US Waiver – Restrictions at the US Border

US Waiver Application

The application for a US waiver often causes a lot of confusion among the people I speak to so I am going to try and clear up some of the common misunderstandings that arise from a US waiver application.

Applying for a US Waiver

When you apply for a US waiver you are asking the American government to temporarily remove the entry restrictions you have in place on you at the US border. The most common restriction we deal with when processing a US waiver application is due to criminal inadmissibility. But you can easily find yourself restricted for immigration violations (overstaying your welcome) or simply saying the wrong thing to a border agent. .

If you are planning on applying for a US waiver you will need to prepare a long list of documentation required by the Department of Homeland Security. You should plan on your waiver application taking approximately 1 year to complete start to finish. Any US waiver services company quoting you significantly shorter time frames than that should probably be avoided, although we do see some applications coming back in as little as 8 months.

US Waiver Processing Times

A US waiver simply cannot under any circumstances be processed overnight. At an absolute minimum a US waiver should take 6 months to complete start to finish and this is a very unlikely estimate although not totally unheard of.

US Waiver – What’s Involved

A US waiver includes a lot of personal information. DHS will want to know details on your parents, spouse, former spouse(s), children, etc. They require a criminal history report from the RCMP as well as court documentation. They will want to see letters of reference from friends and colleagues testifying that you are not a risk if allowed to travel in the United States. They will of course need copies of your identification, T1 slips and/or proof of employment. If you have drug offences they will want to see proof of rehabilitation and/or proof that you are not using any controlled substances. This is normally in the form of a urine test.

If you are restricted from entering the United States of American chances are the US waiver is the application that will allow you back in. Keep in mind that there is nothing preventing you from doing this application entirely on your own but it is a lot of government bureaucracy to wade through. If red tape scares or frustrates you then you should consider hiring a third party to prepare your US waiver.

US Waiver Services

At the National Pardon Centre we offer what we believe are the best US waiver services in the country. So if you are looking for a service provider, consider giving us a call or dropping by one of our walk in services.

We also offer free consultations so if you just have some questions and haven’t quite decided which way you are going with your waiver application feel free to get in touch. We’re happy to answer your questions and always available to get a file underway if you decide you’re ready.

A US waiver is waiting to let you travel again.