Filed renewal at Sweetgrass Feb 14. No DNA taken from me but another person in the office at the same time was swabbed. Uncertain on why he was swabbed and I wasn’t, he said he was also filing a renewal.

SEPTEMBER LETTER - suspected of overstaying, asylum claim.

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ARO Decision
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Status History (5)
2/13/2023, 01:32 PM EST : Status changed to Completed
10/7/2022, 12:30 PM EDT : Status changed to Submitted to ARO
10/5/2022, 04:42 PM EDT : Status changed to Paid
10/5/2022, 04:39 PM EDT : Status changed to Signed
10/5/2022, 04:13 PM EDT : Application Created

1 year waiver.
He has an old importing 1993 but also a 2002 Assault CBH.
The US thinks importing is much worse than trafficking. Had he not had the 2002, probably a 5 right away.
Again, we are up to October 14th.

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ARO Decision
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Status History (5)
2/13/2023, 08:00 AM EST : Status changed to Completed
10/14/2022, 09:00 AM EDT : Status changed to Submitted to ARO
9/28/2022, 08:38 PM EDT : Status changed to Paid
9/28/2022, 08:36 PM EDT : Status changed to Signed
7/28/2022, 11:24 AM EDT : Application Created

5 year waiver. First waiver. Overstay from 2005-2014

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ARO Decision
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Status History (5)
2/13/2023, 11:00 AM EST : Status changed to Completed
10/12/2022, 07:30 PM EDT : Status changed to Submitted to ARO
10/6/2022, 03:18 PM EDT : Status changed to Paid
10/6/2022, 03:16 PM EDT : Status changed to Signed
9/14/2022, 10:06 AM EDT : Application Created

1 year waiver

2007 -Conspiracy to Weapons Trafficking - Conspiracy to Traffic in Scheduled Substance
Gang Activity.

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ARO Decision
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Status History (5)
2/10/2023, 12:00 PM EST : Status changed to Completed
10/5/2022, 05:30 PM EDT : Status changed to Submitted to ARO
9/19/2022, 11:31 AM EDT : Status changed to Paid
9/19/2022, 11:29 AM EDT : Status changed to Signed
9/15/2022, 02:53 PM EDT : Application Created

5 YEAR WAIVER. Up to October 14th now. Pretty good.

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ARO Decision
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Status History (5)
2/13/2023, 09:00 AM EST : Status changed to Completed
10/14/2022, 11:30 AM EDT : Status changed to Submitted to ARO
9/28/2022, 01:56 PM EDT : Status changed to Paid
9/28/2022, 01:54 PM EDT : Status changed to Signed
9/16/2022, 11:07 AM EDT : Application Created

Received my 5 year waiver this morning.
Submitted to ARO on Oct 7th.
This is my third waiver. 1 year, 5 year and now another 5 year.

Conviction was for possession of stolen property under $5000 in 1998.

Used a waiver company my first time, filed myself the second and third time. Used e-safe this time and found it to be extremely easy.

Really like the fact that they email you a copy of your waiver. Now I can save it and reprint it should something happen to the paperwork.

Good luck to everyone else currently waiting. I know what the anticipation feels like.

@Bazz thanks for the reply. Appreciate you taking the time to do so. I’m sure you’ve answered this on here somewhere but perhaps not. May I ask why you needed a waiver? I understand you’ve got one before.

@Magnus I was at Sweetgrass Feb 7 , 2023. They did NOT swab me just prints and picture

@Marsha good for you :), I have quite some waiting I submit in December, getting tired cancelling work trip

@Jenny3276 congratulations on getting your waiver!. I’ve just realized that it’s an October submission. I submitted in October so I’m waiting patiently to hear something back from them. :)

5 year waiver approved today. It was a reapplication we were hoping to get for Feb 3rd travel date but happy nonetheless that it was approved. Thought I’d share for those of you anxiously awaiting theirs.

2/8/2023, 04:30 PM EST : Status changed to Completed
10/7/2022, 06:00 PM EDT : Status changed to Submitted to ARO
9/29/2022, 05:37 PM EDT : Status changed to Paid
9/29/2022, 05:34 PM EDT : Status changed to Signed
9/20/2022, 09:29 PM EDT : Application Created

@Orlando I’ve asked the question before but nobody has really addressed it in depth here. If you aren’t understanding of the implications of DNA sampling this perhaps will help you. In my opinion it’s an overreach and because certain groups (usually minorities) are targeted and “criminalized” it’s a system ripe for abuse.
And I’m going to guess that A LOT of non-white folks are targeted with this.

I’m also curious if one has any say in declining them taking your DNA and if they will still process your application. Anyone here wish to answer this?

I’ll be clear here. I do not have a criminal record of any sort nor have I ever had one I just have a great issue with potentially having my DNA stored in a database unnecessarily so.

“By no fault of your own, you might have to provide DNA sampling and there’s a lot of privacy and civil liberty issues and sovereignty issues related to this,” he said, adding that some Canadians might also be subjected to racial profiling. Having your DNA permanently kept in a government database could impact you for the rest of your life, he said.

“Your DNA sampling, once you lose that to the Department of Homeland Security through this process, it’s forever compromised, so it’s shocking,” said Masse, who wrote Thursday to Canadian Public Safety Minister Bill Blair on the issue.

Full article here:
https://windsorstar.com/news/local-news/alarm-expressed-over-u-s-plan-to-take-dna-samples-from-those-detained-at-border/wcm/785b9e01-4fe5-423f-8846-c2cca07da507/amp/

The more you know…

@J Rogers i will need your contact info, if I don’t get a September letter I’ll most likely contact you for my renewal.

Just to clarify a couple of points (sorry if this is a bit long)

-No airports, all land borders only

-2 reference letters should do it, I know out west the borders used to ask for 3, but the waivers all go to Virginia now, so 2 is enough.

-Don't fill out any forms, eSAFE is where the forms are filled out, and it does allow you to print out a copy if you want. You do NOT need forms at the border, which is why eSAFE was partially created in the first place, via the "reduction of paperwork act". You simply need the documents you uploaded and the RCMP fingerprints and your passport.

-They may or may not fingerprint you, and/or a DNA swab. Its pretty random (the DNA) but they are technically supposed to fingerprint you. (sometimes they do not)

-Waivers form early October are coming in now (Oct 4rth) so the officers at ALL borders are WAY off. You know why? Last year at this time it was 30 days. They don't realize its gotten so slow because they have no say and get no notifications when it is granted.

-Making a client show the waiver to "hand in his waiver" is not common and makes no sense actually. You are there NOT TO CROSS, but to hand in some documents, and then go right back to Canada. I doubt this happens often, although it did happen to this person.

Many of the people in this forum did their own waiver, and it turned out fine. Old minor convictions are the easiest, as long as you put in the effort and can use a computer. If you have a serious record, or a recent record, or are worried about the personal letter, its smart to get some help. If you don't like using the computer, then you will need help.

Many of my clients did their first waiver with me with all intentions of handling the rest themselves. What ends up happening is that I rarely lose anyone because I do the fingerprints here in my office, and I do as much of the work as is possible (personal letter, reference letters (sometimes) fingerprints) and anything else that it is possible. The client is absolutely involved. I would agree that I am the exception, and that many places don't even fingerprint, and they do very little. This is an absolute waste of money.

My first client ever was a man from Oshawa, saw my add in the paper in the late 90's and did a pardon and a waiver. He still does waivers every 5 years.

@Bazz this may be an unpopular opinion but I don’t think you needed to post this essay here on the application process since there is a lot of information here on this already. Only sound “daunting” because you made it sound like it. No you don’t necessarily need to pay someone to do it but so many people ask how to write a personal letter and I believe that if they have to ask this question, they shouldn’t be doing the waiver themselves. Again unpopular opinion but we see the timeline here is just about four months so 6-8 weeks is misleading information from border officials. We come here for real timeline and this post doesn’t exactly give viewers that. And about needing a waiver to enter, that’s definitely not true.

@magnus, why are you so concerned about DNA! Honestly I’m curious because I’ve seen you asked this question so many time.

@Magnus I attended Sweetgrass border for biometrics December 15, 2022 and they did not take a DNA sample.

@Bazz just out of curiosity when you were at Sweetgrass did they swab you to get a DNA sample when they did biometrics or were you required to do this in the past?

@Bazz the border told me the same thing 6-8 weeks but I have not seen anyone getting response before 120 day mark

I wonder when we reapply if we need new reference letter or if we can use the same one from the previous waiver

Got Back to Calgary from Sweetgrass Montana yesterday. You can no longer hand in your application at Calgary airport, you have to basically download and print the I-192 forms and fill them in. The whole process is quite long and can be daunting to people who haven't done it before. I will give you a quick outline of what I did, hope it helps someone.

This was my second application for a waiver. The first one I got was for 5 years. Getting a second one is somewhat easier because you don't need to get court records again, you can use the previous ones.

Anyway, you will need to go to a place like Canadian Legal Resources and shell out $78.85 to get your fingerprints taken along with your picture. This will be sent to the RCMP for them to do a criminal records check. That will be mailed back to you in a couple of weeks.

Then you have to go to the court that you were convicted and get records of your convictions (if you already don't have them).

You will need to write up a letter saying what crime(s) you did, when, where etc and what the convictions and punishment was. You will need to show remorse and explain anything you have done to help your case.

You will need to get 3 reference letters from people that know you (although this might not be necessary any more but I did it)

You will need a copy of your passport.

You then fill in the I-192 forms.

Now you have to go onto esafe which is the online I-192 application system of the US department of homeland security. There you basically fill in the forms online and upload all the documents that I mentioned before and pay the US$585.

You will have to take pictures or scan all the documents then get them onto a computer so you can upload them. Im not sure if this can be done with just a phone.

Once this is done and you receive an email saying that they have received it you have 45 days to take all of the forms that I mentioned to the nearest US port of entry. You should first call them and book a date and time to hand in your documents for verification and to have your biometrics done. There is no additional cost for this.

For me the nearest port is Sweetgrass Montana. I hd an appointment for 1pm which gave me time for the 3 1/2 drive from Calgary. When you get there you will hand in your passport and your waiver if you have one to the US border officer. If you do not have a waiver or your previous waiver has expired then its a bit more complicated as they have to give you a temporary waiver to enter the US to get to your appointment.

The border officer kept my passport and told me to park my car and go in to the office. Once in there you sit and wait until you are called. The officer must have given my passport to the person who processes the I-192 applications. After about 1/2 an hour I was called up to the desk and asked to hand in the documents that were uploaded for them to verify them. They also take your fingerprints and picture digitally. About 10 minutes later they will call you to the desk and give back the documents and passport assuming everything is OK. The officer told be that I should get an answer in 6-8 weeks.

I got an email the same day saying that they received everything.

It all sounds daunting but you can do all this yourself. You should not have to pay anyone to do this as it is not complicated. You still have to do almost all of the steps even if you pay someone.

I hope this helps and I hope I get another 5 years so I can go and see my daughter!