Criminal Rehabilitation

[p3blz]

Good Morning! My name is Brittany. I am currently researching criminal rehabilitation for my employer. He had a rough adolescence and currently cannot enter Canada.
It has been over 5 years since his last offense so I know in theory he is eligible to apply.
He had tried to use FW Canada last year but, he gave up part way through the process. He would like to retain FW Canada once again to complete the rehab application. My first question, is FW Canada decent? I'm a little unsure whether I think they're worth using for this or not.

The next question would be, if FW Canada isn't a good option, are there any other firms that would be worth it?

Beyond that I am trying to understand how his offenses in the US compare in the Canadian Law Code.

I'm also trying to find a checklist of exactly what will be needed. I have a checklist for his old TRP application and I'm guessing they are comparable. Are there expirations on reference letters, criminal history reports, etc.?

I know for the TRP application it wanted a list of dates the applicant had traveled to Canada in the past. Is this needed for the Rehab app?
Is there a statement needed from the applicant about what happened during the offense? If so, how detailed does it need to be?

As mentioned I am currently doing as much research as possible on this. I have never completed this process so I would like to understand it before proceeding.
Thank you for any helps/suggestions!

 

[scylla]

Point of clarification... It has to be at least five year since he completed any sentence / paid a fine / completed probation for his last offence (not five years since he committed his last offence). Note that the wait for rehab is sometimes 10 years rather than 5 depending on the nature of the offence and number of offences.

I don't believe you're going to get feedback on FW Canada here (I assume that's some sort of immigration firm). People here mostly do it themselves when it comes to rehabilitation applications.

If you want to know what information will need to be provided as part of the rehab application, go to the CIC web site directly and look through the forms and application instructions. You can find this information here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/rehabil.asp

 

[p3blz]

Yes he served 6 months probation which ended on Dec 3, 2011.
His worst offenses were burglary w/ grand larceny and reckless endangerment in the 1st degree.
From what I can tell all of the max sentences seem to be 3-4 years. He was sentenced to 6 months probation for the reckless endangerment. Everything else was fines.

I guess is it feasible to do the rehab application without a lawyer? I was under the impression that a lawyer needed to be retained.
Thank you for the link. I will take a look.

 

[scylla]

Lawyer certainly isn't needed. Entirely your choice if you hire one. All depends how much research you're comfortable doing on your own.

 

[p3blz]

I think I am capable of doing this... the biggest thing for me is making sure I am paid for this research so I think that is the deciding factor LOL.

I'm starting to look over the checklists and I'll just take it one step at a time. After speaking with the bossman.

 

[scylla]

FYI - rehabilitation applications often do take quite a bit of time to process (anywhere from several months to over a year).

 

[p3blz]

Yes this I have figured out. The firm he had used (FW Canada) originally recommended a TRP (which makes sense because he just hit the 5 year mark) but, he gave up on the process and they didn't really follow up.

Their current recommendation is do the rehab app and if he needs to travel to Canada for business during that time to do a TRP.
They charge $1500 + the $200 fee for the rehab app
Then it would be $750+ for one TRP + fees of course.

From what I can tell I have to prepare all of the documents and supply the information necessary for the firm anyway so why not just do it myself. The process is still a bit blurry so I want to get a better picture of the work entailed before going down the rabbit hole.

 

[p3blz]

I think right now I'm trying to figure out the equivalent offenses in Canada. Is there a good link to check out? I was looking at the Canadian Law Code but, I'm not sure of the wording and exactly which offense matches with which.

Any help is appreciated!

 

[p3blz]

Also, how detailed do the statements need to be about the offenses. Do we need to supply a statement for each individual offense going all the way back? He has 6 arrests total (3 felonies and 3 misdemeanors) all between 2006 and 2010. Some of these offenses were committed before the age of 18 and a couple after.


Thank you for any help!

 

[scylla]

Also, how detailed do the statements need to be about the offenses. Do we need to supply a statement for each individual offense going all the way back? He has 6 arrests total (3 felonies and 3 misdemeanors) all between 2006 and 2010. Some of these offenses were committed before the age of 18 and a couple after.


Thank you for any help!

Given he has six (that's a lot - and 3 felonies isn't good), I would definitely supply statements for each. I wouldn't go into too much detail. Where I think he'll want to go into detail is in the bit that explains why he should be considered for rehabilitation.

 

[scylla]

I think right now I'm trying to figure out the equivalent offenses in Canada. Is there a good link to check out? I was looking at the Canadian Law Code but, I'm not sure of the wording and exactly which offense matches with which.

Any help is appreciated!

There's no specific link. It's really a matter of hit and miss in google searches. Try using the words "equivalent in Canada" in your searches and including the US charge.

You are asking a lot of questions and may be better off hiring a Canadian immigration lawyer to help you in this process. Alternatively, before you ask further questions, I would recommend you spend a few hours / days researching past discussions on rehabilitation on this forum and reading through old comments and experiences. You can find these threads by searching on the word "rehabilitation".

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Also, how detailed do the statements need to be about the offenses. Do we need to supply a statement for each individual offense going all the way back? He has 6 arrests total (3 felonies and 3 misdemeanors) all between 2006 and 2010. Some of these offenses were committed before the age of 18 and a couple after.

I will just add there is little chance that he would be granted a TRP with that criminal background.

 

[p3blz]

Yeah he was young and dumb and unfortunately now that he has gotten his act together he is suffering the consequences.
I could go into more depth and see if you guys thing he should wait a little bit. Either way, I don't think this will be a fast process by any stretch of the imagination.
I will do some research on the forum here as well as google. Thanks for the input.

 

[scylla]

Yeah he was young and dumb and unfortunately now that he has gotten his act together he is suffering the consequences.
I could go into more depth and see if you guys thing he should wait a little bit. Either way, I don't think this will be a fast process by any stretch of the imagination.
I will do some research on the forum here as well as google. Thanks for the input.

I don't see the harm in applying for rehab now. I would be prepared for the possibility that processing will take more than a year. I would also be prepared for the fact that a TRP will not be approved given the serious nature of his convictions and that travel to Canada won't be possible until rehab is complete. So if travel to Canada is needed for business purposes, he should ensure someone else can go on his behalf.

 

[p3blz]

Good to know. He definitely has turned his life around and learned from his previous mistakes. Thanks for the help. If I have any more questions (that I can't find the answer to) I will post them here.