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Our clients are often concerned about the effect a criminal conviction could have on their ability to travel to the United States. If you are convicted of a criminal offence in Canada, that conviction could have repercussions on any future plans to enter the United States. The US has strict entrance laws for foreign visitors with criminal records.
Under American law, foreigners may be denied entrance to the United States if they are deemed to be “inadmissible” by the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection. Three categories of criminal behaviour render an individual inadmissible.
The most common reason Canadians are denied entry to the United States is due to a prior drug-related conviction. Being found accountable for any violation relating to a controlled substance, including simple possession of marijuana, provides justification for the denial of entry to a foreign individual into the US.
In addition, other forms of culpability that restrict access to the US are referred to as "crimes involving moral turpitude", or CIMTs. This term encapsulates a wide range of offences that are understood to go against community morals or standards. CIMT examples include but are not limited to fraud, arson, blackmail, burglary, embezzlement, theft, counterfeiting, perjury, kidnapping, manslaughter, murder, prostitution, and rape. Assaults are considered CIMTs only when they are with an intent to kill, commit rape or robbery, or cause serious harm. More information can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_turpitude.
Multiple criminal convictions pave another route for denying entry into the United States, where individuals convicted of two or more crimes may be deemed ineligible. These include any offences encompassing CIMTs. The one exception to this rule are political offences, which are actions committed by an individual for a political purpose, and that are against the government and part of an ongoing or planned political struggle. However, the term "political offence" is limited to those devoid of violent acts.
Being convicted of one of the aforementioned offences can render an individual inadmissible to the United States. Both an absolute discharge from a Canadian criminal court and a conviction from a Canadian criminal court are seen as a conviction under US law, although the former does not hold for immigration purposes. Contrarily, a Canadian conditional discharge implies the likely possibility of being ineligible for entry into the United States, as it is considered a conviction for US immigration purposes.
Even being acquitted at trial or having the charges against you stay does not guarantee admittance to the United States. In the event, you admit to committing a crime, but you are acquitted by a Canadian court or if you admit to committing the essential elements of an offence, the US considers it a conviction for immigration purposes. However, if you neither admit to committing a crime nor to acts precipitating the crime, an acquittal does not make you inadmissible to the United States.
Criminal behaviour that leads to inadmissibility can arise even in the absence of a conviction. This applies when an Immigration Officer suspects or has evidence that an individual has trafficked a controlled substance, or has engaged in questionable activities related to prostitution, such as importing or procuring prostitutes, profiting from prostitution, or travelling to the United States to procure the services of a prostitute.
Exceptions to these laws exist. For instance, a Canadian conviction for a crime committed before turning eighteen, which would have been recognized as an act of juvenile delinquency in the United States, is not considered a conviction for US immigration purposes. There are circumstances where a solitary conviction for a CIMT can be overlooked for immigration purposes. For more information on these exceptions, and eligibility to enter the United States after committing a crime, you can visit the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection website at: http://www.cbp.gov/ or get in touch with a local immigration lawyer.
If you have a criminal record which makes you ineligible for entry into the United States, a criminal pardon in Canada or obtaining an entry waiver might be beneficial. A Canadian pardon prevents the offence from appearing on your record when you attempt to enter the United States. However, if a previous attempt to enter the United States was unsuccessful, the offence will already be on record with the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection and may necessitate obtaining an entry waiver for future entry into the US.
