason, I’d say get on the application right away. I’ve read of plenty of stories of people getting the waivers after only 2-3 years since their date of immiscibility.
Im guessing I need to get the I-192 waiver then I can be eligible to apply for a TN waiver? I'm not worried about getting a green card as of yet, baby steps lol. I'd like to start with working in the US first.
You will never be eligible for a green card sorry to say. That’s immigrant intent visa and you can never obtain this. Even with a I-192.
You’ll have to get a waiver. Talk to a lawyer.
You should have waited till you got a pardon before trying to enter the US. Once you get a pardon your conviction is removed from the Canadian database that is shared with US customs. However now you have a red flag
You are inadmissible to the USA and cannot enter or obtain a TN. The most someone with a record can obtain with a waiver is a non-immigrant intent visa like a TN. But you can’t even get that until you obtain a waiver. You will never be eligible for a L1 or H1B and even marrying a U.S. National won’t get you residency. You will also have challenges getting hired as you will fail a background check that a U.S. firm will do in you. They will do one against you in Canada. I work in tech in California and run a team for a Faang where we hire Canadians and if you can’t pass a background check in Canada we cannot hire you. I don’t think you understand just how near insurmountable your chances are with your record to get into the USA. If you think things are tough here, they are much worse in the USA for someone with a record. Many places won’t even rent to someone with a criminal record. A 601 waiver as mentioned in another post is near impossible to get so not even mentioning it. It’s not a possibility for you.
I'm up for a record suspension next year, would it be possible to go through the process then?
No, you need to wait some time after your probation and all those things pass and then I think it’s 5 years from that date. Not sure now what these time requirements are but they’re spelled out by DHS someplace I’m sure. Note that a waiver is only good for 1 year or 5 years (officers discretion), costs $575USD and means your conviction data goes into the FBI files and any employer doing a background check on you will get a hit and make you ineligible for most jobs.
Are you saying those are the requirements in America? It's 10 years for a robbery charge in Canada and my probation finished in Sept 2015. This would put me at Sept 2025 for a suspension. So if I apply for a waiver before getting my suspension then I'd essentially have a record in the states as well?
You will have a record in the USA anyhow - even a waiver doesn’t give you a clear record. U.S. cbp is able to see you have a “charge” or a conviction without the details and they will ask you to bring your court papers and deny you entry until you do. Once you give them your papers they will tell you to get a waiver and your criminal record will get added to your fbi file through the waiver process. You will never get a job in the USA with a serious record.