Can someone cross the US border with pending charges?

Question

I am an American lawyer working in Canada for many years I have had clients come to me asking me if he or she can, cross the border. With a pending charge, through my experience it depends on what the accused was charged with. Our Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will screen the individual who comes to our Port of entry. If the accused has been charged with an offense such as assault, theft, mischief, murder, rape, sexual assault or other serious offenses such as drug possession? Those are crimes of Moral Turpitude a client asked me that will his criminal harassment charge cause him to be denied entry to the US. I told him no because criminal harassment is not Moral Turpitude if a border officer were to have seen it on his or her screen he would be fine. Customs however can put a note that the traveler has (a pending charge) but any offense that’s Moral Turpitude will compromise anybody’s chances of entering the country.

bw022 · Answer

I fail to see why a lawyer would ask legal and immigration questions on Yahoo Answers rather than look up the appropriate immigration acts, have a researcher look it up, or phone CBSA/USCIS and ask.

Entry into the US is at the sole discretion of USCIS. If you have pending charges, it always brings up the possibility that you are attempting to flee justice and will stay in the US illegally. Avoiding going to prison is always a strong reason not to return to ones home country and there are few good reasons why USCIS would need to permit a visit to the US vs. the risk that they won't leave when required. USCIS also simply has the option of requiring you to apply for a visitors visa and explaining it to embassy staff.

In Canada, there are few criminal charges which do not have at least the possibility of a six month jail sentence as a minimum and most indictable offenses have possible sentences in the years. Even for minor offenses, USCIS will not allow you into the US with pending charges except in extreme cases. Even these would generally require that (a) the trip was booked prior to charges, (b) that you have extreme proof that you would return to Canada within a short period of time (i.e. children), (c) that the charges are minor and not likely to result in any jail time (first offense, non-violent, not a felony in the US, etc.), (d) you have copies of your arrest report, (e) you have a letter from the court indicating that the terms of your bail do not preclude travel outside your country, and (f) there is a good reason for visiting the US (dying parents, need to testify in court, etc.). In general, there are few reasons why it is necessary for someone facing criminal charges to need to be visiting the US. Most people would want to remain in their home country and deal with the criminal charges, save money for their defense, etc.

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Can someone cross the US border with pending charges?

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