Hi all, I'm an Australian who has been living in the USA since 2014. I arrived on a student work/travel visa & moved to a full-time working visa.
I'm getting married in December 2017 in Australia & booked my flights from NYC to Sydney on Air Canada. Only after booking the ticket did Air Canada inform me that I need a Canadian visa (or visa waiver) even for a <2 hour airport transit?!?!
I applied for a Canadian eTA and was eventually denied due to a DUI in Australia in February 2006 (court case was September 2006). My penalty from the DUI was an 18 month loss of license & a 4 year good behaviour bond. I've had no other legal troubles.
Before being denied the eTA I was asked to provide more info, which I did. This included a background check from the Australian Federal Police showing that I have no criminal history (in Australia certain crimes are removed after 10 years - so this DUI is now expunged from my record & in Australia I can lawfully say I have no criminal record). As I understand it for Canada, I need 10 years to pass from the end of my sentence (which would be around September 2020) for automatic 'rehabilitation'. (apologies if I'm not using the exact Canadian terms, but you know what I mean)
I can't apply for a normal TRP for this trip as there isn't enough time to get the FBI check & TRP application assessed before December 2017. As I'm not a U.S. citizen, I need an old school FBI check which includes sending in ink finger prints. This can take around 6 months.
I'm now thinking my only chance is to apply for a TRP or similar at the border which I've heard of others doing. I read some info on this a while ago but now I can no longer find it. I've tried so many different ways to get in contact with a Canadian immigration officer, but as you all know I have a better chance of becoming the U.S. President.
Note: I am no longer on my previous USA work visa as I am transitioning to a green card. I do have a work authorization & advanced travel card. This info isn't super relevant but I thought I'd add it in case.
Can anyone shed any light on this? My main query is:
I'm getting married in December 2017 in Australia & booked my flights from NYC to Sydney on Air Canada. Only after booking the ticket did Air Canada inform me that I need a Canadian visa (or visa waiver) even for a <2 hour airport transit?!?!
I applied for a Canadian eTA and was eventually denied due to a DUI in Australia in February 2006 (court case was September 2006). My penalty from the DUI was an 18 month loss of license & a 4 year good behaviour bond. I've had no other legal troubles.
Before being denied the eTA I was asked to provide more info, which I did. This included a background check from the Australian Federal Police showing that I have no criminal history (in Australia certain crimes are removed after 10 years - so this DUI is now expunged from my record & in Australia I can lawfully say I have no criminal record). As I understand it for Canada, I need 10 years to pass from the end of my sentence (which would be around September 2020) for automatic 'rehabilitation'. (apologies if I'm not using the exact Canadian terms, but you know what I mean)
I can't apply for a normal TRP for this trip as there isn't enough time to get the FBI check & TRP application assessed before December 2017. As I'm not a U.S. citizen, I need an old school FBI check which includes sending in ink finger prints. This can take around 6 months.
I'm now thinking my only chance is to apply for a TRP or similar at the border which I've heard of others doing. I read some info on this a while ago but now I can no longer find it. I've tried so many different ways to get in contact with a Canadian immigration officer, but as you all know I have a better chance of becoming the U.S. President.
Note: I am no longer on my previous USA work visa as I am transitioning to a green card. I do have a work authorization & advanced travel card. This info isn't super relevant but I thought I'd add it in case.
Can anyone shed any light on this? My main query is:
- Can I drive to a land border crossing & apply for a TRP or something similar that would let me transit at the airport in December?
- If so, are there any particular documents I should bring (I'm planning to take my court/police records & any USA immigration records)
- Will I need to bring an FBI fingerprint check (this would mean I automatically can't do it due to the time constraint)
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