Avoid 24 hour borders like Detroit. I could go into example after example of where they go out of their way to NOT take waivers, but just trust me, its worth avoiding.

If the border says they take waivers 24 hours a day, likely they have also mastered the art of making up excuses to NOT TAKE your waiver as well. Again, I am speaking about mainly Ontario borders.

There are 3 borders in the same area. All in Southern Ontario but all much different.

Rainbow Bridge - Best place to hand in waivers in Ontario, in the town of Niagara Falls. Easy to find. Great hours. NO TRUCKS ALLOWED. No waiting. From October to May they take waivers on SUNDAYS from 5pm - 9pm. That is when most of my clients go (during those months) and I never get a single complaint. Even though I forward my phones, I NEVER get a problem on a Sunday, just the occasional (on my way home, it was exactly as you said)

Queenston/Lewiston off the 405 highway, near town of Queenston. Decent hours BUT no weekends ever, and they get busy with truck traffic. Sometimes you go right in, sometimes you wait. No Sundays.

Peace Bridge, near Fort Erie /Buffalo - hours are just ok (Monday-Thursday 5pm-9pm) lots of truck traffic, too busy. Avoid.

This thread is about handing in your waiver. This is DIFFERENT from being denied entry. Of course when they deny you entry its a bad experience. Of course if your caught at the Rainbow Bridge its going to suck. But when you are handing in your waiver you are telling them you are not trying to cross and are there to hand in waivers. They are very pleasant 90% of the time under THAT circumstance.

I cannot speak on whether they are or are not a good place to hand in waivers since that is not my area of the country as you would know about those borders better than I would.

I can say that Detroit Windsor is the worse border to use in terms of crossing over and Sweetgrass Montana is the 2nd one. Way too many people have contacted us with horror stories about Detroit Windsor and even Niagara in terms of crossing over. Anyway, just my opinion based on what clients have told us.

I believe that Niagara is Buffalo?

What about Lewiston crossing? Would you consider this a quiet border?

Why is the information so bad? Why do or do they not take waivers if they say that they will be doing so?

When you say " Niagara Falls" , are you referring to LEWISTON or Peace Bridge

Yes Niagara Falls is and always HAS been the best place to hand in your waiver anyways. 90% of my clients go there, including people who live in Toronto (despite the Airport) and Windsor (despite Detroit)

Monday-Thursday 2-9pm
Sundays 5-9 pm.

There is no lineup, no waiting, and they don't allow trucks so you are never stuck in a line.

Easily the best location in Ontario

Thanks for the update John.
I guess I need to look for somewhere else to drop off mine.
Any recommendation?

As of Today, Tuesday October 9th 2018, Pearson Airport is NOT taking waivers yet. And I am aware that the voicemail says they are, and on Saturdays, but since February its been Tuesdays, and closed since July 16 2018.

If anyone going this Tuesday post the info.

What other location close to Toronto open to take applications?

Like to know the location and time that they are open

Thank you John.
Please post if you find out they are open this Tuesday. I have to drop off om renewal soon as my waiver expire next aug.

@seadooxp30 they are closed for the "summer" right now.

They no longer do Saturdays at all (despite what the voicemail says) and are open Tuesdays.

But not right now. They SHOULD be opening either this Tuesday or next, but I have no confirmation yet. I will post it when they are.

“" When you call the offices, is still says they are open Saturday, which has not been true since February 2018, they open on Tuesdays.”

Hi, I'm trying to confirm this info and calling the office but cant get a hold of anyone.
So they are open on Tuesdays from 8 am to 7PM ? Terminal 1 or 3?

According to the GTAA website, Pearson Airport is still not open, despite the fact they re-opened this time last year.

When you call the offices, is still says they are open Saturday, which has not been true since February 2018, they open on Tuesdays.

I would not be surprised if this changes soon so I will check daily and let you know when I know more.

In the meantime, Niagara Falls is now open Sundays 5 pm - 9 pm, and that is actually the best place to hand your waiver in, in southern Ontario.

Yes I agree with both of you. They are very time consuming and the Canadian Government is extremely picky when it comes to granting pardons. We don't get as many pardons since our clients don't seem to want them as much. A lot of them are self-employed and feel they don't need it so we don't push it.

:: @K SCOTT added on 12 Sep ’18 · 14:47

We are the opposite in the sense that we do much more work on waiver/border cases than pardons.

@55, John Rogers, Yes, I agree Pardons are time consuming, much more than waivers.

@WaivemeIn

You missed this:

“The client has a criminal record in Canada but is not a citizen, so is being deported”

Basically to expand on this, when you do a pardon for someone in a foreign country, getting fingerprints and sending documents back and forth becomes frustrating and expensive. So we wanted to get that process underway before he was deported back to Georgia (the former soviet republic). A pardon is much easier for the client than a waiver, they really just sign forms and get fingerprinted. We do a lot more work than a Waiver on behalf of the client. I am sure Michelle will agree that Pardons take up much more of our time than waivers.

Hi John, just curious, if he did not have criminal record in Canada, what good would a Canadian pardon be? Is this for his future Canadian immigration application?

#52, oh that is great, that you were able to help him. I currently in the process of submitting a tender to Saskatchewan Government for mobile digital fingerprints. Fingers crossed.

The client has a criminal record in Canada but is not a citizen, so is being deported. He wanted to start a Pardon but is in detention. They consented to us fingerprinting him at the Airport before he got on the plane.

It was a stressful experience, as the facility is not really set up for such a request, but we got the fingerprints done, forms signed.

It took close to 2 hours in total, the security officers in charge (G4S Security) were not very helpful, but the request was unusual, and they did permit it, so we can't be too upset.

We can now do the Pardon HERE while the client resides back in his native country. His wife and children are here.

I assume we have the same equipment, so it just goes to show, if you get an opportunity to do this, it can be done successfully.

#50 John Rogers, interesting, how did it go? Also was this Canada Customs that deported someone? You mentioned a Pardon? Thanks!