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Comment by avar | Hacker News Reader

Well, you don't have to lie on your resume or on your interview but have you considered just not mentioning it? Unless you're applying for certain types of jobs they're not going to do a background check on you, and you're unlikely to be under any obligation to disclose that you were convicted of computer fraud if you're applying for a computer related job.

Also, think about taking jobs in countries that aren't the U.S.. It might be nice to have a fresh start somewhere else, but I don't know what sort of visa troubles you'd have with your record.

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Yeah, it seems to me that if you consider it irrelevant to your qualifications for your job, you should just omit it from your resume. There's a formal "job application" form that you'll have to fill out where they ask you whether they have any past convictions, but that usually comes after your interviews and you've accepted an offer.

That might be a bit surprising, but here's how it works at every company I've interviewed at: you find a job posting, you send in your resume, they call you for a phone screen and if you pass, they'll call you in for a full day of interviews. If they then make an offer that you accept, you'll finally fill out the formal paperwork.

However, if you apply to a big company job through their own HR portal, you're probably going to have to fill out the job application form when you submit your resume.

Most job applications nowadays have a clause at the end where, by signing, you give them permission to perform a background check (with no way to know if they actually will). In addition, most also state something to the effect that omission == lying. Thus, if you "forget" to mention that you were convicted, it's the same as if lying -- which, of course, is grounds for immediate termination.

The US generally won't issue passports to convicted felons. (That's the Google consensus, anyway.)

The U.S. Department of State (DOS) may deny your passport application or renewal for a number of reasons, including if you:

    Are in default on a repatriation or medical assistance loan
    Are behind on child support payments
    Are subject of certain court orders or a foreign extradition request
    Were committed to a mental institution, or legally declared incompetent by a court
    Were subject to a previous denial or revocation
    Were issued a temporary passport for specific reasons

More detail [1][2]. Being denied the ability to leave your country, especially if you have been convicted of a crime, is a violation of your human rights. It is widely recognized, of course, that drug traffickers have no rights, and thus the US may freely discriminate.

[1] http://www.uscis.gov/ilink/docView/22CFR/HTML/22CFR/0-0-0-1/... [2] http://www.uscis.gov/ilink/docView/22CFR/HTML/22CFR/0-0-0-1/...

I wonder.. technically, not having a passport doesn't prevent you from leaving the country. You can get in a boat and take off. Leaving by plane is difficult, as well as legally entering another country.

Is it actually illegal to reenter the US as a citizen without a US passport? I would hope that as a US citizen you have a right to entry and visiting a US Consulate in another country would start the process regardless of whether you are a felon.

  | Is it actually illegal to reenter the US as
  | a citizen without a US passport?

I've talked to the border patrol over the phone about this before (with relation to re-entering with an expired passport). As an American citizen, you can't be denied re-entry into the country. Without proper documentation, you might get tied up at the border while proving you are an American citizen (though I'm not sure what lengths they would go to to figure out if you really are a US citizen without even an expired passport though).

Exiting the US on foot at the Mexican border involves no check of any kind of documentation-- you just walk through a couple turnstiles, and a Mexican Marine may search your bag if you look suspicious.

That, of course, makes it easy to be in Tiajuana without a passport. From what I heard when I lived in San Diego, if you bring a US drivers' license, and especially if you also bring a US birth certificate, the border agents may chew you out, but they will let you into the US.

Given this, I wonder what the rationale is for denying felon's passports? I mean, if it doesn't prevent you from leaving the country or entering the country, both of which are violations of international law.

this is not true. its discretionary but only in the case of drug traffickers is it strictly forbidden.

I believe your bigger issue is that some countries won't allow some convicted felons to enter - particularly Canada.

Yes, they do -- I have one.

I've got a passport, and have never run into any issues.

I agree with simply just not mentioning it. I know background checks are more common in the US than in Sweden, but I doubt most small companies care enough to do them. So just apply for small companies and you should be fine.

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