Please share your experience about Criminal Rehabilitation application in 2017

[StellaArtois]

HEY!NEW GUY CAME HERE TO REPORT.

CANADA TOURIST VISA (CRT) REJECTED ME 3 TIMES,

I HAD ONE MISDEMEANOR CONVICTION ON AUG 10,2014 IN ARIZONA US.
END PROBATION ON MIDDLE OF MAY 2015.

ON OCT 2015 I BECAME U.S. ASYLEE STATUS,
THEN I WANTED TRAVEL TO CANADA AND APPLIED CRT AND CR ALSO REJECTED IT, TOTALLY 4 TIEMS REJECTION.

ONE YEAR AFTER, I BECAME TO U.S. GREEN CARD HOLDER I CAN VISA FREE TO CANADA.

ON MAY 2017, I USED GREEN CARD CROSSED BORDER TO NIAGARA FALLS, ONTARIO, CANADA
AND DEPORTED ME IMMEDIATELY,
THE CANADA IMMIGRATION OFFICER TOLD ME WHEN 5 YEARS AFTER THE SENTENCE I CAN APPLY CRIMINAL REHABILITATION,

MY CONVICTION WAS SET ASIDE(ARIZONA STATE ONLY HAVE SET ASIDE),
THE INDECMENT WAS DISMISSED ON JUN 2020.

JUN 08, 2020 SUBMITTED CR APPLICATION TO NEW YOR IRCC.
JUN 11,2020 THE VO CHECKED MY CASE (SEAL ON IMM1444 FRIST PAGE AND FEE RECEIPT )AND RETURNS MY CASE TO ME
NOTE: NEED EVERY STATES POLICE CERTIFICATES SINCE OVER 18 YEARS OLD,
JULY 02,2020 I RESUBMITTED IT.

RECENTLY, I ALSO APPLIED NATURALIZATION TO U.S. CITIZEN BUT THE COVID-19 WILL DEFINATELY AFFECTS BOTH.

I WILL FOLLOW UP MY CASE'S PROCESSING.
I HOPE APPROVAL BOTH THAT ASAP.
APPRECIATED EVERYONE SHARE THE USEFUL NEWS.

HAVE A NICE DAY!

Thanks for sharing about your case!

The New York Visa Office is still listed and has been since March 2020 (when looked up on https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/contact-ircc/offices/find-visa-application-centre.html). Encouraging to hear that they seem to be working on applications in spite of being "closed" (between what you and JDBCA and Dman1977 have told us). Hope there will be more approvals soon...

 

[seppen fridge]

Fingers crossed for you. It sounds like if you sent it in 2 months ago, it was probably received during the height of Covid in NYC (where the Canadian Consulate that handles CRs is located). My guess is that there were some closures. I’d say give it a couple more weeks and then gently nudge them with an email.

Just got the email acknowledging receipt. Thank heavens it's progress.

 

[kkhopeful]

It's been 11 months since we sent in my husband's CR application to the NY consulate general. Today I had a slightly anxiety-producing thought: what if his CR was issued via email, but it went into his spam and was automatically deleted after 30 days? Can anyone share what the email looks like when you are approved? Anyone know if there's a place you can check the status of an application? I'm running thin on patience for this

 

[seppen fridge]

It's been 11 months since we sent in my husband's CR application to the NY consulate general. Today I had a slightly anxiety-producing thought: what if his CR was issued via email, but it went into his spam and was automatically deleted after 30 days? Can anyone share what the email looks like when you are approved? Anyone know if there's a place you can check the status of an application? I'm running thin on patience for this

I would add the email address CNGNYIM-TRPermit-Rehab@international.gc.ca to your (his) address book as a precaution. That's where I got my acknowledgement of application receipt from. (Captain Obvious disclaimer: this email is likely only for applications sent to IRCC New York)

 

[kkhopeful]

I would add the email address CNGNYIM-TRPermit-Rehab@international.gc.ca to your (his) address book as a precaution. That's where I got my acknowledgement of application receipt from. (Captain Obvious disclaimer: this email is likely only for applications sent to IRCC New York)

That's really helpful, thank you.

 

[AngeloStuart]

Thanks for sharing about your case!

The New York Visa Office is still listed and has been since March 2020 (when looked up on https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/contact-ircc/offices/find-visa-application-centre.html). Encouraging to hear that they seem to be working on applications in spite of being "closed" (between what you and JDBCA and Dman1977 have told us). Hope there will be more approvals soon...

Thank you!
today I received email
It attached acknowledgement letter

That received my CR application on July 6 ,2020

 

[atosoto]

Hi everyone! I just just my approval letter yesterday! Yay!!! Here’s the timeline of how everything played out for me:
I drive with my fiancée from Minnesota to the border crossing in northeast Maine in June of 2019. I was informed that they wouldn’t let me into Canada because of my criminal history. I have previously travelled to Canada many times by air for work and to visit my fiancée so this was quite the surprise. It was 5 years since I was released from probation. I was able to get my criminal history expunged in August. I drove home alone and immediately hired a Canadian immigration lawyer based in St. John NB in early August to assist me in this process. She submitted an application for rehabilitation along with an application for a temporary resident permit (sadly, my fiancé’s father passed away in July so the TRP would allow me to visit for a short time for a memorial service in August).
She received confirmation that the application was received at the New York IRCC office on 8/15/2019 and they told her at that time that applications were taking 6-8 months to process. On 11/29/2019 I was asked to pay an additional $800 fee because my lawyer sent just $200 with the initial application. I paid that day and sent my lawyer confirmation of payment. Finally yesterday morning I received an email from my lawyer dated that day 3/2/2020 informing me that I am free to travel to Canada. It took 6 1/2 months for my application even though the last post updating timeframes on the NY IRCC Facebook page said that they are currently processing rehab applications received in April 2019.
I hope you all get good news soon! This thread was very helpful for me, thank you!

Who was your lawyer? I'm working with a lawyer(woman) in New Brunswick as well!!!

 

[Love514]

Hi everyone,

I am a Canadian living in Canada and my spouse is an American living in the USA.

We submitted her CR application and got confirmation of receipt on Feb 20th 2020. Today (September 17th, 2020), we received a letter and we think it's good news but wanted you to weigh in on it. The following sentence reads:

"...granting expunction of records and files because these charges were dismissed or quashed. In the absence of other convictions, it is the opinion of this office that you are deemed not inadmissible to Canada as described in section 36 of the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA)."

The last paragraph states:

"Please note that this determination does not exempt you from any other requirements of the Act and its Regulations. You should retain this letter to present at a Port of Entry when you enter Canada. The final decision for your admission to Canada will always be made by the Canadian Immigration Officer at the Port of Entry."

I think the 'not inadmissible' part means she's admissible but the CBSA officer at the port of entry makes the final decision.

Would love to read how you've interpreted it.

 

[StellaArtois]

Hi everyone,

I am a Canadian living in Canada and my spouse is an American living in the USA.

We submitted her CR application and got confirmation of receipt on Feb 20th 2020. Today (September 17th, 2020), we received a letter and we think it's good news but wanted you to weigh in on it. The following sentence reads:

"...granting expunction of records and files because these charges were dismissed or quashed. In the absence of other convictions, it is the opinion of this office that you are deemed not inadmissible to Canada as described in section 36 of the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA)."

The last paragraph states:

"Please note that this determination does not exempt you from any other requirements of the Act and its Regulations. You should retain this letter to present at a Port of Entry when you enter Canada. The final decision for your admission to Canada will always be made by the Canadian Immigration Officer at the Port of Entry."

I think the 'not inadmissible' part means she's admissible but the CBSA officer at the port of entry makes the final decision.

Would love to read how you've interpreted it.

I came to the same conclusion as you for the interpretation of that letter - the officer who reviewed the CR application says in their opinion, your spouse should be allowed to enter Canada.
However, she should make sure she brings this letter with her every time she crosses the border so that she can show it at the border, and then they will have to decide again each time she shows up at the border whether they will let her into Canada or not.
It is very likely that they would simply let her enter Canada/agree with the ruling in this letter as long as your spouse's criminal record doesn't change.

Congratulations!!

 

[Love514]

I came to the same conclusion as you for the interpretation of that letter - the officer who reviewed the CR application says in their opinion, your spouse should be allowed to enter Canada.
However, she should make sure she brings this letter with her every time she crosses the border so that she can show it at the border, and then they will have to decide again each time she shows up at the border whether they will let her into Canada or not.
It is very likely that they would simply let her enter Canada/agree with the ruling in this letter as long as your spouse's criminal record doesn't change.

Congratulations!!

Thanks so much, StellaArtois!!!

 

[StellaArtois]

Has anyone ever tried asking for notes on the CR application? I'm trying to figure out whether to go through IRCC/GCMS or to go through CBSA.

 

[StellaArtois]

(Figured out it's IRCC to ask for notes on CR application)

I don't think many people here submitted CR together with PR, but we just got the pre-arrival letter for our application today (October 9th, 2020), so even though we have not officially received notice that our CR application was approved, I think it must have been approved, or they would not have given pre-arrival letter if they still thought he was criminally inadmissible...

We just requested notes on the CR application last night, so when we get them, I can provide a detailed timeline for that portion of our application for this thread.

Hope everyone gets to have some progress on their applications soon too!!

 

[Prex29]

Hello,
Did anyone experience any delays in thier PR application after getting their CR approved? I got my CR approval Sept 27 2019 and I still under PR background checks - PR applications AOR Oct 2018

Got this mail last week after previous similar mail 6 months earlier

Good day,

Thank you for contacting Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Please note that your file is currently under review and requires additional verifications. As a result, the assessment period will be outside of our posted processing times.

Unfortunately at this time we are not able to determine when your application will be finalized, but our office will contact you as soon as all verifications are completed, or if any additional information or documents are required.

We appreciate your patience and ask that you keep correspondence with our office to a minimum.


Anyone experiencing this delay?

 

[StellaArtois]

Hello,
Did anyone experience any delays in thier PR application after getting their CR approved? I got my CR approval Sept 27 2019 and I still under PR background checks - PR applications AOR Oct 2018

Got this mail last week after previous similar mail 6 months earlier

Good day,

Thank you for contacting Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Please note that your file is currently under review and requires additional verifications. As a result, the assessment period will be outside of our posted processing times.

Unfortunately at this time we are not able to determine when your application will be finalized, but our office will contact you as soon as all verifications are completed, or if any additional information or documents are required.

We appreciate your patience and ask that you keep correspondence with our office to a minimum.


Anyone experiencing this delay?

Hey, sorry to hear about your delays! That really sucks; I can't believe you've been waiting that long
When our CR was passed on October 13, 2020, our security check was completed within 3 days. Now we are waiting for them to decide whether to extend the expiry of our medical (expired August 2020) or ask us for a new one, and then waiting for the PPR after that.

Are you stuck in the security screening portion of the process? From what I've heard, depending on where you've lived in the past sometimes the security screening can take far longer than for others. As well, if you have any background serving in the military or in a government position, it can also cause complications and increase the security screening time.

Have you already tried ordering notes not just from IRCC, but also from CBSA and CSIS? If you haven't, all you have to do is go through the ATIP request portal like you do for GCMS notes, and then instead of picking IRCC, pick CBSA or CSIS (you'll have to do each of those note requests separately of course). CBSA and CSIS notes should hopefully give you insight on what is going on with the security screening portion of your application. We got our responses from both of those organizations within a month (they're less backlogged than IRCC) so hopefully it would give you some explanations soon.

 

[Prex29]

Hey, sorry to hear about your delays! That really sucks; I can't believe you've been waiting that long
When our CR was passed on October 13, 2020, our security check was completed within 3 days. Now we are waiting for them to decide whether to extend the expiry of our medical (expired August 2020) or ask us for a new one, and then waiting for the PPR after that.

Are you stuck in the security screening portion of the process? From what I've heard, depending on where you've lived in the past sometimes the security screening can take far longer than for others. As well, if you have any background serving in the military or in a government position, it can also cause complications and increase the security screening time.

Have you already tried ordering notes not just from IRCC, but also from CBSA and CSIS? If you haven't, all you have to do is go through the ATIP request portal like you do for GCMS notes, and then instead of picking IRCC, pick CBSA or CSIS (you'll have to do each of those note requests separately of course). CBSA and CSIS notes should hopefully give you insight on what is going on with the security screening portion of your application. We got our responses from both of those organizations within a month (they're less backlogged than IRCC) so hopefully it would give you some explanations soon.

Thanks for the reply.
I requested for CSIS in May of this year and was told no records were found. Here is the response:

CSIS has communicated that based on the information provided for XXxxxx, CSIS could not locate any record. This happens when CSIS is not involved or the application has not yet been transferred to CSIS.

I think I would have to request for GCMS notes again and the CBSA. By the way, what's the difference between the CBSA and CSIS?