St John's pardons and us entry waivers
Record Suspensions, U.S. Entry Waivers & File Destructions Services in St John's

St. John’s is not just the capital of Newfoundland; it is also an important centre for culture and history for all of North America. Because of that, anyone that lives in this city is fortunate to have access to a lot of different opportunities.

Those opportunities, however, can have restrictions and limitations based on where you are in your life, and what you have done in your past. Everyone makes mistakes, but some mistakes, especially those of an illegal, criminal nature, can have profound, life-long consequences. If you want to make the most of your life in St. John’s, but have something in your record that is holding you back, Pardons Canada, a non-profit organization, is here to help you get back on track.

Record Suspensions

The presence of a criminal conviction in your past is a “permanent mark” on your record. That conviction is recorded and preserved in the Canadian Police Information Centre, or CPIC. It is publicly available information that any Canadian who is willing to pay the fees for can gain access to the criminal record. It shows the presence of criminal convictions and criminal charges even if they have been withdrawn, dismissed, stayed, peace bond, discharged.

Any criminal conviction or even a criminal charge is a valid reason for employers to pass on a hiring opportunity. In some cases, for specific professions, it is even required that an employee have a clean criminal record, such as for teaching, nursing, PSW, and other professions. A record suspension, formerly known as a “pardon” is a way of clearing this conviction out and restoring your record to a clean slate.

U.S. Entry Waivers

Even with increased security at the borders and airports, Canadian/American travel relations have always been friendly. However, the American Customs & Border Patrol, known as the CBP, can—and does—bar entry to Canadians based on the presence of a criminal conviction.

If you have a background check conducted by the CBP and a conviction is found, you are permanently barred from entry into the United States. Only the acquisition of a document known as a U.S. entry waiver can negate this. Even if you get a record suspension after you are barred from entry, the CBP will not recognize your record suspension, so an entry waiver is the only legal way for Canadians to re-enter the United States once the CBP system has flagged them.

File Destructions

Even if you were not convicted of a crime in court and had your case dismissed, withdrawn, stayed, diversion, peace bond, absolute discharge or conditional discharged, or resolved in some other way that did not result in a guilty verdict and a fine paid or sentence carried out, there are still consequences. The process of being arrested, fingerprinted and charged may still remain on your record. This means that someone conducting a background check on you may still see that you have been arrested, and may even read up on the exact reasons for the arrest. However, a file destruction process is in place for those people that wish to have these remaining fragments cleared out.

None of these processes, whether it is a record suspension, U.S. entry waiver, or file destruction, are fast or easy to implement. Depending on the process you need, there might be waiting periods involved, a lot of documentation required, and even cooperation between different legal organizations. Pardons Canada can help. We know exactly what to do for each of these important processes, so if you want to completely return to a world where your only limits on opportunities are your own choices and qualifications, speak to us. We can make sure your process is efficient and successful.