@JohnB3

The truth is I have consistently busy since May 2021. Even when the border was closed. I was able to get rid of my backlog and then when people who were with other companies hear I was getting waivers at a lightening pace and the company there were with wasn't even trying, I became busy. It has not let up since.

In November when the border opened OTHER companies started doing waivers as well. But I just stayed consistently busy. Also, remember I have a LOT of existing clients, (as far back as the 90's) I am also referral heavy. I don't advertise, almost all new clients are referrals. Which leads to more referrals. But my "model" is a bit unique, and I may not be a real indicator of what is happening at the border.
Right now I have successfully gotten 2 waivers for clients with sexually based offences. So I am in the midst of quite a few clients who have this unique offence and that will die down once they have all applied.

But my experience tells me the following;

- Homeland Security takes vacations in July
-People probably decided to renew waivers that were overdue for a couple of years, and that is on top of new waivers, and the usual renewals
-Its a traffic jam, and once the backlog is eased, it will flow again

@J Rogers Industries usually have patterns. E.g. people thinking about travel and a waiver may apply in certain months

Can you look at total number of waivers you submitted in April and the total number you submitted in May and then share (not numbers) if April or May was a heavier month for submissions?

My theory is, if you saw less waivers in May then it’s possible there were less across the board in May and the process time could come down. Hopefully it doesn’t go the other way

Great news. I’m glad they are working on May submissions. 💃🏾💃🏾@RG

@RG that's a good news... 👍 👌

I received my waiver today after 85 days.

Status History (5)
7/27/2022, 07:30 AM PDT : Status changed to Completed
5/3/2022, 10:29 AM PDT : Status changed to Submitted to ARO
4/7/2022, 11:27 AM PDT : Status changed to Paid
4/7/2022, 11:23 AM PDT : Status changed to Signed
4/7/2022, 11:03 AM PDT : Application Created

@TPH2

I am sorry to hear about the trip. The timeline was changed enormously over the past 60 days. There is a post, which I will post in again to bring it back to the front page, where I constantly posted actual waivers that were granted, usually 3-5 at a time.

Homeland Security guys at the border have NO clue about the timelines, they only know what people crossing or anecdotal information to draw upon.

Are you flying or driving? If flying, go to the Airport 2 weeks before you fly and ask the Supervisor for a Port Parole. It must be at the same place you are flying out of. If you are driving, try the supervisor at the Port of Entry.

I once had a client before covid who booked a Philadelphia Flyers fantasy camp and paid $5k. He realized his waiver would run out before and his new one would not arrive in time. We did a Port Parole through Buffalo. We also told him "I don't think it will work". They granted it.

**Important**
-this client had a waiver, and was re-applying
-this was before covid

@TPH

I do waivers for a living.
Pardon and Waiver Experts in Brampton.

There is also another Waiver person, Michelle, but she posts infrequently because she is pretty busy.
I try and post as often as I have information people might find useful, or to answer questions.

The purpose of this forum is to help both DIY and people who might have more complex cases. I do a LARGE volume of Waivers, almost all by referrals, and this helps me because I can then compare a wider variety of cases and help as many people as possible.

I do give a lot of information, but I also learn based on people who are in places where I don't do a large volume of waivers, for example, Maritimes, Manitoba, Saskatchewan (I usually refer any clients from there to Michelle)

To answer your question, Waivers are just files which are placed in a line-up. They are NOT sorted in order of difficulty. How does it actually work?

1) Homeland Security Staff member in Virginia opens the next file on their computer. They assess it, and then if it is straight forward, they adjudicate and create a waiver of 1-5 years. 80% pf the waivers I process or 5 year waivers, regardless of new or re-application.

2.) If the officer cannot make a decision, it is given to another person in a supervisory position. They then re-assess the waiver, decide whether to grant it or not. If its granted, then they render a decision

3.) If the waiver is going to be rejected, they then have to write an explanation as to why. Its usually 4-5 pages. They also try and make it "appeal-proof". They they send the decision, with the information on how to appeal to the client.

This is why waivers that are straight forward, whether they are new or re-applications, all take a similar time period. This is also why if you are given a September Letter, a denial, or a request for more information, it takes longer.

I am very careful with my posts and statistics. I want everyone to have ACCURATE information, and I want to cut through rumor's, false information, or just people that make wrong assumptions. I am always happy to justify anything I post, and I am happy to provide as much information as anyone wants, free.

If you want to ask a couple of questions, you can always call, 416-843-1371.

@J Rogers I am new to this board and I am noticing that you give very informed answers. Do you have any experience in the field of waivers. I am so confused on if it’s first come first served or if it’s by case complexity. Any help would be appreciated.

@Magnus

I think you are absolutely correct. I think what is happening now is a bit of a traffic jam, almost a perfect storm of summer (July is when a lot of Americans take vacation because many kids go back to school in August, not September like in Canada) and people wanting to suddenly travel, plus many people held off on renewing their waiver during the pandemic, so we can new waivers, old waivers, and waivers that would naturally be time to renew.

Remember, before the pandemic I was getting waivers 60 days after submission. And that was NOT through eSAFE. 90-120 days hasn't really been a thing since before 2019.

By October, I bet we are back down to 60 days. Speculation, of course.

@casper

I’m going to guess that the timelines may actually decrease by Fall time. Since most folks, including government employees, put in for vacation time (2-3 weeks or possibly more) in the summer then the May to August time period is going to see less folks in the office working on adjudication of waivers.

Obviously I have no “inside” information on this but it would stand to reason that the above scenario I’ve presented has some veracity to it based on what one would assume is the time period when employees generally put in for vacation time.

it appears to me that we are reverting back to the 120 day waiting period from the pre-pandemic times.
Does anyone know if they will ever go back to the airport submissions from the past.?
Its a long drive from Fort McMurray to Sweetgrass when mine expires May 2023

@Sophia I email then last week Friday and no response smh. I give up at this point

They really pick and chose who they replying too because i emailed them and they responded withing 10-15 minutes saying its still under review @candra1

@Beu Hi well I submitted mine at the border may 8 and still nothing. I don't know what's going on I email them a d still no reply.. its very frustrating because I will probably miss my family event. Still waiting

Hi Everyone. Does anyone know of any update as regards Early May submission? Is there any approvals? Is there anyone who submitted in May and has an update?@candra1 @JRodgers. I’m on my 83rd day and I’m still waiting. I submitted on May 3rd and did biometrics on May 5. Any updates please?

ARO has 27 positions open for Adjudicators for July.

https://tinyurl.com/ycxp4re7

I'd sure love to see every one of them filled so processing times would come down.

@J Rogers all I can say is thank you so much. No one knows for sure but your speculation are pretty accurate with the chances of exceptions. Thanks you so much. You have so much experience and we really appreciate your good work. You are helping a lot of people with the information and timelines and processes.

Hey hun this is the email i used
aro.inquiry.waiver@cbp.dhs.gov @candra1

@Sophia hi what email did you use?

[ candra1 appended this reply on July 22, 2022 @ 2:16 pm ]

Hi what email did you use? This one iroinquirywaiver@cbp.dhs.gov

Perhaps if my brother were commenting on this forum he would. He is not. Fortunately I'm not about to run to him for this proof you seek to validate yourself. His travel waiver was approved within 30 business days of submission to ARO. I don't feel the need to bother him to validate my comments. The timelines of 80 plus days for approval are not fact, his approval represents that. Some will wait longer, some will not. None of us work with ARO and are able to comment intelligently on the work they do, how they do it and how long it takes to be completed. Anything other than direct knowledge from a representative of ARO is pure speculation.