factory81

I have called the local county court and was told that you can definitely get records expunged from your record providing you have only like 1 or 2 other misdemeanors (I forgot) - and since I have a total of 5 - I am not eligible for such a program.

I was denied Global Entry access this summer btw, I do have TSA Precheck though. I was told by the CBP agent that I can't have more than 2 misdemeanors in a 10 year period - and I was about 3-4 months away from that 10 year milestone. He informed me to just reapply this fall/winter when the misdemeanors are > 10 years old.

The district judge that issued the ruling has since retired after 30 years on the bench (I think he retired in 2012). He in fact held the tiny Ken Onion Chive knife in the courtroom and heard the defense (my crappy small town lawyer) say that the knife has no spring and doesn't fall under the state statute and the definition of what a switchblade is, but the judge opened it a few times in court and recognized how fast the "speed assist" or whatever it is called works. And I am like - that is just a fulcrum, not a switchblade. And he did not agree with me.

I was quite ticked off at the time, I knew that having a switchblade possession charge on my record would be the worst offense yet - and it could look like I seriously was involved in crime or something worse than just drinking underage.

I contacted Kershaw, and even before the court case I brought with me names of local establishments they could go to that sell these knives over the counter. And I made sure to remind the judge that the very knife in question now is being sold over the counter at X, Y, and Z locations nearby.

I think the obvious answer is, if I wanted to hire a real law firm and throw money at this - I am sure they could do something. But as of this point, it is not hindering my career. I did not have any international travel this past year, but have declined engagements in Canada.

The state that this happened in is Michigan, and the law applied was the State of Michigan's statute on what a switchblade is, I don't have the MCL handy. I don't carry any knife or anything that could be considered a weapon partly because of this. They bring trouble into your life, and served no benefit for me. If I need to open boxes, I will go inside a drawer at home and find scissors or something

TWA884

I read the statute to mean that switchblades, automatic knives, and gravity knives are illegal in Michigan.

Marathon Man

Past criminal record. all offenses well over 10 years ago.

Tried GOES in 2013 and, of course, denied.

Got CORI sealed and old cases dropped off.

Later got new CORI with no records at all on it.

Appealed to US Customs and Boarder Patrol showing them old and new.

Received letter saying it is now ok to reapply at GOES website.

Old denial line item shows up but an option to reapply showed up too.

Got to this question:

Have you ever been convicted of a crime in the US or any other country?

Answered: NO.


When in the interview before, the agent said, "Get these old cases closed/sealed and get a new CORI and try this again."

In job apps, one can say NO if something is over 10 years old or no longer showing up anywhere. But in this, one cannot be sure what they can see or want to really hear.

Had a YES been the answer given, it would have been followed with something like this below, but then, one can never be sure if this will cause a denial or some agent wanting to know all the old details anyway:

NO AVAILABLE CORI:

There were old offenses from back in college (which was over 20 years ago) and these have all been dropped off/sealed with my CORI report showing no details of any case or offense whatsoever on record at this time.


Thoughts? (criticisms are not a good idea as they will probably be met with harsh responses by FTers that will get one or more of us booted, so let's leave them at the door, thank you)

GUWonder

Global Entry member denied visa to Australia and perhaps also New Zealand? Sometimes yes, courtesy of a US criminal record coming to their attention.

Having GE membership is possible even with a criminal history of some sort.

Often1

CORI is simply a Massachusetts criminal history report. Unless MA law allows the fact that a record is sealed for you to say that it did not occur, saying that you have no conviction is a false statement and will almost certainly cause a denial.

The best advice for GE is the same for other dealings with agencies. Tell the truth. False statements cause their own cascading problems. Understand that just because one database has been sealed doesn't mean that multiple other databases don't have the information. Employers in MA may be required to rely on CORI, but not so for CBP. CBP, of course, has everything supplied the last time.

Your suggested language, e.g., the truth with an explanation is always the best policy.

RandomNobody

This is where you erred. There is no law that applies to the Federal Government for all the available State "expunged record" laws. If it happened, the Federal Government knows about it, and is free to ignore any expungement orders it receives.

While it is legal to say "no" to any state level or below questions about getting arrested/convicted, answering "no" to the feds is a violation of 18 USC 1001.

Ari

Misleading to say the least . . . NCIC expunges as a matter of policy with the proper inter-agency transmission. I suppose they are "free" to ignore their own policy and leave the record in place.

zsrh2002

If you are planning on travel to Canada or any other country you should check with their local consulate or Embassy in DC as each has different requirements for entry. A misdemeanor in the US could result in being inadmissible to Canada. Check with your local consulate to see how your charges equate to Canadian criminal code and see if you will be eligible for entry.

It is better to get approval before traveling that way you will not be turned back at the boarder or get a travel ban to the country.

sethb

That knife is not legally a switchblade. It does not open automatically. Rather, there is a piece of the back of the blade that sticks out which is pushed to start the blade swinging out; therefore, it's a manual opening knife.

Fortunately, that knife is none of those.

RandomNobody

Is the CBP limited to the NCIC database? In my line of work, I know plenty of people that can pass a 4473 with a clean NICS check, but can't pass a security clearance.

They still know.

Dubai Stu

I presume a 4473 is a criminal background check.

The federal government is free to disregard state expungments, but normally they do not. A good example of where they do honor it is for firearms. If the state restores your gun rights, the feds will honor. A good example of where they won't is immigration. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, a conviction which has been set aside based on a finding of rehabilitation is still a conviction.

If you have a good faith basis to answer "no," I would answer know because the algorithm probably bounces you if you answer "yes." In the GOES portal you have the ability to provide additional information. There I would answer something like: "While I used to be convicted of a the offense of dinosaur rustling, by virtue of my 1969 expungment of the offense I believe the answer is now 'no.'" By disclosing all the operative facts, you cannot be accused of deception, by you will at least force a manual review of your application.

I can tell you that the website for NEXUS says you can join with a pardoned conviction. Pardons can come from administrative agencies, not simply the chief executive officer of a state. That is what Georgia does and that is what Canada does. If you want to appropriately research the issue, I'd start with the Code of Federal Regulations on this program and see if it defines it with greater clarity.

Dubai Stu

You are also looking at the current version of the law. It has probably been tweaked and expanded over the years.

sethb

The law is a lot more likely to become broader (outlaw more knives) than the other way around.

RandomNobody

Also, lots of pilots are tripped up by the 8500-8 questionnaire when they go for a medical exam and answer "no" to to the "have you ever been arrested for DUI" question with an expunged DUI arrest. The FAA Aeromedical branch still finds it even though it doesn't come up in a NICS check.

Ari

From which database?

You can "pass" an NCIC check (not NCIS which is for FFLs-- it has nothing to do with this discussion really-- NCIC is for LE) with no conviction recorded in NCIC but have an arrest recorded in NCIC. Then the facts of that arrest can be looked into and you can be found ineligible for whatever clearance you are seeking based on the facts of the arrest (eg. a plea of no contest which didn't result in a "conviction" per se, but you were guilty of the crime). But with proper expungement, even the arrest is removed (expunged) from the NCIC database.

So I ask you, if not NCIC, what database does this secret retained data come from? How do you know that the people you know who have "passed" NCIC checks but failed to get security clearances didn't suffer from the arrest/conviction issue I described above. Bear in mind that for an arrest to be expunged from NCIC, the proper inter-agency procedure has to be followed and it doesn't always happen.