Last updated July/23/2010

Current Canada Pardon Application Processing Times

At this time it is taking 2 to 4 months to assemble a Pardon application and courier it to the National Parole Board. Currently, the NPB is working on applications that were received in late May of 2010 or sooner. If your application has 4 or more Summary Offences or 1 or more Indictable Offences, it could take the NPB up to 8 months to grant you a Pardon. Since February of 2008, applications with only 1 to 3 Summary offenses, or 1 or 2 ten-plus year old Indictable offenses, that are prepared by our office and have no recent charges on the applicant's Local Police Record Check, are usually processed by the NPB within 2 to 3 months, after the file is received. Note: Emailing or calling our office (or the NPB) will NOT help speed up the processing of your application.

Note: we recently confirmed that NPB staff are still working overtime and on weekends, in an effort to keep up.

One reason why the NPB is so bogged down is because every day they receive hundreds of applications that are sent in from people who mistakenly believe they needed a Pardon in order to receive a Passport, and who in rushing their applications, make several errors and omissions in the process. Unfortunately, such applications end up in a "sludge pile" and it takes several months for the NPB to return those files, along with letters explaining some of the problems. Another problem is due to many complications regarding the recent changes in eligibility requirements.

Note: All Passports are now encoded with an FPS (FingerPrint Section) number if you have a criminal record on CPIC at the time your Passport is processed.

Current U.S. Waiver Application Processing Times

At this time it is taking 1 to 3 months to assemble a U.S. Waiver application, if you are biometrically fingerprinted. Processing times by U.S. Customs/Homeland Security can take anywhere between 3 to 9 months, largely depending on what you were convicted of. Waiver Renewal applications are now taking between 4 and 7 months to process, after they are received by the ARO.

Note: Most U.S. Waiver Applications are still being sent to a central processing facility (Admissibility Review Office) located in Herndon, VA. Due to this office's interpretation of existing Privacy Act Laws, this office no longer responds to our emailed update requests, and does not provide any other method of contact. Clients can submit an email update request after 3 months, and every 30 days after that time, however, such requests will not speed up the process, and are often ignored by the ARO. Note: The ARO is now saying it must be 90 days before follow-up update requests can be made. If you do not receive your Waiver Certificate after 6 full months, please contact our office and we will email you an inquiry form to forward to the ARO and formally request information as to the status of your application. (This service is reserved for our clients only).

Note: In 2008 Homeland Security increased the screening procedures and the required documents for all applicants who have been charged with multiple offenses and any indictable offense(s) within the last 15 years. If you were convicted of illegal drug possession, sexual assault, assault, theft over $1000, fraud or any indictable offense(s) or crimes involving moral turpitude within the last 15 years you will most likely receive a letter from the ARO instructing you to submit Certified Court and Police Records for all convictions, within 87 days, or else your application will be forfeited. Our fee to obtain Certified Court and Police records is $60 each (plus GST) plus per-page court transcript fees (if required).

Note: On July 30th, 2007 Homeland Security increased the I-192 Department of State Filing Fee from $265.00 USD to $545.00 USD. Some U.S. Customs offices are also still charging a $70.00 cash only fee for FBI biometric fingerprinting. Note: Since July of 2007 all first time applicants have only received a 1-Year Waiver Certificate, and many Waiver Renewal applicants who have Indictable offences are only receiving a 1-Year Waiver Certificate. For Currency Exchange Rates Click Here.