Some of the waivers require an application form and a fee, some do not. For many waivers, extreme hardship to a qualifying relative is needed to be shown. As a rule, a qualifying relative would be a person’s US citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse or parent. In the US, often, the same immigration form is used to waive various grounds of inadmissibility.
How To Prove Extreme Hardship For Immigration Waiver
Many waivers require that an applicant proves extreme hardship to a qualifying relative, who is often a spouse or parent holding US citizenship status or green card status.
I 601 is a US Immigration form that is required to be filed when a person is charged with inadmissibility based on certain grounds. For each ground, there are its own qualifications as to who can apply and who qualifying relatives can be, and also other limitations. This form is used by an applicant for an adjustment of status, an immigrant visa (at times, only family-based!), or K or V visa, TPS applicants, etc. It can be used to waive:
Since March 4th, 2013, “miracle” waivers have been available to immigrants who resided in the country without authorized or lawful status, had an approved petition allowing them to seek immigrant visas, but could not otherwise adjust their status. The difficulty before these waivers became available for most immigrants came from a requirement to have a “legal entry” when adjusting status in the US and being in lawful non-immigrant status continuously from the date of entry. The provisional waiver allowed these immigrants to complete most of the immigration steps in the US, and leave the US only for about 2 weeks to obtain an immigrant visa and return to the US as green cardholders.
But for those who accumulated 180 days and more of unlawful presence, when they leave the US, they will trigger an automatic bar on re-entering the country for a minimum of 3 years and a maximum of 10 years. The I-601A waiver helps to “waive” or forgive the unlawful presence and remove the automatic bar due to the unlawful presence. The good news is, anyone eligible can apply for an I-601A waiver while they remain in the US, and it does not trigger an automatic referral to immigration court. If a person is subject to other grounds of inadmissibility, such as misrepresentation/fraud, for example, I 601A will not help by itself. An additional waiver will have to be submitted as well, usually after a denial of a visa at the interview. It is crucial to determine if a person can be subject to other grounds of inadmissibility: an unsuspected person may file and receive an approval for I-601A waiver, leave the US for an interview, and nevertheless would not be able to return to the US because other grounds of inadmissibility were found to apply to him/her: claim of a US citizenship; fraud/misrepresentation; health grounds.
I 601A waiver can be used in combination with other waivers. But a filer needs to remember that various waivers have different qualifying relatives and standards for approval. For example, if a person has a previous unexecuted removal/deportation order, a person would have to file an I 212 waiver first. That waiver has its own standard for approval. Only if I 212 waiver is granted, a person may file then I 601A waiver. If a person has waivable criminal issues or fraud/misrepresentation issues, he/she can file for the I 601 waiver after the interview at a consulate. Of course, it means longer wait times before a person can come back to the US, but it can be a solution rather than none.
If you need help with waivers, please call our experienced Waiver Attorneys at 615-530-5360 Before filing for a waiver, one should consult with an attorney!