#1627 you need to wait 150 days before you can inquire. They will either ignore you or delay your application further, from what I understand.

#1623 -why cant you inquire? I was so shocked...my first waiver I filed was in 2016,it legit came in 2018,2 years later.I had honestly given up,then I got a call from my lawyer. I hope you get some answers soon

#1625- details ? It was a us entry waiver,my second and (renewal)

#1624-I’m a Canadian and I had an American arrest and conviction,so after serving my time I was banned from the USA for life,I waited 13 years then applied for a waiver,took 2 years and I got my first one

They are all over the map right now. I wrote how many people are waiving from December, but in 3 cases people got waivers recently despite handing them in AFTER New Years. One client handed waiver in Feb 6th, waiver granted dated Feb 19th. Very bizzare.

@Michelle clients are handing in waivers here at the Rainbow Bridge all the time and no mention of new rules. I will let you know if I hear anything, but in a week clients of mine tend to hand in at least 3-5 waivers. Many of them are re-applications. Therefore I should know right away if there are any changes.

# 1620, Great congrats. Can you provide us with some details about your applucation. Thanks

# 1623 Doug Burch, I feel the same way too. I submitted my waiver spplication @ Rainbow Bridge on Dec. 12, '18. and nothing yet, hopefully soon, very soon.

Although I have a friend, submitted her waiver application (1st time) @ Rainbow Bridge on August 30, and got approved on Nov. 19, '18. But she only got it in the mailbox around 1st of Dec. because of the Canada post strike. She even told me that she feels lucky bec. CBP wrote her address not in the right way, but somehow the Canada postman/woman was able to figure it. Good job to him/her.

#1620 @Happy

Congrats!!!!! That's awesome!

May I ask what you needed a waiver for?

#1620, congrats! wondering whats-up with mine, it sucks that you can't do an inquiry!

@Michelle I would be shocked at that as well. That's definitely a differentiator for borderline cases. I wonder if the guy was new?

John and Ken: I had a client deliver his application to Regway, MT POE..and they removed his (3) reference letters and his income tax (he is a business owner) and said these are no longer required. The rules just changed last week...I am very surprised at this, as it is unusual that USA would stream line such important documents. I will likely continue to have my clients submit these, have either of you heard any feedback from your clients???? Thanks!

GREAT NEWS!!!!!

I applied for my waiver renewal Jan 28th at the peace arch border crossing ,and it came yesterday !! 45 DAYS!!!! My first waiver took 2 years and was valid for 1 year. This is record time my lawyer said,im SO HAPPY!! and its valid for 5 YEARS!!!! Im so happy!!!

You should ask a downtown torontonian millenial.

It is toast, with avocado on it. Usually costs them $20+ in restaurants and they eat it like its water!

@jazzsax1. That MIGHT be true. But it is HILARIOUS. Is the toast MADE form avocado, or is there avocado ON the toast?

Of course in Toronto the candidate would not be allowed to run. he or she would be run out of town by the $1.35 million 400 square foot condo owning Millenial with 25,000 followers on instagram naming and shaming them (meanwhile, same said person running them out of town sits and eats avocado toast, drinking cocktails from mason jars, wears skinny jeans, changes jobs every 9 months, and laments about the sad state of the world)

Brampton actually swings Conservative/Liberal. Interestingly for the south asian community, some like the anti-gay stance some of the candidates preach and are religiously Conservative.

So you would think naturally they would be Liberal supporters, but it fluctuates. Its disturbing to see that some of the Conservative candidates really focus on anti LGBQ talk and it works. In Toronto the candidate would not even be allowed to run.

Its just shows that "all politics are local".

He's located in the heart of Trudeaumania!

Brampton Ontario. Just outside of Toronto.

Thank you for the info and where are you located ?

Just to answer the question, I charge $650 for a waiver for a first time client, which includes fingerprints and taxes. If you don't live close enough to come to the office, its $600 because you will do your fingerprints (and pay for them) elsewhere. Fingerprints usually cost $82-90 depending on location.

Don't forget, you also pay $585 USD to Homeland Security.

Pardons are $795.00 which again includes taxes and fingerprints. The Government fees add up though. A client in Brampton (for example) with one conviction will pay the following:
$25 court
$92 Local Police Check
$631 Parole Board Fee.

$1543 including all taxes and costs. Remember, these Government fees will vary depending on where you live and amount of convictions.

I think where Michelle is (Saskatchewan) the court documents are much more expensive, ($100) but I think her local police checks are cheaper.

Before you start a pardon, you should get an exact quote. The quote should have EXACTLY what will come out of your pocket. Any changes would be government fees that are beyond our control.

I gave a quote to guy and he went to competitor. They had lower prices so they added fees, like the court documents were $40, not $25.00 They said the police check was $140 because they would notorize the ID. The said they would charge him $20 for an expresspost. (they were literally charging him to send the pardon to the parole board.)

I explained that he was likely to have a "propose to deny" because I could tell my his charges after the record. I charge $200 +taxes to do that portion. The other company claimed "he might not get it so we will just do it for free if its needed".

I explained that this company had jacked up the fees, to be JUST under my fee. But that many of the fees were bogus, and anyone promising to "just do something for free" will inevitably do a terrible job. There is no incentive.

Anyways we will see what this person does, but its frustrating that people will try and save a few dollars, at the risk of the whole application being shoddy. Worse, the propose to deny will be the key factor here, and the rest of the pardon is irrelevant if that is not done properly.

In this clients case I promised to refund all his money if the pardon was rejected, because I could clearly see he was eligible and his propose to deny would be easy to handle. (I do not always do this but he had a lot of documents) The competitor claimed "that wasn't possible". I wrote it right on the quote, which is on letterhead.

Anyways we will see if saving $60 on the price and the $226 for the propose to deny fee will make him go the other route.

:: @John Rogers added on 13 Mar ’19 · 10:48

***Reapplications for Waivers are cheaper***

$495 taxes and fingerprints included. If you get stuck with a 1 year waiver there is a further discount.

@Sonia I have a couple of these exact cases going right now. Before you start its important I know more of the particulars so I can tell you what your chances are.

Can you email or call me? Text is fine as well.

pardon.experts@rogers.com or 416-843-1371 (cell) business number is 905-459-9669

@Doug Burch after March break is over and I have my Co-op student back I am going to follow up on some of the Fall people who handed in waivers and I will post the results here to keep everyone up to date.

Hi John
I was banned to enter the states in 2016 for prostitution . I don’t have a criminal record . I’d like to re apply and I’m wondering how much do you charge for waiver .
Thank you

I have submitted my waiver application on December 7th 2018, this was a renewal application(much thanks John). Has anyone received a response from them yet?