What happens at border

Rubyposted 7 years ago

Hi. I couldn't find anything on this. What happens once you get your prints and take all your paperwork to the border? Is there an interview..do they go through all your charges..my husband was so stressed at the time, he couldn't think straight when he was denied entry..do they match with what you said then to what is on paperwork.What is the normal procedure and how long does it takes? Thanks to all who answers!

Replies (recent first):

G, yes I have one that is valid indefinitely. It was issued a long time ago. They stopped issuing these types of waivers (usually coupled with a Border Crossing Card) in the late 90's.

you guys should lobby to bring it back for people with minor/petty crimes.....

Luckyduck replied 7 years ago   #7

@G .... Only a September letter is basically a waiver without a due date and valid forever, ever since 9-11 homeland security went into a full deny entry mode no matter what crime big or small, needed a waiver.

My friend has a September letter.... it all depends on the crime, but [some] can be achieved with complex preparation. It's not like a regular waiver, DHS will need more than average information than your standard waiver and takes way longer to process.

It can be done on your own [ not advisable ] ....but at the same time it's not cheap either for the preparation process.

Vancity replied 7 years ago   #6

Any one had waiver without expiration date ?

G replied 7 years ago   #5

@Dale
No I'm on my 14th waiver and have been waiting 13 months.

Figman replied 7 years ago   #4

Am I reading this correctly.....you are going on your third waiver and have been waiting 13 months for an answer?

Dale replied 7 years ago   #3

@ruby
You must be sure all your paperwork is in order, filled in correctly and completely. Any mistakes and it will come back and you will have to fix it and start over. I often advise people to spend the money the first time and use a lawyer to help you through the process and then just copy the application every time after that. At the border I go to (Lewiston) you submit your paperwork, do your fingerprints and pay your exorbitant fee. There is no interview, no questions. Your application will be processed by a CBP officer at some point and then it goes through all the channels. Homeland Security, FBI, CIA, NSA you name it.

It takes however long it takes. I've gotten them back in 5 months, 7 months, and now I'm in month 13 waiting for my next one. Also if you have a valid waiver make sure you reapply before it expires. They really hate doing your paperwork if you show up with an expired waiver because they then have to do a full denial of entry before they can process your application for renewal and man do they hate that. Hope this helps

Figman replied 7 years ago   #2

@ Ruby

Depends on which POE ( border you file at ) some CBP are nice and others....well not so nice.

Your stories should be pretty clear and sync at the border as they do their own write-up ( I have a friend who works CBP and tells me they hate waivers unless you get approved, then it's upon discretion for reasons to visit... mainly for travel, but reasonable )

If they don't need to do un-necessary paper work for you they wont cause they are lazy. Sob's... there is a good fcuked up chance of refusal that is pretty darn good to make more money for DHS when it comes to moral turpitude.

Bute every case is different, that is why we are all on this forum.

vancity replied 7 years ago   #1

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