EDIT: And only speak e̶n̶g̶l̶i̶s̶h̶ a single language.
1) Marshall islands or Micronesia. Buy flight on credit, do farm or whatever labor you can to eat while you get booted. No visa needed to live or work.
2) Some nations such as Argentina have effectively no immigration enforcement. Once you're in the country you're good and you can file a court case to become a citizen immediately (you'll have to wait 2+ year for it to be granted). In the meantime the legal system in Argentina has to treat you as a citizen while you're waiting on your case.
If you truly have ABSOLUTELY NOTHING and no access to credit you may be able to hitchhike and/or work on boats/yachts to get to any nation in the Americas.
3) Or, not recommending it, but you can be like the illegal immigrants. Enter somewhere on a tourist visa and take informal jobs like illegal immigrants do. Seems to work for some of them in a variety of European and South American countries.
4) Join a foreign militia/military. French foreign legion, Ukraine. Also YPG and some Kurdish militias I think still accepts recruits and they don't require anything past your flight which you could buy on credit. French foreign legion will grant you citizenship after two contracts and will feed you in the meanwhile, even while you're trying out.
5) Work with an English teaching organization that does not perform FBI background check. Some exist but they may not be plentiful. They may help you get a job in a new nation.
6) Marry a Brazilian (or few other nations). Many jurisdictions in Brazil will issue a permanent residence visa without much scrutiny if you are married or have a Brazilian child. Believe Cape Verde also gives instant citizenship for marriage.
7) IF you can enter Philippines on 'Balakbayan' visa (married to Filipino) then you'll be issued a 1 year visa without scrutiny. After 6 months in the country they don't require background checks from anywhere but Philippines. Wait 7 months after entering, use your spouse to apply for work and permanent visa.
First, flying on credit isn't nearly as easy as you make it out to be. Yes, a bunch of companies are buy now, pay later. They fall into two groups. The first does it based on your credit. The second is a layaway plan - by the time you get on the plane you've managed to pay in full. Ex-cons struggling to get a job usually have neither. Nobody wants to give money to a person who looks like they are trying to disappear. (Because you just know your money is going to disappear with them...)
Second, a lot of your plans require going to countries where you need another language. That's going to be a challenge for most ex-cons.
Third, while the French Foreign Legion is romantic and all, they won't take you if they find you have a criminal record. Other foreign legions are similar. They might not find out, but do you want to spend your life savings betting on that?
Fourth, marrying someone from another country is an uphill battle for someone who lacks a job. Particularly when most of the women from those countries looking to marry an American would like to wind up in the USA rather than the reverse.
These are all amazing plans, and I'm sure that some succeed with each. But they're going to work out poorly for most ex-cons who try them.
My statement is direct towards goal oriented people who want to succeed and are willing to iteratively test their options until something works. Not failures who are unwilling to take a risk or work for a reward. If you can't get a credit card, then hitchhike and/or volunteer on a yacht or just be homeless and work day labor that doesn't check your record until you've saved up a chunk.
An individual who is capable of success is capable of tirelessly executing options until they find one that works. And that is possible. Staying in the US means you will never fully regain your civil rights if convicted of a federal crime. Leaving means you have the chance of having the full civil rights of a citizen, somewhere.
Regarding going out of country, I have joined a foreign militia prior that had some ex-cons in it, that did not require anything other than a plane ticket to join. I did not know the language, but learned (some of it) along the way. Travelling extensively you learn to communicate without knowing much of the language. I believe I paid for that ticket with a credit card.
So out of my "Several Options" I can personally say (4) would work and been tested by me. Domestically I can say hitch-hiking to an oil field and sleeping in a ditch until you can afford better would work (met lots of felons that did same). I also married a filipina while I was completely broke, so (7) would work as well although I haven't personally done it, it would be trivial for me to execute it.
I'm not saying your suggestions are 100% impossible, but they're more for people who are on the run (i.e. very desperate) rather than those with a conviction.
Sure, I had to have a skill to begin with, but saying you can't do it is wrong. Just most people won't do it because they think they can't do it.
This is not true unless you are wanted by interpol or a very serious record such as murder.
For an American, might crossing into Canada be an easier option?
And if someone was desperate enough to try to hide a US criminal record, Canada is the last country they should try, because Canada and the US share their criminal history databases.
1: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/se...
The page is pretty plain language reading which makes it appear very trustworthy.
However, they avoid explicitly saying that past crimes - whether convicted and served or not - don't matter. The DO say that catching the eye of Interpol is bad.
How does this work? Do you just go to the docks and start asking randos if they’re going to X and also looking for labor?
> Also YPG and some Kurdish militias I think still accepts recruits and they don't require anything past your flight which you could buy on credit.
Not sure I’d recommend this in particular unless you’re really truly willing and ready to die. Sure, any military service where your in a combat role is a significant risk increase, but this feels distinct from joining something like the , backed by a secure NATO-aligned government, with new and top of the line equipment. As FFL, I imagine most any combat you see these days is going to be against insurgents that you have the upper hand on. Whereas going to fight with the YPG you may end up vice versa.
FWIW a friend of a friend did this, and indeed was killed rather soon.
I got a 'free' ticket from Seattle to Alaska once by working on a boat :)
>FWIW a friend of a friend did this, and indeed was killed rather soon.
Sorry to hear that. I was in YPG for a few months in 2015. You're right it is dangerous, especially for those who are especially brave or end up in a unit that really embraces 'sehid' (martyr) culture. Rojava also offers some civil volunteer opportunities. Generally if you act like a criminal / psycho / weirdo you get filtered out before you can do much damage. There's no paperwork but I think parts of the middle east operate by the old code of a man being judged by his actions rather than formal paperwork from the state.
I have no personal experience with FFL. I know it's much more selective than YPG. The upside is you get French Citizenship. Therefore there is healthy competition with people from the 3rd world seeking a relatively high wage and EU citizenship.
Seattle->Alaska I got as part of a contract to work on the boat, but it was a flight. The boat was closed circuit route in the sea and a single port (Dutch Harbor).
Sure, but when I look at things like Nextdoor this is the prevailing attitude regardless of whether it’s true or not.
My experience in hitchhiking was the same ha ha, probably half the drivers were smoking while driving.
My income quote comes from a gas station in a backwater town in the deep woods of Alabama, and I'm not a great guitarist or something amazing worth throwing money at.
This seems like a really silly hill to die on.