FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - Anyone Ever Get Turned Down for Global Entry?
Old Feb 21, 2013, 9:37 pm
  #157  
flavorflav
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Here and there
Programs: General member, former 1P
Posts: 583
I'd like to second what another poster wrote and caution readers that the post below is inaccurate. I think mileena's heart is in the right place but how this stuff works - and the terms used - vary greatly from state to state. It is impossible to make a blanket statement "this is how expungements work" or "this is the difference between a citation and an arrest." I can't emphasize enough the 50 different ways these situations are referred to and treated.

People run into trouble because while the 50 states treat expungements (for example) 50 different ways, federal investigators usually treat them one way. They have their matrix and if box X is checked then consequence Y happens. My impression is that GE and NEXUS is such a high volume operation that if your case ticks box X then you're out of luck because it is largely an automated process.

In other situations - applying for a security clearance, for example - investigators have good knowledge of the state they are dealing with and applicants have a greater opportunity to explain past events and mitigate any negative information.

If a citizen planned to apply for GE or NEXUS and has an expungement or deferred judgment in their past, it might be worthwhile to hire an attorney who deals with GE to perhaps ease the process.

Climbing up on my soapbox, this is all the result of living in a digitized world where nothing is forgotten. "Back in the day" a citizen would receive an expungement or deferred judgment - then and now only with a a judge's blessing - and be able to move forward in life with a new start. That citizen could truthfully answer "no" on a job application when asked if he had been committed of a crime. Thanks to the proliferation of court and law enforcement databases, that arrest from 1990 never goes away. And so many agencies - from ICE down to your state bar association - have carved out exceptions to being able to truthfully state "no, I was never convicted of a crime" that an expungement isn't worth nearly what it used to be.

Back off the soapbox.


Originally Posted by mileena
It seems here no one understands some basic facts. This is usually an intelligent board. I'm disappointed in the quality of postings. Time for a quick education:

Expungement: Only arrests can be expunged, not convictions. With an expungement, the arrest is cleared from your record, and no one subsequently knows about this, even the government. So you are good to go; and also answer "no" if anyone asks you if you ever have been arrested. This includes CBP. It's as if the arrest never occurred, even if both parties know it did occur. The arrest was expunged, or vacated, or removed from existence. The government has the magical power to officially change the past, and this is what they do with an expungement.

Pardon: This applies to convictions following arrest. After the pardon, your record is still there, but your crime has been pardoned or officially forgiven, so you are good to go. Usually only an executive like a governor or President can pardon, though sometimes Congress can too. In some states a pardon is easy to get for a minor criminal record (Pennsylvania); while in other states it's almost impossible (Maine). If pardoned, there no longer can be any negative consequences arising from your crime. If asked if you have ever been arrested, say yes, but say your conviction has also been pardoned. CBP is powerless to do anything about that then.

Citation: When you are cited, you are arrested, though the arrest is non-custodial as long as you sign the form promising to appear, if cited in person. If you don't sign, they can take you into custody and put you in jail. Citations can be for traffic offenses or all the way up to felonies. I know because I was cited by mail for felony aggregated aggravated negotiating worthless instruments.
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