Oh Canada... (felon permission to travel to the True North)

If you are like me, you may have thought that once convicted of your felony, your travel days to Canada were officially over.

As someone who has always loved Canada (growing up in the Midwest put me within hours of a border at most times). I love the French language of the east coast. I love the beauty of Brittish Columbia. I love the ability to cross a bridge or a border in my car and be in another country in less than a half a day from I-90/I-94 (which pretty much run the length of the U.S.).

However, once convicted of my felony, I believed that it would be an unreachable country into the future, due to laws that forbid felons from entering. My birthdays of being in Whistler, Canada and trips to Montreal for a change of pace would be something of past memories. My family would still be able to go, but I would be stranded on this side of the border - no Alaska Cruise that "happens" to stop in Vancouver. No academic conferences that happen to be in Toronto or Calgary.

I happened to mention these issues to another PhD student at my school, who happens to be from Canada. We were talking about a conference I cannot attend, because it will be in Canada. She informed me of a couple ways for U.S. ex-felons to gain permission for travel into Canada. The shock that turned into a smile was fathomable as I started to realize that "for now" I may be unable to travel North, but perhaps not "forever." Just like my program of recovery, we have to live in the day and I do not know what the future will bring, but I have a new HOPE that I will once again travel freely and legally to a Country I happen to love.

So, of course, I wanted to share this news with all of you. 

The best way to get permission to travel to Canada is to fill out an application (http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/guides/5312ETOC.asp#5312E4) that you have been rehabilitated. The application is something you do in advance and pay approx. $200 to find out if they will approve you. You must be 5 years post-sentencing (including probation) - or 10 years for major offenses (ones that could carry 10 years of prison time). You need to show that you have been rehabilitated and are not likely to offend again. This is done through sharing a lot of documents asked by the application (http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kits/forms/IMM5507E.pdf) Documents include: court documents, sentence completion documents, a criminal clearance document, state police and FBI documents, and more. Does this sound burdensome? Yes. Is it worth is? Once deemed rehabilitated, you would be free to enter/leave the country any time. Keep in mind that it can take up to 6 months for a rehabilitation application to be approved.

For those that want it to be simpler and do not plan to travel much to Canada, they can "take their chances" at the border - in a legal way. If you bring proof of rehabilitation to the border (http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/inadmissibility/rehabilitation.asp#a2) you may be assessed right there for entry. Immigration officers at the border do the assessment on site.

"You are eligible to apply for deemed rehabilitation at a port of entry if:

• you only had one conviction in total or committed only one crime
• at least ten years have passed since you completed all sentences (payment of all fees, jail time completed, restitution paid, etc.)
• the crime you committed is not considered a serious crime in Canada AND
• the crime did not involve any serious property damage, physical harm to any person, or any type of weapon.

A request for deemed rehabilitation is not guaranteed to be approved.
If you think you are eligible, be sure you have these documents if you travel to Canada:

• passport or birth certificate plus photo identification
• a copy of court documents for each conviction, and proof that all sentences were completed
• a recent criminal record check
• a recent police certificate from the country where you were convicted and from anywhere you have lived for six (6) months or longer in the last 10 years."

It is still a lot to collect and travel with all these documents, but it may mean that you do not have to cross Nova Scotia or Victoria Island off your bucket list.

Everyone who travels to Canada from the U.S. may need to meet some requirements. It used to be so easy to just drive across the border and show your driver's license, but now it is a little trickier:

• "have a valid travel document, such as a passport,
• be in good health,

• have no criminal or immigration-related convictions,

• convince an immigration officer that you have ties—such as a job, home, financial assets or family—that will take you back to your home country,

• convince an immigration officer that you will leave Canada at the end of your visit, and

• have enough money for your stay. (The amount of money you will need can vary. It depends on things such as how long you will stay, and whether you will stay in a hotel, or with friends or relatives.)

You may also need a:

• medical exam and

• letter of invitation from someone who lives in Canada."

Oh great Canada, I am sure I will see you in person again!

A Felony is a Felony

My university informed me that I need to submit the court documents related to my felony in order for them to make a final admissions decision. Since everything I read stated that it's the department that makes graduate admission decisions, I asked what the official university policy was on admittance of students with past felonies. The woman I was talking to said, "it goes before a committee... We need to make sure there's no threat of harm to the university or students." 

I responded, "it was a nonviolent felony."

She responded, "a felony is a felony," in a rather accusatory way.

I need to disagree - a felony is not just a felony. There are class A, B, and C felonies. There are violent and non-violent crimes. There are repeat offenders and first time offenders. There are juvenile offenders and adult offenders. A felony is NOT just a felony!!

It takes me back to my time at Carswell when C.O.'s made statements like, "you all lie." Just because some people lie, doesn't mean we all do. Just because some people break the rules, doesn't mean we all will. Life is not black vs. white - there's a whole lot of grey in the middle!

So, I'm going to gather the documents...

Ten hours later... I'm now finishing this blog post. I had all the documents I needed to send on my computer except for my release paper which I scanned and added to my electronic legal file. I decided to send my PSR/PSI, the court judgment, and my release paper. There is no list of what I need to provide, so I figured that would be the most balanced of items to send.

With the documents, I sent an email that listed three professionals - two from the university and my PO, that they could speak with if they need to. I have nothing to hide and I want them to see that people in the university are supporting my application.

I also sent the statement, "I hope to be able to officially be enrolled soon. Thank you!!" I wanted to keep the email positive, even though she'd made it clear that not only is a felony a felony, but a felon is a felon in her mind. Without knowing anything about me, she decided I was the same as John Wayne Gacy, Susan Smith, Ted Bundy, and Lizzie Borden.

I emailed the documents to her at 2:30 this afternoon, and I like to think that she chose to look through them before her response at 4pm which said, "Thank you for sending this information so quickly!  I will see that someone reviews this on Monday, I will let you know when I hear something." Quite a change of attitude from our phone conversation earlier. Also, she put, "Best," as the salutation. I hope she realizes she was wishing the best to a real live felon!!!

I could have really talked back to the woman earlier on the phone. I could have shown anger and become belligerent from her judgment. Instead, I hope I chose the higher road, and just maybe, showed this woman that a felon is not just a felon; and a felony is not just a felony.

A January Letter Tells All to Survivor

As done earlier in this blog - I am posting a letters that was written during my time of incarceration. The following is the explanation posted on 9/13/13 in the first letter posting:

"In a later post - after I am home - I state that I will post some of my letters home on the date that they were written. I post everything from the letter except for things that are personal about the person I am writing that is not relevant to the experience of myself or prison. In the letters I may not have used their pseudonyms - however that is changed for the purpose to keep this blog consistent and to keep everyone anonymous as always. Other than those few changes for the purposes of consistency and anonymity, everything listed here is exactly as it it written in the letter - including how I used shorthand or symbols. Some things may be similar to what I write in prior/later blogs. Other things I may not have written at the time on the blog because I knew it was being monitored. I take photos of any images and include that as well."

1/27/14

Survivor -

I haven't been writing letters much. It's a failure of my emotions and my hand. It hurts when I write a lot. Also, I always write less when I most need to write - when my emotions are in overdrive. It's so much easier to write when I'm fine and I can just observe everything around me. It's much more difficult when my thoughts are lost in my head, my senses on overdrive, and I can't exactly put words to what I'm feeling. That has been the case for sometime now.

I am honestly okay. I will survive this and I will be stronger for it. In fact, this place helped me find my creative side again and I hope it lasts - not just crafts or writing Hazel - but I wrote a play in my head a couple days ago - that hasn't happened since I was a teen. In many ways I am inspired in new ways, although I am not giving up on my old goals.

I am going to fight my way back into [my University]. I know it's not the end of the world if I don't receive my PhD, but I've worked too hard and am too determined not to keep moving forward. If I give up now, I'm a victim, but if I hold my head up high and reach my goal, I can be living proof of moving forward, succeeding when others want you to fail, and following healthy ways of living.

We can either wear our addictions, recovery, and convictions as chains or they can be scars - always there, but forever healing and fading. My life just got a little more interesting, that's all.

My visit with my folks was alright. it's the first time someone left and I cried. I want to be able to be there for my folks, my grandparents. The stress on my mom is highly noticeable. The reality of visiting me here showed on their faces. [My step dad] was brought to silence, my mom to shock.

I am currently in the "lab." I was on a call-out to have blood pulled today. I'm supposed to be tested every 1-2 months, but this is the first time since early October. I'm very curious what the results will show. I had to send cop-outs (requests) to get them to order the labs, saying, "please look at my paperwork and order appropriate labs..." But what I think officially got me in was my trip to the rheumatologist last week. She immediately asked why my labs are so old, I just looked at the C.O. with me. "I'm in prison", is my thought. So she ordered Carswell to do my labs. I pray everything looks good enough, so I can get medically cleared. Otherwise, I may be here until my out date in July :-(

I'm not upset to be missing work today. There are a lot of mean people there who decide to gang up against me and try to get me fired. It has nothing really to do with me, but I just take it all as it comes. I'll be out of here long before them.

I'm becoming quite the crafter. I can't sit and do nothing, so I always have a project going. My crochet is getting much better. My plastic canvas designs are a hit. Unfortunately, it's hurting my hand a lot. The way the rheumatologist talked about my condition is form of spondyloarthropathy that is mimicking rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and fibromyalgia. Why can't anything with me be simple? My fatigue is super bad right now and I've had a cough for several weeks. I'm going to sick call this week.

Being at Carswell is truly a one of a kind experience. Throw away all the "how to survive prison" handbooks. They simply do not apply here. Also, it's b.s. that you walk out with no friends - all us white collar folks tend to find one another. It'd like people in G.A., people you never thought you'd make friends with, but in the end, we support one another through this. It's not like my relationship with you, or people on the outside, but it is real. [The officer we met the day before I surrendered] made many statements that day before my self-surrender, that are just not true. Even the people I room with show kindness and goodness at times.

I think Sporty is coming in for another weekend in March. She's been so good to me. She sent me pics of my new room and it looks very warm, cozy, and comforting. I can't wait to sleep in a real bed again - with enough blankets, a comfy pillow, and no alarm, count, or people yelling out, "dryer three." (that's the call to tell the person in Dryer 3 that their clothes will be removed from the dryer unless they immediately com e and remove them as it is time for the next person's clothes). I wash on Sunday's & Wednesdays. The laundry wars are fierce - how do 260+ women wash their clothes 2x each week in 45 min wash/dry cycles? Fights, yelling, stolen items, etc are all part of the daily routing in the laundry wars. I think A & E should pick it up as a new show.

I've not yet given up on going to the camp across the street. My doc just needs to sign off on it, but I've never seen my doc. I'm thinking I should have an appt within 2 weeks. Perhaps God wants me here to see South off. She leaves 2/10. I can't wait to introduce you two some day. You will love her!! We'll have to take a road trip some time to see her.

Well, move is about to open. Back to work for the rest of the morning.

Miss you tons - Love you more!

Dragonfly