Jim Shoe wrote: I wasn't aware that the US had the same restrictions on CN drivers with a DUI on their record.
They don't.. Canadians can travel to the US all day long with a DUI on their record. It's been that way for a long time.
But for US citizens traveling to Canada, its a different story.
A DUI in Canada is apparently a more serious level of a crime than in the US. One website I read stated that a DUI is considered a felony level crime. People on both sides of the border are denied entry to both countries based on previous crimes they have committed. When you cross an international border you need to follow their laws and regulations.
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This is meant to address those which have concerns about whether they will be able to enter the U.S with a DUI conviction. In the U.S, a Canadian is not denied entry for a single DUI offense alone. They ARE however denied entry for CIMT's (crimes involving moral turpitude) and a DUI does not fall into that category. Any controlled substance violations, certain theft and fraud convictions, sex crimes etc, yes you will be denied and you will have to apply for a waiver before you can enter the U.S.
If you are a Canadian, and you are told that you are being denied entry because you had a DUI, better ask to speak to a supervisor because you cannot be denied entry based on that alone.
I am speaking for the U.S side only.
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grooveman wrote: This is meant to address those which have concerns about whether they will be able to enter the U.S with a DUI conviction. In the U.S, a Canadian is not denied entry for a single DUI offense alone. They ARE however denied entry for CIMT's (crimes involving moral turpitude) and a DUI does not fall into that category. Any controlled substance violations, certain theft and fraud convictions, sex crimes etc, yes you will be denied and you will have to apply for a waiver before you can enter the U.S.
If you are a Canadian, and you are told that you are being denied entry because you had a DUI, better ask to speak to a supervisor because you cannot be denied entry based on that alone.
I am speaking for the U.S side only.
I don't think it's nearly that cut / dry. US Border Agents can deny you entry for pretty much any reason they want and there's not a whole lot you can do about it (IMO, speaking to a supervisor after being denied will do nothing at all).
Examples of US entry denial:
About 15 years ago, my wife (we were not married at the time) was denied entry (at Champlain, NY border) because she was crossing with me (I had a US work visa) and although I was only scheduled to work for 3 months and we told them we were actually just going to the US for about 1 month and then returning for XMas, because I technically had a 1 year work permit, they did not believe that she would return to Canada if I decided to stay longer. We were told that they only way she could enter the US is if we got married (we eventually did get married and sure enough when we tried to enter, there was a note on the computer stating to deny her entry if we were not married and we had to show the marriage certificate and if we tried to enter without being married, they could / would have seized our belongings and denied us entry. Before we initially tried to enter, we had called them to ask if it would be a problem and they said it shouldn't and she should be able to enter as a tourist but it's always at the discretion of the officer and when we entered after getting married, the officer then was really surprised we hadn't been allowed to enter but again, he said it was at the officer's discretion.
About 3 years ago, we tried to enter (at Massena, NY) with our motor home to go on vacation in Florida - we were detained for over 2 hours because they basically thought we were gypsies living in our motor home and didn't believe we were going to the US for only 2 weeks and thought we'd stay indefinitely living in our motor home (despite the fact that we told them we had a house, cars, pet and careers in Ottawa). It appeared that they would not allow us in until my wife happened to mention that there was no way we weren't coming back because, after a very long wait, our son had just been accepted into a special program for children with autism and there was no way we'd miss that - turns out that one of the agents was familiar with the program (border is only about 70 miles from our home) and then she believe us and they allowed us in.
A couple of years ago, my friend, who has an assault charge from over 20 years ago (when he was eighteen he pushed a police officer and spent a weekend in jail but had since received a pardon about 5-10 years ago) was denied entry into the US (at Pearson Airport) because of the prior assault charge (even if he received the pardon) even though he had entered the US many times before that (before and after he got the pardon).
As far as entry goes, it's really at the discretion of the officer and there's nothing you can really do about it if you are denied.
Understood. I was just addressing the concern about entry to the US with a DUI. That and that alone will not cause someone to be denied entry. I am employed with the agency which is responsible for determining admissibility.
From what I understand, both Canada and US Customs classify all criminal offenses in one of two catagories :
-Minor offenses
-Major offenses
DUI's are recognized as a "major offense" by both countries, regardless if the level of conviction(s) were classified as an infraction, misdemeanor or felony.
So in other words any foreign citizen entering the US with a DUI conviction, is pretty much recognized the same as a felony conviction...
The same criteria as a foreign citizen entering Canada with a DUI conviction.
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