A granted Record Suspension or pardon will affect your US Entry Waiver application by adding some extra steps. Once you have a pardon or granted Record Suspension, any associated information located at the court level will be sealed, limiting future access. This often makes it difficult for individuals who later apply for a US Entry Waiver because the Department of Homeland Security requires certified court documents for each pardoned offence.
The Criminal Records Act imposes restrictions on access to court documents and a request for access must be made in accordance with policies established by the court registry. AllCleared is well aware of the various courts across Canada and each of their specific requirements for requesting supporting court documentation. If you have pardoned offences from British Columbia especially, we will need to complete a process known as an “Application to a Judge” in order to be granted access to the information. We complete the Application to a Judge form and provide additional paperwork as required. This process also requires that we obtain a notarized copy of two pieces of valid, government-issue ID. We use these documents to petition the Office of the Chief Judge to grant the order so that we can access the certified documents for each court where you were convicted.
Courts such as those in Alberta or Ontario, will also require signed authorization from the pardoned individual in order to release those records to a third party. For any other courts, the request for information will need to be accompanied by the exact date of the convictions, which can be found on the applicant’s granted pardon.