Here is the situation: I was convicted of felony possession for heroin (only possession – it was an extremely insubstantial amount) and three misdemeanors (possession of marijuana, possession of paraphernalia, intoxication in public). That was my first and only offense. This was all the same incidident, but (in case it matters) the misdemeanors were tried as separate offenses.
My conviction was in Nebraska, which has a process involving a governor’s pardoning signature as opposed to expungement. Their governor is very consistently Republican, which makes the process more difficult. If it was all in, say, Minnesota, I would just have it expunged.
Anyway, are there attorneys that know if I can get a passport? It would be a shame if that $100+ application fee paid for rejection.
Is it correct that even with a passport, other countries may not grant Visas based on background? If that is a case, is there an easy resource to research which countries care?
A felony conviction isn’t a general bar to getting a passport. It might be different if you were convicted of treason, or of some felony with an international dimension - e.g. smuggling drugs into the US. But you weren’t.
It would also be an issue if, as a result of your felony conviction, you were on parole or subject to some sentence which prevented you leaving the US. But, again, that’s not so in your case.
So you should get a passport, if you apply for one.
Any country can refuse you entry based on your conviction, and some will. I don’t know of anyone who maintains a database of national rules and restrictions in this regard; it would be a lot of work, since it would require constant updating and presumably there’s a bewildering variety of rules and restrictions to take into account. By way of example, you go into some detail in your post about which of your convictions relate to felonies and which to misdemeanours, and that’s a signficant distinct for US purposes, but it is very unlikely to be a relevant factor in deciding whether your convictions exclude you from getting a visa to some other country. Their classification of offences will not be based on this.
But you don’t need information on all the countries in the world; just on the ones you’re thinking of visiting. Most of them will have posted that information on the web somewhere. Just google “visa Umbrellastan” (or whatever country you are thinking of visiting) and there’s a sporting chance you’ll find your way to a website of the Umbrellastani Foreign Office explaining how to apply for a visa to visit Umbrellastan as a tourist, and what the rules and exclusions are.
Most countries do not require US citizens to get tourist visas beforehand, they give it to you on arrival. Canada is tied into NCIC National Crime Information Center - Wikipedia so the border guard can check your convictions, some wealthier Euro countries may also be I’m honestly not sure and you’d be advised to check.
Rest of the world won’t be tied into NCIC so unless you tell them they won’t know, if however you decide you want to immigrate somewhere you will then have to produce a criminal history check from all your states of residence so they will know then.
Countries as stated have the absolute power to refuse entry outside of certain situation which most travellers don’t get into or at least most non EU travellers. Having a criminal conviction (many countries don’t have the concept of felony and misdemeanour’s, or even equivalent categories) is one such ground they can take. But it depends. A conviction in youth for a minor offence and you are now a fine upstanding citizen; Stephan Fry was incarcerated for assualt as a teen and I really don’t think anyone will refuse him entry based on that. OTH paroled last week for a triple murder…yeah don’t bother.
Note that you’re not necessarily permanently barred from other countries; they may let you in after a special vetting process. Canada, for example, allows you to apply to be “rehabilitated” in their eyes. The application fee is 200 CAD, though.
Most countries have explicit rules. IIRC, NZ had something like “not spent more than X years in prison, free for the last 10 years”. Fortunately for you, the most arbitrary and unpredictable border is getting into the USA, and you cannot be denied entry as a citizen.
BTW, Canada and USA share their police databases. Just getting pardoned is one thing; whether a pardon is recognized, another. I hear occasionally in the news of Canadians who assume that because they are pardoned (easy in Canada) they can say they were never convicted. The US does not recognize pardons, and turns back those people for lying to the border guards. If you are pardoned, see if there is a process for removing your records from the country-wide police database.
Unless you are on probation, why would you be denied a passport? If you want to travel, your record is your destination’s problem, not the USA’s. All they care is that you are who you say you are and are not under court restriction to avoid flight risk.
In much of Europe, for example, once you are in one country, you are in all. For flights coming in from North America, for example, I found border control to be pretty lax. The train from Holland to Belgium and back, there were not even any border checks at all.
And it appears that it determines how serious your record is based on how serious the crime is in Canada, so whether Nebraska treats the offenses as felonies or misdemeanors appears to be irrelevant. Apparently DUI is a much more serious offense in Canada than in most or all of the US, and lots of Americans are shocked when they are denied entry to Canada because they figure that DUI is a minor offense but Canada apparently disagrees.