Canadians: Crossing US border by land with criminal record
 

Are you basically fucked if you have a criminal record? I've read stories of people being turned away for 20 year old charges. Do they check everyone? If they run your name, is it pretty much a sure thing they will have the info?

drive to one of the un watched roads and cross that way. its the way they all do it.

i know of few guys with ancient drug dealing records and they don't even try.

I think they could look up criminal record by passport or something.

As a Canadian you would have to first get a pardon, and then get a Waiver of Inadmissibility from a US embassy or consulate.

Yeah, this is the ideal way to go but that is just robbery. 545 dollars for something that takes almost a year to get and is only valid for a year? what a load of shit.

Depends on what it is. I know people with previous DUI's that go across all the time. Even one person that had a hit and run and a possession of stolen property, they never bother him.

I think it is more the people with drug charges that they keep an eye on. Although I have heard of people with DUI's getting refused as well. Just depends on what mood the border guard is in I guess.

just try it. worse thing that could happen is that you get a free trip to gitmo.

Are you sure its only good for a year ?
Also it took 5 months for canadian criminal check to come back after sending in fingerprints :X

A friend of mine was heading down to the states camping this summer. He goes ever year. Well this time it was late at night and the guard had nothing to do, and he ran a check. Turned up an old shoplifting charge from when he was 18. They turned him back and now the charge is somehow more 'active' because it's been recently noted. Huge disappointment *and* a surprise. :(

I would suggest heading through at the busiest times, so the guards don't have time to kill.

1. Best time to enter Canada (via airport customs) is around 9-10 pm on a Friday night.
The Customs Agents are ready to get off work and do not want to deal with a new case.

DO NOT go through first thing in the morning - they are fresh and looking for people to hassle.

2. Make sure you have the address of where you will be staying while in Canada. The wrong answer here will get you sent to secondary inspection.

3. The first thing they will ask is "How long will you be in Canada?" A shorter stay will not arouse suspicion. The magic number is 3 days.

Good luck,I travel from LA to Vancouver monthly never have any problems.

Duration of Nonimmigrant Waivers

Until October 1, 2002, waivers of inadmissibility under INA §212(d)(3) were valid for a period of up to one year. However, since that date it has been possible to apply for a nonimmigrant waiver that is valid for a period of up to five years.

Unfortunately, in recent years, the USCBP Admissibility Review Office has become strict in the adjudication of nonimmigrant waiver applications. It is not uncommon to received a waiver of only one year, even for minor or very old offenses, until the third renewal.

Source

I'll have to see how much it costs per year, if its 545 each year, forget it. I'll spend my tourist dollars elsewhere. Its horribly stupid that some bullshit I got into when I was 18 causes such trouble. I'm sure not all the people who cross have squeaky clean records, its probably just a matter of odds in getting caught. Before 2001 I used to cross all the time, never asked for anything. Just wave you on through. I haven't been through since though.