This letter is required by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and should explain the circumstances of your conviction(s) and your reasons for entering the U.S. One must clearly explain what offence(s) they were convicted of or charged with, where and when the offence(s) occurred, how they committed the offence(s) and why. The letter should show remorse and indicate that you are now rehabilitated.
Here is an example of a Letter of Circumstance from a client:
My name is Rico Armada and I am presently 36 years of age. I am married and own a house with my wife and two small children in Kitchener Ontario. In addition with being a law-abiding citizen for the last 10 years, I have completed a 2 year program at CGI College where I
graduated with a 3.60 GPA and have pursued a career within the field of information technology.
On May 26, 2001 in the city of Vancouver, BC an innocent man was assaulted and I remorsefully was involved. On that night I went to a club with two of my friends Mark and Vishal; with the intent of having a good time. The night quickly turned bad when an altercation occurred between the victim and my friends. The victim made a racist remark to one of my friends which led to an argument. I tried to de-escalate the situation but was not successful. I noticed that Vishal was getting very angry and I told him that we should leave the club, which he agreed to. When I took him home he told me to wait in the car. He came back to the car with a bat and told me to drive back to the club. I told him that I needed to get back home as it was late and that he should go home and get some sleep and forget about the whole situation. He yelled “stop being a girl and go”. I followed instructions and when we got back to the club we saw the victim outside getting into a taxi and I told Vishal “see he is going home lets go home too” to which he responded “follow the taxi or I will beat you with this bat and take your car”. I was scared and also worried because it was my dad’s car and if anything happened to it I would be in a lot of trouble. I followed the victim home until he got out. Vishal jumped out and started beating the victim to which I went and tried to stop him; while doing that I got hit by the bat in the head too and started to bleed. I quickly got into my car and drove home. I went against my better judgment that night and didn’t say anything to the police until I was called in for questioning. I knew it was the right thing to do and cooperate by disclosing all details of the incident. As I was involved, I was charged with Assault and had to face the consequences of my actions and silence ever since.
Almost 10 years later I live with the guilt of my actions and knowledge that an innocent man was severely assaulted and that I could have done something to stop the incident. Not a day goes by that I do not feel sorrow for the victim and regret my involvement. Since the incident occurred I have made many sacrifices and changed the way I live and the people who I associate with to better the quality of my life and the decisions I make.
I am now a family man with two beautiful children ages 6 and 3 who desire to travel to Disneyland. I also have family living in the state of Florida whom I have not seen in over 10years and deeply miss. I love my family very much and would love to introduce my wife and two children to the rest of my family residing in the United States of America.
I understand the privilege that this waiver would be and respect the law to the fullest. I can assure you that I have changed and learned from my past mistakes and will ensure to follow all the rules and regulations involved. I am willing to answer further questions should any arise and appreciate your deep consideration.
Sincerely yours,
Rico Armada
There are three important factors one should remember when writing the letter of circumstance.
- If convicted of a narcotics offence, state the amount and type of narcotic.
- If convicted of theft, specify item(s) and value.
- If convicted of a sexual offence, provide detailed accounts of your conviction(s) including the victim’s age and your relationship to the victim.
In conclusion one needs to remember that this letter should express how a US Waiver would improve your current circumstances. It is a chance to “tell it to America” in your own words and should not be taken lightly.