I have been busier than ever with waivers. I have even had to hire more staff. This is a good thing for business, but its also given me a broader perspective on who is getting the waiver, and why.
Rejection letters give us our best insight into WHY a waiver is turned down. This applies mainly to people with criminal records, which make up about 2/3 of my clients.
The Amount of Convictions----the span of the convictions (first to last) ----- the Seriousness of the conviction (sentences). These are the three main negatives
This needs to be offset by the amount of years SINCE the last conviction, and this can be bolstered by rehabilitation
Example. A client had 20 convictions over a 15 year span. He had waited 7 years to apply. When the rejections letter came, it highlighted these numbers and said it was 5.2 years (they added the sentence) and this was "insufficient" to overcome the other numbers.
Example A client has 2 convictions for drugs in the United States with 2 concurrent 6 year sentences. He waited 9 years. The letter stated 9 years was an "instant" application and that it did not overcome his "12 years of combined sentences".
These are just 2 simple examples, but they provide another useful tool when you are calculating the odds/chances of getting a waiver.