Originally Posted by
Dubai Stu
As to the other questions about whether an expunged conviction disqualifies you from admission into the program, the information is conflicting. When I went through it, there were places that seemed to say both yes and know on the official site. The feds aren't required to honor state expungments, but often do. Remember also that this is a joint call. The Canadians have to be prepared to recognizes it as well. Under the Canadian Federal Court of Appeals ruling in Sangi v Minister & Bergon v Minister, Canada will normally honor foreign pardons and expungments as long as they come from a similar legal system and it passes their puke test.
In Bergon, they said that an English "spent" conviction was ok. Bergon was an old drug conviction. In Sangi, the Canadian Federal Court of Appeals said that 500 counts of murder that were pardoned by Pakistan in conjunction with the blowing up of an Air India jet was not. Sangi was given a complete pardon from prison and tossed on a plane to Canada. This, however, assumes that they will adopt the same definition of conviction for Nexus that they use under their Immigration Act (the IRPA).
If you are in doubt apply. You can go through the entire process up until hitting the submit button without paying. Also, I have found the folks at these centers very approachable. Call them and ask them whether an expunged conviction is disqualifying.
There is one more factor: A properly-expunged conviction will not show up in any computer anywhere, not even as an arrest. I don't recommend lying during a TT interview, but a properly-expunged conviction will not be discovered.
Under the laws of many states in the USA, you are legally permitted to answer "no" if asked "have you ever been arrested" except in certain unique circumstances where the law requires disclosure. In other words, the law says that you are legally permitted to lie and say that it never happened. The Canadians seem to ask broader questions like "have you ever been in front of a judge" or "have you ever been in trouble with the law"-- questions that would appear to circumvent this protection-- not to mention that US law doesn't apply to a foreign country.