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!

@Kev you can only hope but look an October waiver so they are chugging along.

5 year waiver (renewal) A client I had had for years. Finally October 4rth so they are sending out October Waivers now.

Documents Shared With You
ARO Decision
Please review the documents
Status History (5)
2/8/2023, 07:00 AM EST : Status changed to Completed
10/4/2022, 11:30 AM EDT : Status changed to Submitted to ARO
9/20/2022, 03:54 PM EDT : Status changed to Paid
9/20/2022, 03:53 PM EDT : Status changed to Signed
7/12/2022, 02:02 PM EDT : Application Created

@Tiffany maybe there was not many applicant and will accelerate the next few months….
I’m trying to think positive here

@J Rogers probably already started processing them since this one is almost 8 days ago.

[ Tiffany appended this reply on February 6, 2023 @ 2:29 pm ]

Processing October *

Still no Octobers.

Fake Passport 1985

5 YEAR WAIVER

Documents Shared With You
ARO Decision
Please review the documents
Status History (5)
1/30/2023, 11:30 AM EST : Status changed to Completed
9/29/2022, 12:00 PM EDT : Status changed to Submitted to ARO
9/27/2022, 02:51 PM EDT : Status changed to Paid
9/27/2022, 02:47 PM EDT : Status changed to Signed
9/22/2022, 02:45 PM EDT : Application Created

@J Rogers you were absolutely correct- 6 month entry.

@Magnus she said she applied a year after her last conviction. She has three in total including two assaults been the most recent ones. I would assume that was the reason for the decision to give a 6 months waiver. She was also reduced to 3 years after getting the 5 years previously. I asked if she had changed anything (personal letter or other information submitted) but she said no. She was nevertheless happy with the three years.

@Marsha that’s kind of f’d up! I’m curious as to what kind of decision making leads to “let’s just give this person a 6 month waiver”? Considering the time (driving to a border) and expense (add 25-30% to the cost due to the exchange rate) and it’s just a drag to hear this. Then factor in the waiting time to apply again for a new waiver, it’s just a terrible situation and hassle.

I’m sure someone on here has some insight as to why some folks just get 6 month waivers.

@Magnus, I were in conversation with a young lady on this forum who actually got a 6 month waiver the first time she applied. The second time she applied, she got 5 years and a few months ago they gave her a 3 year waiver, down from 5 years! She didn’t have a bar but they really do issue 6 months waivers.

Hey my first one was 6 months lol how rude of them 😂 but second was 5 years @Marsha

Sophia replied 4 months ago

@SarahB thanks for this info. I’m curious as to why they only had a 6 month waiver at one point. Seems almost abusive to give someone a 6 month waiver due to the cost and hassle of submitting it.

Furthermore I’m curious as to how some folks get September Letters and others don’t.

In light of another guy on here getting a 4 year waiver for having a 15 YEAR overstay it just seems like willy nilly adjudication (although I obviously don’t know the particulars of the respective cases).

@J Rogers you have any thoughts on this?

@Magnus see below where someone recently posted about having 3 waivers after a ban

Just got my waiver approved. This is my third waiver. I had a 3-year bar due to overstaying more than 6 months but less than 1 year. This waiver was given for 1 year however it contains multiple purposes/visa types, not only B1/B2. My past waivers were 6 months, then 5 years. See the dates below.

Thank you

1/25/2023, 08:30 AM EST : Status changed to Completed
9/20/2022, 01:00 PM EDT : Status changed to Submitted to ARO

[ commander appended this reply on January 25, 2023 @ 6:53 pm ]
This waiver was done under the i192 category
commander

@J Rogers
Ah thanks that's what I figured!
What is the earliest time that you'd recommend a waiver application in my misrepresentation case? Is there anything I should include in a future application to bolster my chances? In my letter I admitted fault, avoided making excuses and had I think pretty stellar character references.

5 YEAR WAIVER. This is the 4rth application for this client, he lives waaaaay up north in Goulais River Ontario. So he processed his waiver (vis eSAFE) in Sault Ste Marie. (Detroit border)

Note this is an older client and he got this email on January 17th, so its a bit older.

Documents Shared With You
ARO Decision
Please review the documents
Status History (5)
1/17/2023, 11:00 AM EST : Status changed to Completed
9/14/2022, 11:30 AM EDT : Status changed to Submitted to ARO
9/9/2022, 02:34 PM EDT : Status changed to Paid
9/9/2022, 02:33 PM EDT : Status changed to Signed
6/23/2022, 11:03 AM EDT : Application Create

@Magnus @KatM this is the information I’ve received and I’m yet to hear anyone who had been given a ban, report that they didn’t need a waiver after the ban expired. The border officials do give conflicting information but if when you file for a waiver and it’s determined that one isn’t needed, I don’t think ARO would actually send you a waiver. For the most part, some people on here haven’t even applied for a waiver so they don’t have anything factual to share. I’ve been on this forum for years and majority of people who have shared their approval have disappeared and probably won’t be back until time to renew their waiver. And many people post a million times using different names so how do we know what’s what really.