lawyer or no lawyer?

[bartjones]

When was the license suspension completed?

 

[del16]

we just requested online state police certificate and it stated "no record". of course we will still disclose the DUI incident to CIC, but i hope that we wont need rehabilitation papers. do u think we should do our application with lawyer, or as long as we include all the documents we have, it's ok to do it ourselves

 

[del16]

When was the license suspension completed?

license was suspended mid December 2011 and restored mid January 2012 , it was exactly 30 days suspenstion

 

[bartjones]

Okay. Well, I think once you disclose the DUI (and you pretty much have to) as Alurra71 said, your spouse will be criminally inadmissible to Canada, and that will be fatal to your application. It looks like you won't be eligible to apply for criminal rehabilitation until January 2017 at the earliest. Unfortunately, that's just the way it is under Canadian immigration law. It sucks, I know, I am going through the same thing right now with my wife who also had an old DUI.

I think you have 2 options at this point;

(i) Wait until January 2017 to apply, or;

(ii) Apply now, get rejected and appeal on humanitarian and compassion grounds. You'll certainly need a lawyer for the appeal. You're probably looking at about a year to get rejected and then a year or so for the appeal to get dealt with. Your appeal may or may not succeed.

Choosing option (ii) will probably take you into 2016 anyway. Maybe option (i) is your better choice.

Although I agree with the other posters who say you don't need a lawyer to do a typical PR application, your case involves an question of criminal inadmissibility. That's a serious issue under Canadian immigration law. You might want to consider a consultation with an experienced immigration lawyer at this point to see if you have any other options.

 

[del16]

Thank you for a very descriptive answer. one more question: will we still be inadmissible to canada even though there was NO conviction?

 

[bartjones]

Thank you for a very descriptive answer. one more question: will we still be inadmissible to canada even though there was NO conviction?

Hard to say. If his license was suspended then there must have been some kind of finding of guilt. I think the problem you will have is that it really doesn't matter how the offence was dealt with under the law of the state where it occurred. The question CIC will look at is how the offence would be dealt with if it had happened here in Canada, where DUI is always a criminal offence. It's called the concept of "Equivalency" and how CIC might deal with it is really something only a good immigration lawyer can predict.

Again, a short consultation with a lawyer is probably advisable at this point.

 

[Alurra71]

Wait, wait wait. I need you to explain something to me, please, Del.

I was looking through your old posts. It seems your husband is the Canadian citizen? Is this correct? He is the one that got the DUI conviction?

 

[bartjones]

Wait, wait wait. I need you to explain something to me, please, Del.

I was looking through your old posts. It seems your husband is the Canadian citizen? Is this correct? He is the one that got the DUI conviction?

Yeah. That would change things considerably, lol.

 

[del16]

no i'm us citizen and i had dui in usa

 

[Alurra71]

no i'm us citizen and i had dui in usa

OK. Then the previous commentary is valid then.

I guess I just got confused based on your previous commentary and this one 'assuming' it was your spouse that was at issue here and not you.

I guess it shows the importance of speaking via first or third person in every post, eh? LOL

Sorry, I know it's not a laughing matter for sure

My suggestion. At a minimum, speak to an EXPERIENCED lawyer. Just do a consult. Ask their opinion on this. Explain it as well as you can like you have done here, maybe show them documentation. See if they have any advice regarding this. It sounds as if you are already in Canada now? Did they ask you at the border if you had any arrests or things of that nature before they gave you a visitors record?

 

[rhcohen2014]

if she's already IN canada, then how would she be INADMISSIBLE? or am i missing something?

 

[Alurra71]

if she's already IN canada, then how would she be INADMISSIBLE? or am i missing something?

Passing a basic 'interview' while crossing into Canada is something completely different then passing muster with CIC. Remember, if she were to disclose to a CBSA agent that she had been arrested for DUI, they likely would've denied her entry at that time based on that information. If they did not ask and she did not disclose, then they can allow her the standard visa exempt entry based on the information they have to work with.

 

[rhcohen2014]

Passing a basic 'interview' while crossing into Canada is something completely different then passing muster with CIC. Remember, if she were to disclose to a CBSA agent that she had been arrested for DUI, they likely would've denied her entry at that time based on that information. If they did not ask and she did not disclose, then they can allow her the standard visa exempt entry based on the information they have to work with.

ah, i see. that makes sense! thanks.

 

[del16]

sorry. i didnt mean to make it confusing, i just didnt really specify "wife/husband". i just wanted to find the answers. we will def consult with a lawyer the problem is HOW TO FIND A GOOD LAWYER in Toronto area.

Yes, im already in Canada (3 months). I have never had any issues at the boarder(I flew every month for a year), they just asked what was the purpose of my visit ( i said visiting my boyfriend - at that time we were not married )

 

[del16]

Guys, i'm about to have a meltdown with this situation and feeling so exhausted with this paperwork.

I'm looking through all the forms and i can not find in which form i have to disclose my DUI. can you please please tell me where should i look...i want to forward that form to my dui lawyer to correctly answer those questions.

Thank you again