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www.snowbirds.org
CSA TRAVEL INFORMATION GUIDE
In the strictest sense of the term, a child should be considered anyone under the legal age of
majority.
If the child will be visiting a country whose official language is not English, it is strongly recom-
mended to have any consent letter officially translated into the official language of the country being
visited (and if possible printed or photocopied directly onto the back side of the English consent
letter) so as to ease clearance with border officials who may not be able to read English.
Why Have I Been Refused or Banned From Entry?
There are many reasons why you could be considered ineligible for entry into the United States.
The legal descriptions are lengthy and complex. Likewise, the following should not be considered a
complete list of reasons but is for general information purposes only:
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If you have a communicable disease,
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If you have been previously removed (deported) or have overstayed a previous period of
admission to the United States,
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If you might become a public charge because of limited financial resources,
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You appear not to have a working ongoing principal residence (main home) in another country
to which you plan to return,
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If you have a criminal record for crimes of moral turpitude,
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For possession of or trafficking in a controlled substance,
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If you have ever been involved in money laundering,
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If you have any involvement with terrorism or terrorist organizations (no waiver can be
approved for this category),
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If you have trafficked in persons
Criminal Records
If you have a criminal record from anywhere in the world, no matter how minor or how long ago the
offence, you may be refused entry into the United States. Under U.S. law, a pardon issued by Canada
is only valid in Canada and is not recognized for purposes of entry into the United States.
If you have a criminal record, you should contact one of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s
Citizenship and Immigration Service ports of entry well in advance of any planned travel to the
United States. If you are ineligible to enter the U.S., you may apply for a waiver of ineligibility using
form I-192 Application for Advance Permission to Enter as a Non-Immigrant with U.S. Customs and
Border Protection (CBP) at either a major port of entry or a preclearance office in Canada. The filing
fee is $585 USD and may take several months to complete. A list of ports of entry can be found on
the U.S. government website by logging onto your computer and visiting
http://www.cbp.gov/xp/
cgov/toolbox/contacts/ports/.
A list of CBP preclearance offices in Canada can be found at
http://
www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/toolbox/contacts/preclear_locations.xml.
Information about obtain-
ing a waiver of admission to the U.S. is available on the Internet at:
http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/
travel/id_visa/indamiss_can_info.xml.
The application for advanced permission is available on
the internet at
http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-192.pdf.
It is important to remember that U.S. ports of entry are computerized and connected to a centralized
database. Information is readily available on criminal convictions in both Canada and the United