I have a couple of red flags with the company listing their services here. "Alberta Pardons"

I will also point out that I do know "of them" because we had a former employee (now deceased) who worked in this industry in Alberta. I will also point out I have never heard any horror stories regarding them and I have been doing Pardons and Waivers since the mid-90:s

1. BBB.....nothing wrong with using that, but the BBB itself is suspect. They will NEVER give you lower than a "A" rating EVEN if people lodge numerous complaints against you. Also, if you don't PAY THEM, you can get no HIGHER than a "B" rating. This is why I will never pay them. I will not give money to an organization that literally exists to give its members a "paid for" authentication. The BBB is itself a scam. If you call them on it, they admit they are simply a franchise, all the franchises are owned individually.

Example, I lodged many complaints against Scotia Pardons as did former clients both on the west coast and in Oakville. But because they were a "paid" member, they were NEVER downgraded.....until they stopped paying the BBB. And now they closed and took all the clients money. (The Oakville one)

2. Accredited by the RCMP is a plus. "First paralegal firm accredited".....no way to prove/disprove that, but I am very doubtful. Still, good that they are accredited.

3. These services are VERY overpriced:
Police File Destruction Services: $519.75, includes GST. (For more information please see our Fees page or our Pardon FAQ's)

Privacy Act Information Request: $252.00, includes GST. For more information please see our Fees page.

We can do Privacy Act fingerprints for $65 including taxes, why the inflated markup? To have an extra form signed? And most police forces will now do the file destruction for free ONLINE. Sometimes there is a nominal fee. Seems unethical to not simply direct clients there instead of charging over $500. Peel and Toronto Police both have easy to use tabs on their websites. Halton will do it just because you ask.

4. The "application page" does say you can call for a free consultation (good) but then allows people to simply apply and pay without knowing if they will GET a waiver or pardon or if they are eligible. Some people will simply assume they will get it if they fill out the online form and give credit card information. Not everyone is eligible for a pardon and not everyone will get a waiver. Also no mention that a waiver is NOT PERMANANET on that page. Seems like a way to get money without having to qualify the client first. Not a fan.

Those aside, I am not a fan of paying for "premium" services.....we all know its a "warning" that your file will only be done asap if you pay the extra. My organization treats everyone the same. Either this company does NOT, treating those who can afford more better, or else they DO treat everyone the same, making that a deceptive practice.

Which is it?

@ John Oh sorry I forgot that you work at CBP and have access to their caseload data information. If so, then you should be fired for being out of the loop. Please tell the people still waiting for a 2020 waiver decision that all the cases are done since this is news to them. There are people that have called us from this forum within the past month that still have2020 cases pending. I have a gentleman with a 2019 case pending in Surrey B.C. right now. Please allow me to borrow your crystal ball. I could see if he is willing to be a guest on our internet talk radio show. Just try to stay in the loop Sparky. 😜

Ken Scott
Senior U.S. Immigration Law Intelligence Analyst
www.usentrywaiverservices.com
888 908-3841
604 332-9213
info@deniedentrytousa.com

@Ken

All waivers are in now from 2020. This post is unnecessary and out of date because there is a NEW Administration. New guidelines. We need waivers to be handed in in volume to get a bead on how Homeland Security will be adjudicating on them. You might as well be saying "hey, just posting that I am alive here".

@ John well this is where your lack of experience is coming into play again. CBP really has no limit on how long they take to process a case. Hence, results have been coming in for cases that have been filed in 2020. I understand that you have no knowledge of this based on your "circumstances." Again, I have already told you before that we do not post everything here that we do. We also do not post anything that I deem that you have no business knowing. You only see what I deem is fit for your viewing pleasure.

@Ken

Since no but essential workers have filed waivers since March, why would you be getting rejections now? All the rejections would have been done before Christmas. If you are talking about recent essential workers, then that is a different story.

Which are you talking about?

1. eSafe is not a guarantee of success, just a guarantee of speed (by far it is faster) and also no possibility of it being lost in the mail (it is emailed)

2. Poorly prepared packets are a problem for sure. Clients should have their personal letters and possibly their reference letters written for them, and they should have waited ideally at LEAST 5 years since their last conviction.

We are receiving a major uptick in waiver denied cases prepared by Ontario DWCs and 2 lawyers. I keep seeing the same theme though throughout the packets. These cases are being poorly prepared and do not possess the appropriate rehabilitative value properly displayed. Be aware that esafe does not necessarily guarantee approval. It also looks like these were filed using a combination of esafe and the traditional paper method.

AS a general rule, your case will likely get denied if it is pending close to 1 year or more. Be wary of providers pushing you to file too quickly in general. You really should wait for the appropriate time frame to pass before you file your waiver. WE have received the ARO guidance on how they adjudicate this time period. I have already read it off on the phone to some of the people that have called us from here.

Ken Scott
Senior U.S. Immigration Law Intelligence Analyst
www.usentrywaiverservices.com
888 908-3841
604 332-9213
info@deniedentrytousa.com

@ John I understand that you have a reading comprehension issue. However, the purpose of this room is to help people not get their waivers denied. Took you long enough to respond but yet you still do not understand the topic here.

Again, no one cares about people being fingerprinted in Jamaica. At least try to stay on topic and stop being jealous about people calling us from John because people do. I understand that this fact and our affiliates program clearly burn you up. So yeah Sport, just try to stay focused on the subject matter. You can even ask Jennifer to read to you since she is affiliated with book authors.

Again, the topic relates to ways of preventing a US Entry Waiver denial. At least try to get it right Sport. 👍

@Ken, you seem confused. Michelle and I are preaching "caution" with regards to waivers. You are insisting you "are getting waivers approved" despite my warnings that certain waivers (sexual assault) were not approved under Trump.

As for "Ontario companies" if you not willing to name them, then I call bullshit. I clearly NAME the company when they are a problem. No one is calling you, which I guess is why you have no names. Also, I guess Azoo scared you into silence.

No one wants to be your "Canadian contact". Enter the express entry lottery like everyone else, and try to get back into Canada. As i have said many times, there is nothing wrong with doing waivers from the UK. Just be honest about it, so if someone wants to "shop Canadian", they can.

I want to mention something here that will help other clients. Apparently, someone had filed a waiver while they had a criminal charge pending through the court for a certain offence. Let us just say that the offence was car theft, and essentially, the disposition was that the charge was eventually withdrawn. Hence, this person did not receive a conviction.

However, this person had filed for a waiver around Jan 2020 and it is still pending. The interesting thing to note is that this case was filed using ESAFE. I told this person that there is a high likelihood that the waiver will get denied for a few reasons.

The main reason is that not enough time has passed to show rehabilitation. The book talks about this issue in great detail. There is GENERALLY a 5-year window regarding being able to demonstrate that have met the waiting period to be "deemed rehabilitated." Note that rehabilitation is not just waiting the 5-year window though, since there is also a provision for a 3 year wait on certain offences. However, 5 years is the minimum safest period. There are also other specific things that you will need to do to show rehabilitation. It is not necessarily just waiting for the 5 years to be done. This depends on the case particulars though.

Note that I have seen denial letters from when people used other waiver providers. Apparently, the theme that I have seen is that they tend to want 5 years past the completion period of your punishment. Now note that the book also says that some offences will require a longer period than the 5 years. However, I think the main issue here is that some people are filing these waiver cases way too soon. There is a special formula that can be used to determine if your case has a high likelihood of success. We have shared some parts of this formula with the people that have been calling us from here.

However, the one big thing here is that in our opinion, we do not suggest that you file a waiver or even try to enter the USA while your court case is pending. I say this because you are really shooting yourself in the foot if you do this. This is because the regulations basically state that you will need a waiver based on the relevant conviction(s) you have and whatever you "voluntarily admit to." Now this part about admitting is not just verbally since it also includes in writing. Hence, you file a waiver for a pending car theft charge. See below:

(2) Criminal and related grounds
(A) Conviction of certain crimes
(i) In general
Except as provided in clause (ii), any alien convicted of, or who admits having committed, or
who admits committing acts which constitute the essential elements of-
(I) a crime involving moral turpitude (other than a purely political offense) or an attempt or
conspiracy to commit such a crime, or
(II) a violation of (or a conspiracy or attempt to violate) any law or regulation of a State, the
United States, or a foreign country relating to a controlled substance (as defined in section 802 of
title 21),

is inadmissible.

So, you see above that it is not necessarily always a conviction that can get you into trouble. The border takes note of this since you have now essentially admitted to stealing the car. Then you case gets dropped by the courts but you still find yourself inadmissible because of the voluntary confession. You may wonder why, and this is because you have voluntarily told CBP that you have stolen the car in Hamilton.

However, the Discount Waiver Companies will try to forcefully sell you a waiver where you may not even need one. This also includes filing for one where it is not always in your best interest. The aforementioned individual with the car theft offence will now likely have to get a waiver every couple of years for the rest of the person’s life.

It is too bad that this person did not call before a waiver case was filed. I would have told this person that we should maybe hold off until the courts are finished. Now this could take a year or 2 but you have to look at the bigger picture. Do you want to risk having to spend thousands on a possibly unneeded waiver over a lifetime, or do you become impatient and roll the dice?

So, in our experience, I feel that it might be a good idea to stay away from that border until your court case has been cleared. Then possibly contact us and we can go over what may happen when CBP notes that you had been previously charged with car theft but was acquitted. You are still not necessarily out of the woods just yet since they may try to lean on you to get you to admit that you actually stole a car. Hence, the cycle has repeated itself and you have now voluntarily talked yourself into needing a waiver.

On a slightly different note, apparently the DWCs will try and pressure you to give them a credit card number during your first phone call. In our opinion, I suggest that you refrain from doing this until you are comfortable with the service provider’s knowledge and level of experience.

Finally, I will have to rethink my former ESAFE comment when I said that it is good for less complex cases. The car theft case is less complex, but it has still been pending for a year now. Remember, that ESAFE is not a guarantee that your case will be processed fast since it is all about the particulars relating to each case. Do not believe any waiver provider that says it is a guarantee or 100% guarantee of a waiver approval since every case is different.

Ken Scott
Senior U.S. Immigration Law Intelligence Analyst
www.usentrywaiverservices.com
888 908-3841
604 332-9213