Concerned about criminal rehabilitation, need some advice. Already applied for Express Entry

[user1921]

Just realized there might be a requirement for rehabilitation but I don't know at this point If I should go for it or not.

Here is my situation:
Back in 2015 September I was charged with OWI (Drunk driving) in USA but after almost 1.5 years the charge was amended to 'Reckless operation of vehicle' where I to pay $330 to settle it out. I also applied for expungement in 2018 which was approved. My AOR for Express entry (FSW draw) is August 2020. When I applied for FBI police certificate, it did not show any criminal history or record. I believe this made me sure about my record being clear.

My 2nd (1st was expired after 5 years of stay) USA student visa was approved in 2018 and I also got a Schengen stamp in 2019 without any issues. I don't have any visa rejections on my passport.

After 2015, whenever I travel back to USA, during immigration, they take me back to their waiting area to check my profile but I am asked to go after a few minutes. So, I recently found that the criminal records are still maintained in the USA immigration system which is shared with Canada.

1) My question is, should I apply for Criminal Rehabilitation now and raise a webform explaining my situation? (The process could take several months to a year to get it approved)
2) Wait for ircc to get back to me if they ask for it?
3) Can they reject my application without asking for Rehabilitation

PR application status since Nov, 2020:

Eligibility: passed (recommendations: pass criminality)
Security: not started
Criminality: not started
Medical: passed (expired Aug 2021)
Info Sharing: in progress (ready to process)

 

[scylla]

Just realized there might be a requirement for rehabilitation but I don't know at this point If I should go for it or not.

Here is my situation:
Back in 2015 September I was charged with OWI (Drunk driving) in USA but after almost 1.5 years the charge was amended to 'Reckless operation of vehicle' where I to pay $330 to settle it out. I also applied for expungement in 2018 which was approved. My AOR for Express entry (FSW draw) is August 2020. When I applied for FBI police certificate, it did not show any criminal history or record. I believe this made me sure about my record being clear.

My 2nd (1st was expired after 5 years of stay) USA student visa was approved in 2018 and I also got a Schengen stamp in 2019 without any issues. I don't have any visa rejections on my passport.

After 2015, whenever I travel back to USA, during immigration, they take me back to their waiting area to check my profile but I am asked to go after a few minutes. So, I recently found that the criminal records are still maintained in the USA immigration system which is shared with Canada.

1) My question is, should I apply for Criminal Rehabilitation now and raise a webform explaining my situation? (The process could take several months to a year to get it approved)
2) Wait for ircc to get back to me if they ask for it?
3) Can they reject my application without asking for Rehabilitation

PR application status since Nov, 2020:

Eligibility: passed (recommendations: pass criminality)
Security: not started
Criminality: not started
Medical: passed (expired Aug 2021)
Info Sharing: in progress (ready to process)

1) You can apply for rehab. But before you do that, I would start by determining if you are actually inadmissible by hiring an immigration lawyer in Canada for advice. You need to determine what the equivalent conviction is in Canada to reckless driving and if this makes you inadmissible. The rehab process takes a long time (several months to well over a year in some cases) and will impact your EE application if you are in fact inadmissible. I don't see the point of sending the webform. I assume that you answered "yes" to the question in your EE application about whether you had ever been arrested or charged with anything and then provided the details. You must answer "yes" to this question regardless of whether your record has been expunged or not. If you did not answer yes to this question, submit a webform asap and correct this since it could lead to a misrepresentation finding and a refusal of your application (and 5 year ban from Canada).
2) I would proactively find out if you are inadmissible. If you are and have to go through the rehab process, IRCC will refuse your application and you'll need to reapply once rehab is approved. They will not hold up / pause the processing of your application while you go through the rehab process.
3) See above. IRCC will refuse the EE application if you are inadmissible.

 

[user1921]

Thanks for the input, I did NOT answer "yes" to the question in my EE application because when I applied for US visa 2nd time I answered No for the same since I was under the impression that my record has been expunged.Do you have any recommendations for a good immigration lawyer to find out my inadmissibility?

 

[scylla]

Thanks for the input, I did NOT answer "yes" to the question in my EE application because when I applied for US visa 2nd time I answered No for the same since I was under the impression that my record has been expunged.Do you have any recommendations for a good immigration lawyer to find out my inadmissibility?

OK - so that's what you need to fix now through a webform. You should be answering yes to this question even if your record has been expunged.

I've never worked with an immigration lawyer and don't have a recommendation in terms of the help you need to determine if you are inadmissible or not. This forum is paid for by an immigration lawyer. You could try reaching out to them (click on the "campbellcohen" in the top left hand corner of the screen).