Are Trump Policies preventing U.S. Waiver Holders from entering to the United States?

So far, we have not had any clients with U.S. Waivers of Inadmissibility call us because U.S. border guards are not permitting them to use their U.S. Waivers as a result of the Trump Travel Bans.

Here is why I think the Trump Travel Bans will not affect Canadian Travelers with USA Waivers simply due to criminal inadmissibility.

A process is already in place to deal with people with criminal records—that is the USA Waiver of Inadmissibility. The USA Travel Ban is in place to check people who are illegals or who may be involved in terrorist activities. Their focus is mainly on people from terrorist producing countries.  Canada is not a terrorist producing country.

The difficulty, however, is that Canada has a reputation for not vetting its refugees and other immigrants well enough.  So, the United States perceives Canada to be a threat because they believe we are becoming a haven for terrorists who get their Canadian citizenship then enter the United States under their Canadian passport.  Therefore, at this time, Canadians are not having trouble entering the United States because of their criminal record if they are in possession of a U.S. Waiver AT THIS TIME.  However, Canadians who were born in terrorist producing countries are always at greater risk of scrutiny.

The U.S. government at any time can set a policy making travel to the United States increasingly difficulty. In my opinion, this is a risk if the Canadian government continues to support an open door policy.  This is not a judgment call by me about what is right or wrong in terms of Canadian policy—just my view of the U.S. opinion on this matter.

I’ll give you two examples of clients who were refused the ability to use their U.S. Waivers for legal entry to the United States. Their refusal was NOT due to Trump Travel bans, but due to pre-existing travel bans in the United States.

One client, since the granting of his Waiver, has been linked to a local gang.  A second client, also since the granting of his Waiver, was refused with no reasons given.  Several attempts at disclosure for reasons for refusal have gone unanswered.  At this time, it is speculated that though he is a Canadian with a U.S. Waiver, he has since been linked to a terrorist group.

In these particular cases, these clients have only two options:

1. Prove that the allegations are false (at great time and expense), if that is the case; or
2. Resign to the fact that they may never be able to travel to the U.S. again or take a flight that passes over USA airspace.

Why can a U.S. Border Guard deny you entry even though you are in possession of a valid U.S. Waiver of Inadmissibility? Top reasons include:

• They do not believe your reasons for entering the U.S. are genuine. Example:  You are going to visit a new girlfriend with a one-way ticket and they suspect you are going down to live permanently without authorization.
• It appears you are not going for a proper purpose. Example:  You state you are going for pleasure but it appears you are going to work without the proper work authorization.
• You have new convictions thereby making your U.S. Waiver invalid.
• You do not appear to have enough money to support your travels.
• You appear ill and it has been determined you are medically inadmissible.
• As above, it is believed you are linked to a terrorist group or organized crime group.

For a free consultation on criminal inadmissibility and U.S. Waivers, please contact us