Decius wrote:
Eventually, the fact that this information is being shared with all sorts of countries may result in a U.S. Citizen facing a bigger hassle from a foreign government than visa denial because that government has access to this data, and different legal standards. Canada may bar you for a pot conviction, but most South East Asian countries execute people for pot possession. A xenophobic moral panic in such a country might result in a records check of all expats, who might be repunished there for crimes they had been convicted of elsewhere.

This happened to me. On my 5th visit to Canada, I was turned away at Vancouver International Airport. The offense was a minor misdemeanor, nearly 5 years old, and did not involve narcotics. They didn't care. My mother and brother were waiting to meet me in Vancouver. They escorted me to the next flight out. It wasn't literally a deportation, since I was just denied entry and left voluntarily. If I hadn't agreed to it though, they would have deported me.

Any time I enter Canada, I have to get a criminal waiver. This takes at least 60 days, and is $200 CDN. The first trip there nobody stopped me. The second they stopped me, made me pay for a criminal waiver at the border. This was shocking at the time. I hadn't been made to feel like a criminal before. It did not feel good. They asked me if I had a criminal record and I said no. I thought I was telling the truth. They can't ask you about misdemeanors in American job interviews, right? So I thought that did not count. She asked me if I was sure. I fessed up to the misdemeanor. "Sir, Canada doesn't distinguish between misdemeanors and felonies," I was told. She had all details of the case and sentencing there on her computer, and actually argued with me because I called part of the sentence, the community service, something different than the official name. I thought she was rude at the time, but in retrospect she was a real sweetheart compared to some there.

The third trip I was left alone. The fourth trip there I was on the way home from India on relatively short notice, so I did not obtain a waiver. I figured I would just skip the visit and get denied entry and go home if they objected. They thoroughly searched me, and let me in.

The fifth trip, they stopped me. They denied me entry. Again, I didn't have 60 days notice on the trip, so I could not apply ahead of time. Its not often that I travel that I have 60 days notice, period. The guy at customs was determined to not let me in. He really, really did not like me.

They also interrogated and humiliated an Iranian woman who was carrying Iranian visa applications on behalf of a European Canadian embassy. They kept yelling at her that they could deny her entry and send the Visas to the Iranian embassy and get all the applicants jailed, tortured or killed, until they had her in tears. Then they go back and check her story, and return and do it all over again, "We can deny you entry and turn these over to Iran and blah blah... but in this case we have decided to let you in, as we talked to the embassy and they confirmed your story."

Jesus. What absolute Canadian motherfuckers. Now, I know US customs are the same way. But I thought Canada was better than that.

This year I am eligible to apply for 'criminal rehabilitation,' which means I will be allowed to enter Canada more freely. It had been my long term plan to acquire enough wealth to acquire a long term visa and then joint US/Canadian citizenship by investing in the Canadian economy, and then to move to Vancouver. I am no longer sure if I want to do that. To be perfectly honest, I never want to put myself under the authority of those customs agents ever, ever again. It was worse than being arrested. On the way out several customs personnel took the time to berate me, saying I should never have been let in the first four times.

When I was being chucked, though... the process was remarkably efficient. A cop escorted me to a ticket counter, where my ticket was ready. I went to the front of the security line. I went through the diplomatic US customs line. I told the officer that, "Being kicked out of Canada sucks... but this is the best customer service I have ever received at an airport!" He cracked up laughing. He was a nice guy, and made the whole process less traumatic. He said, "Yeah... you got in 4 times and not this time. Its almost like the process is totally arbitrary, isn't it?" Indeed, it was.

People get denied for 30 year old misdemeanors. They absolutely do not give a shit what the conviction was for. They are looking for a reason to deny you entry.

I talked to some guys while waiting to get on a plane. They laughed like hell when I told them I was being kicked out of Canada. They each had several DUIs, and were going to Vegas to see a prize fight. They said they called the embassy and they said it was fine. The mayor of Vancouver they told me, even got a DUI in the US. And the best line, "My brother got a dozen DUIs before he died. He used to go to Seattle all the time."

So it would appear there is not reciprocity with Canada about misdemeanor convictions and customs. I think there should be. If Canada denies US citizens entry because of 30 year old misdemeanor convictions... the US should have the same policy for Canadians. That kind of pressure is the only way to change the policy.

RE: Going to Canada? Check your past / Visitors with minor criminal records turned back at border