@Lost and Hopeless Very well written! Ever since Trump, the feeling of unfairness and powerlessness of being stuck in never-ending waiverland has now been felt by most Canadians. It should be seen as a turning point for our country. We have to learn to no longer rely on our neighbor for commerce and vacations. I'm about to get my first waiver, which will probably be valid for only a year. I highly doubt I will spend the time and money again. The idea of automatically being sent to secondary and "re-qualified" at every crossing is a giant pain. Now you need to arrive at the airport much earlier, and connecting flights need to be reevaluated.

I went over this weekend by car. Crossed at peace bridge. Showed my paper and was brought in to get the i-194. I had to pay $6. It went well. The officer said every 6 months I would need to get fingerprinted. That’s pretty much it.

Well, it seems that for the common mortals who just want to spend their good old earned cash south of the border, it will increasingly become more stringent. Those with criminal records or a minor brush with the law will just be barred from ever entering again down South in a few weeks. They will probably remove waivers altogether. Tough luck @John Rogers.

So, once a criminal always a criminal according to the current administration, even though the head of state, himself has a criminal record. Maybe this is what was needed so politicians can admit that minor offenders deserve second chances and people must be treated with respect, including illegal migrants. They are humans.

Lots of countries, including Australia, New Zealand and Canada alike are asking about criminal convictions on the ETA forms, as if someone who smoked a joint and got caught or has a DUI from 15 yrs ago is a hardcore national security threat. You will be scrutinized and followed, asked to dish out huge sums to visit a said country for the protection of the common public. I just love how governments spin it around. The whole system reeks. Now, if they catch you transporting drugs while attempting to cross, that's a whole different story. I mean you are basically asking for it.

The UK seems lax on their new ETA form, but will surely tighten it up. The EU who continuously delays their ETA will likely bar people with criminal records in the future. All this the direct result of uncontrolled immigration where some thugs decided to commit heinous acts and far right parties are using this to their advantage to erode away our liberties.

I do understand that many people must travel to the US because of their employment or family, but who in the right mind will spend $1000+ US, which I repeat was raised under Biden, to just go visit if they have a criminal record, arrests, charges or whatever. The paper itself is valid for a period of 1-5 yrs and the waiting times are horrendous. Now, having such paper is no longer a guarantee because for the current administration everything non American is vile. That's immense pain to inflict on tourists who are just going to boost your local economy anyways.

Time to remove these silly barriers and treat people with dignity. But who you will rise up? No one. This disparity between the far right and far left must end. A new vision is needed. Woke vs. Fascists. They have destroyed the fabric of society and the gullible believe the lies.

Anyways, my days of going south are done. I got into a minor incident with a neighbor a while back. Unfounded charges were laid and I plead guilty to mischief to get it over with. I was misled by a lousy lawyer who just wanted to rush the case and close the file.

A middle aged person was now a hardcore criminal according to this country, just because out of anger I tossed something and it shattered. Got discharged like our friend Trump and always feared travelling there ever since.

As luck would have it, I was employed by an american company shortly after. Got sponsored and travelled frequently and never had any issues. I unfortunately got laid off and I never attempted crossing again. Now, they will stop me, question me, treat me like a criminal, humiliate me, tell me to pay another $1000+ US for a paper and pay an add. 500$ to some guy like John so I can bolster my case. They must vet me to the core. I'm a no good human who deserve nothing but disgust. Common folks, rise up and speak. Let's get real for a moment. If the US thinks you're a menace, why spend your money there?

Time to end this sharade, you have a voice. Put pressure on the canadian government to end this farce once and for all.

@Employquestion

Great point and great suggestion, although then I would worry that they would see the letter as an admission you should have contacted Homeland Security and got it changed, which is a huge pain in the ass.

I am hoping this is a "one off" and not a change in policy.

@J Rogers isn’t it common for people to switch or change jobs within the period of a 5-year waiver - which basically means their company or job type won’t exactly match what the waiver says?

In that case, Would a good support system be bringing along an employment letter - which says when you started at your new job, and other details?

Two situations that have happened recently, one right after Trump was elected, one about 2 weeks ago.

In both cases the clients were driving through Niagara Falls/Rainbow bridge and they were told the "section" they were given a waiver under was "incorrect" and they had to contact ARO and get it changed to enter in the future. In one case the officer attached a post-it-note with what they thought the correct section was.

This weekend on Saturday January 25th 2025, a client with a 5 year waiver (not his first) was on the way through Pearson Airport to gamble in Las Vegas. On his waiver we had his as an office manager in a small business. When they asked him what he did for work he said "I won a couple of businesses, mainly to not reveal he actually gambles primarily for a living.

The told him he could not enter because "his job on his waiver didn't match what he said" even thought he got the waiver almost 2 years ago, and he tried to explain the business was a recent purchase. They didn't care.

I have never had ANY of these scenarios happen before.