am i fuked for travel. edmonton, alberta?

[Steve Johnson]

i was arrested 3 years ago in wetaskiwin, alberta. i was charged with possession under 30 grams for being caught with a gram of pot, at my court date the barrister/solicitor/prosecutor told me that if i completed 25 hours of community service by september 15, 2009 my charges would be dropped. i completed my com-serv in a timely fashion and was well under the deadline. basically i did everything they said. I'm just wondering does the charge hinder my chances of travelling to the united states or abroad simply because i was charged and the charges are there? or am i all good to travel to the states. am i going to come across problems at any time? answer every question please

 

[STEVEN]

It is not so much "being charged" with drug posession (because people are innocent until proven guilty in Canada or in the States), but whether you were CONVICTED of the charge.

If the charges were dropped and they do not show on your criminal record, then US Border Services will not see this when you cross the border.

But if the charges are still showing on your permanent record even if they were dropped, then this could affect you when going through the border services.

My suggestion would be that if you still have contact with the lawyer who defended you or the prosecutor, you can ask them that question.

Otherwise you can just take your chances and try to cross to see what happens. Maybe try a trip down there on your own first, which would save the embarassment from heading to USA with a group of people, and then they find out you are not admitted because of a previous drug charge.