Will I Need a US Waiver if I have a Pot Offence?

Visitor:  I have a pardon from a pot possession charge when I was 18 (19 years ago). I was recently denied entry to the US and they took away my Nexus card (they said I should not have received one in the first place) and told me I will need a waiver from now on. I was shocked to be denied entry to the US considering I have traveled there hundreds of times in the past.

Visitor:  I am an avid traveller and in June 2020 I will be doing three weeks in Europe in five countries. Should I be concerned that these countries will not allow me entry? I have never had any problems crossing borders until Saturday. Any information you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Pardons Canada:  If you already have a pardon in Canada then the Americans should not have seen your criminal offence in CPIC which is the RCMP database.  However, you may have been flagged before you had the pardon or you may have admitted to them that you have a pardon.  If that is the case, then you will be denied entry to the US and you will require a US Entry Waiver to return to the US. 

Pardons Canada:  As for other countries including Europe, you should be safe to travel as your criminal record is no longer visible due to you having a pardon or record suspension.  Having said that we can’t be certain that you won’t be denied entry to the other countries as we can’t say exactly what each country can see when they run your name in their database.  Its best to speak to a counselor for your specific situation so you can have the right strategies in place when you are traveling.

Here is a link of an article about traveling to the US with a pardon:

https://www.pardons.org/pardons-canada-us-border-crossing-when-you-have-a-pardon/