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Law and the Border
U.S. Immigration waivers and Canadian pardons are confused sometimes because they both deal with Canadian criminal convictions, and they both have something to do with the government reviewing and "excusing" prior criminal conduct.
Nevertheless, they are both completely different things, having completely different purposes, procedures and consequences.
A Canadian pardon is a method of removing a past criminal offense from public record. A pardon decision is made by the Canadian Parole Board after a review of the nature of the prior criminal offenses and documentary evidence relating to "rehabilitation" and other factors that justify a pardon. It is our understanding that Canadian law allows a pardon recipient to state "no criminal record" with respect to pardoned offences. It is further our understanding that virtually any criminal offense is eligible for a pardon after certain a specified time period has elapsed from the date of conviction or probation. This can help avoid embarrassment and other obstacles affecting one's employment, family life and social life.
A waiver is a determination by the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that...