gregmah said:
HI
I applied on April end and get the acknowledgement in June in calgary office. On September 11, I received a letter of finger printing and did that. I had a domestic violence case last year but no criminal charges are given on my records but the peace bond is expiring in Jan 2015.
I called CIC and they said that my application is become non routine due to background check
Can anyone advise me what I can do?
It is indeed common for a Peace Bond to be issued without any charges having been filed, so if you are sure you were not arrested or in any way "charged,"
you should be OK. Just wait. A more thorough background check will hold up processing your case some, but with no arrests or charges that should not be long and then you will be on your way.
That said, the fingerprint request and response from CIC that your case is non routine due to the background check, suggests that there was a
hit when they did either the RCMP background check or the GCMS/FOSS check. So you most likely want to make sure that there is no underlying charge attendant the issuance of the Peace Bond.
It is more common, for example, that there was an arrest or an initial charge, and then the Peace Bond is issued as a result, pursuant to which the charge is conditionally discharged.
If you are absolutely certain there was no charge underlying or related to the Peace Bond, skip what follows. Wait. All should go well.
If there is any question at all, however, about whether there was any initial charge, and in particular where there is the possibility that there is a conditional discharge underlying the Peace Bond, you will likely want to look at the situation more closely to ascertain this, that is whether there is a conditional discharge connected to the Peace Bond, and
if there is, to consult with a lawyer to determine if you can, in effect, fix things.
If it is possible there is a conditional discharge connected to the Peace Bond:
Again, NO need to read the following if you are absolutely certain there was no arrest, no charge, no conditional discharge connected to the Peace Bond.
I do not mean to second guess your statement that there are "no criminal charges," particularly since (as I said) it is common for a Peace Bond to be issued without there being an underlying criminal charge. But it is more common, more often the case, that there was an arrest or an initial charge, and then the Peace Bond is issued as a result, pursuant to which the charge is conditionally discharged (in effect stayed, held in abeyance, or such, to be conclusively dismissed when the Peace Bond expires).
As I said, if you are certain you were never charged or arrested, you should be OK. If that is the situation, my guess is that the RCMP check had a hit for the Peace Bond, the RCMP check going beyond just a criminal records name-check (thus identifying even instances in which an individual has been a suspect, even in cases the individual may not be not aware of). Such a
hit will lead to further inquiries into the individual's background, and the fingerprint request is probably (emphasis on
probably since it is not as though CIC divulges these things to the public) to, one, be sure the
hit is you, and secondly, to do a more thorough background check beyond just a name-check. Again, if there was indeed no arrest, no charge, while it may take awhile for this to be concluded, it should not be too long and it should all work out OK.
Alternatively, if there was an arrest, or an initial charge (such as one conditionally discharged when the Peace Bond was issued), there was likely a name-record
hit for this, probably in both the GCMS/FOSS check and the RCMP check. And this could be a problem.
If you had a lawyer representing you in the case in which the Peace Bond was issued, that lawyer can positively affirm whether or not there was a criminal charge underlying the Peace Bond. Again, it is indeed common for a Peace Bond to be issued either with no criminal charge ever made or in lieu of a criminal charge being laid.
If you did NOT have a lawyer representing you in the case in which the Peace Bond was issued, there is a significant risk you understood there would be, in effect, no criminal charges on your record. However, that would depend on completing the full term of the Peace Bond. Of course, depending on how well informed you are about the process for issuing a Peace Bond, you may very well know and understand precisely whether or not there is an underlying charge conditionally discharged (thus to be fully discharged once the Peace Bond expires). But many people will be given a conditional discharge, pursuant to agreeing to the Peace Bond, and think that means the charge is dismissed, resulting in no charges being on the person's criminal record. (My sense is that more than a few prosecutors or judges, in the course of getting the parties to agree to a Peace Bond, will more or less deliberately give individuals the impression that the charge is gone without conveying that is not entirely true until the Peace Bond expires.)
Thus, in many (probably most) Peace Bond cases, any charges will be totally dismissed but that will
not happen until the Peace Bond expires. In the meantime, there is indeed the charge, just not one being actively prosecuted.
And depending on what offence that charge is for, it could possibly affect the calculation of residency, or even constitute a prohibition.
So, if you are not absolutely certain there was no charge or arrest, that there is no conditionally discharged offence connected to the Peace Bond, you most likely want to find out for sure.
Many individuals could do this on their own, probably by going to the court where the Peace Bond was issued. I am not sure. I do not know how to go about it. Personally I would contact a lawyer and have the lawyer conclusively determine whether or not there is some underlying charge at stake, particularly one which has only been
conditionally discharged.
Again, no need to do that if you are already
absolutely certain there is no charge, was no charge.
If there was a charge or arrest, which has been conditionally discharged:
Whether or not it is a problem depends on what the offence is (among other factors). If it is an indictable offence, including an offence which can be prosecuted as either a summary or an indictable offence, I believe that is a problem, or can be a problem. This is now into the realm where my understanding is far from complete, into an area I do not know that well. A licensed, reputable, Canadian immigration and citizenship lawyer is the best resource in this situation.
I do know, however, that it is at least theoretically possible to go back to court to get the Peace Bond terminated early, depending of course on the particular circumstances of the case. It would be best to have a lawyer do this for you. There is no guarantee. It may even only be a long shot.
But if there is an underlying offence which is conditionally discharged dependent on the Peace Bond, if that is an offence which renders the applicant prohibited it would be important to get that Peace Bond terminated as soon as possible, if possible, so that the alleged offence is fully discharged. That would eliminate the prohibition.
The problem is that CIC can make a final decision to deny citizenship to any applicant under a prohibition. Thus, if there is an underlying offence which is conditionally discharged dependent on the Peace Bond, and that is an offence which renders the applicant prohibited, if CIC was to decide the case today, it would be a denial. If, however, you can get the Peace Bond terminated before CIC makes a decision, you would be good to go again (the final outcome depending, though, on whether there is an impact on the calculation of residency).
