Recent Access Granted to Canada??

[phatskis]

I've been reading about the crack down on criminals at Canada's border. I've flown in to YVR 4 of last 5 years. My criminal record began 10+ years ago, so I'm feeling pretty good about my chances. Although, based on new beta on this site and others, it seems more like a hit or miss this year. Plenty of stories about getting denied and turned around. I'm looking for stories with positive outcomes, like this one:

http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...0&postcount=89

Anybody with recent success stories, please indulge. I hope to do the same following my planned arrival to the Great White North on 3/17...Thanks.

[Brock Landers]

Your record BEGAN 10 years ago? Is it still growing?

[Za]

In 1990 I was involved in a bar brawl and got arrested. I was thrown in jail overnight, and charged with misdemeanor criminal mischief or some such thing. I plead no contest and received some sort of differed sentence and had to pay restitution and court fees. I was told that if I was a good boy for a year I could apply to get my record expunged. I never bothered to do that because I never hear anything about it again and figured it didn’t matter. I flew and drove in to Canada numerous times. Then in February 2002 I flew into Kelowna, BC, and Canadian immigration pulled me aside. They set me in a room with a bright light in my face (no kidding). They asked me if I had ever been arrested. I lied until it was obvious they knew something of my past (although in my defense, I had been arrested a couple of times and wasn’t sure which time they were talking about at first and didn’t want them to know any more information than they had). Turned out they have the arrest record from the brawl incident, but not the actual record of the court. I can’t get that part expunged even if I want to, as the arrest record has been disseminated to various database systems. However, had I known that all they had was the arrest record, I could have told them that I was never convicted of anything and was let go after they realized they had made a mistake. Whatever. As it is, they made me apply for a rehab certificate on the spot, and let me into the country. Of course I had to pay the approximate $150 fee for the rehab cert on the spot. The other time I was arrested it was for trespassing in about 1988. This après-ski incident involved lots of nude people, a hot tub, and copious amounts of alcohol. For some reason that one isn’t in anybody’s records, and it is the one I would be proud to explain to Canadian immigration. I have never had a problem driving into Canada, both before and after the February 2002 incident. I think the main problem is flying into Canada when they have the time to conduct a thorough background check on the flight’s passenger list. Immigration and government agencies, police agencies, and school districts have access to more databases and information that what typical shows up in private-sector background searches (e.g. pre-employment screens). Typical private-sector background searches only go back seven or ten years, don’t include arrest records, and only look in jurisdictions where you have lived during the search period. Immigration and government agencies have access to just about anything that whatever police jurisdiction felt like entering into the records and which has been uploaded into their database.

[fez]

I think the main problem is flying into Canada when they have the time to conduct a thorough background check on the flight’s passenger list.

this may have been true, but the new recent issues have to do with better sharing between US and CA so now they can very quickly search both sets of records.

Immigration and government agencies, police agencies, and school districts have access to more databases and information that what typical shows up in private-sector background searches (e.g. pre-employment screens).

not exactly, more like different databases. government has more information about your criminal records and tax records, but the data brokers have more about where you lived, who your roommates were, credit records, things like that. the government also doesnt do as good a job of correlating their data. that is why the government is one of the biggest customers of the big data brokers.

Typical private-sector background searches only go back seven or ten years, don’t include arrest records, and only look in jurisdictions where you have lived during the search period. Immigration and government agencies have access to just about anything that whatever police jurisdiction felt like entering into the records and which has been uploaded into their database.

again, not exactly. the data brokers have much more information than just the last 7 to 10 yrs. i know one in particular has records on me going back to about 1985. now, how far back the searches query may be a different matter, but as far as i know all records are searched, not just the last 7 - 10 yrs. and searches are not geographically limited. if the data brokers can positively tie the data to you, it doesnt matter where it comes from.

you would be pretty surprised to find out what they do have about you.

[phatskis]

Fez,
Is Canada Immigration using data brokers for info? I ran a Colorado Bureau of Investigation report on myslef and it turned up 1/5 arrests. So...I'm wondering if I get pulled aside and asked about being arrested, how much will they know??

[Za]

Fez,
Is Canada Immigration using data brokers for info? I ran a Colorado Bureau of Investigation report on myslef and it turned up 1/5 arrests. So...I'm wondering if I get pulled aside and asked about being arrested, how much will they know??

It was in Colorado that I had my little trouble. It was my arrest in Colorado that Canadian Immigration knew about, and that is the one that shows up in CBI database. The other arrest, also in Colorado, doesn't show up in CBI database and was unknown to Canadian immigration. And there was a way to search the court records in Colorado as well, so you can see if that shows up.

To the guy that answered my originial post above, it is my understanding that CBI feeds it's records to FBI. It is the FBI database that isn't generally available to the private sector. And as it was explained to me, it depends on what records the local agency sees fit to load into CBI database and hence FBI database.

And in my experience from private-sector background searches, that although data miners might eventually be able to come back with a lot more on me, it seems to be industry standard that even a slightly more than thorough background search won't extend more than 10 years (used to be seven based on statue of limitations) and will base their search on addresses where you have lived. I have had several pre-employment screens of which I have received a copy (and received a job offer) that hasn't found my little Colorado problems.

And I still think it is more of a problem if you fly in rather than if you drive in, even if it is your own car. That may continue to change.

[extreeski]

was busted for possession in '89. Did a nexus lexus search under my social sec. number and nothing came up. Have crossed the border 4 times in last five years. Most recently in December. Never a problem.

Even though I was facing 20 years. And am a felon.

go figure.

[rideit]

Tell them that you were fighting over hockey, and that the US doesn't have a team worth having any Canadian players on it. Then spit on the ground, and shake your head in disgust, muttering something about how yank loggers are fuckin' pussies, anyway.

Then ask "So, like, where's the Beer Store around here, eh?"

In like flynn.

[fez]

Fez,
Is Canada Immigration using data brokers for info? I ran a Colorado Bureau of Investigation report on myslef and it turned up 1/5 arrests. So...I'm wondering if I get pulled aside and asked about being arrested, how much will they know??

not that i know of.

i'm in the IT department for a small company that is owned by one of the biggest of the data brokers. i'm a sysadmin, tester, tier two tech support and all around fireman. we mostly do business with banks and financial institutions, but i do know that other branches of the company do business with the government.

i dont know what kind of information our pre-employment group returns, Za, but our branch will return data much farther back than that. And also, the data brokers dont really have access to things like tax or criminal records. unless you end up in a sex offender database. we provide free service to little league and i think the boy scouts for screening volunteers.

[phatskis]

Any more positive stories of criminals granted access?? I figure if I visualize successful entry, and block out stories of people denied, I will manifest my way in to Canada - Jedi Mind Stylee.