I-601 and I-601a Unlawful Presence Waivers: The 3 & 10 Year Bars
Understanding What You’re Up Against – The Law
The 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Responsibility Act (IIRAIRA) created three year, ten year, and permanent bars on admission to the U.S. for a variety of immigration status violations.These bars apply widely and affect immigrants who have family in the U.S., have worked and paid taxes in the U.S., and in many cases are otherwise eligible for permanent resident status.
The three year bar to re-entry into the U.S.: The three year bar applies to individuals who have been unlawfully present in the United States for a continuous period of more than 180 days (6 months), but less than one year, and who voluntarily depart the U.S. The bar is triggered by the act of departing the U.S., even if to consular process to obtain an immigrant visa. Yes, this may apply to you even if you are married to a U.S. citizen.
The ten year bar to re-entry into the U.S.: The ten year bar applies to individuals unlawfully present in the U.S. for an aggregate period of one year or more who depart voluntarily (aggregate = CIS adds up all time in US without lawful presence, even if from different periods of time and different stays). Unlawful presence begins to accrue when the period of authorized stay expires or after an entry to the U.S. without inspection. Again, the bar is triggered by the act of departing the U.S., even if to consular process to obtain an immigrant visa. Yes, this may apply to you even if you are married to a U.S. citizen.
The Waiver Option
If the immigrant is married to a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, or has a U.S. citizen or LPR parent, a WAIVER MAY BE AVAILABLE for 3 & 10 year bars but not for the permanent bar. To qualify for this waiver, which if approved, allows the immigrant to lawfully re-enter with the immigrant visa and not wait outside the US for 3 or 10 years, the immigrant must prove that his or her USC or LPR spouse or parent will suffer EXTREME HARDSHIP if the waiver is not approved.
3 and 10 year bar Waiver Procedure
The Provisional I-601A Waiver Process vs. Traditional I-601 Waiver Filing Process
The standard I-601 waiver process: Traditionally, if an immigrant enters the US illegally and cannot prove legal entry, the immigrant cannot apply for a green card in the US through the adjustment of status process but must interview for their green card at a consulate abroad. The catch – once you leave the US, you can trigger the 10 year bar of re-entry and need to apply for a 10 year bar waiver. The consulate interview will happen, the immigrant is refused the visa but is usually informed that the immigrant can now apply for a waiver (which means their qualifying relative for the waiver in the US files the case in the US for the immigrant) but must stay outside of the US until the waiver is decided and approved. The immigrant is then contacted again by the consulate to either send in more documents to finish processing or attend a second interview to update the case and make sure the immigrant is eligible to enter the US now that the waiver has been obtained.
This process can typically take 7 months or more for the waiver to be decided in the US (the immigrant must stay outside the US during this time) plus another 1 -2 months until the consulate can finalize the Immigrant Visa, issue it, and allow the immigrant to enter the US and finally be reunited with their loved one(s). This is a long time to wait for a decision and a long time to be separated from family in the US, although this is much shorter than the waiting periods as recent as 1-2 years ago.
The provisional waiver: I-601a process: In March 2013, USCIS announced a new policy to help keep those married to US citizens avoid the longer waiting periods that the traditional I-601 waiver process creates that requires that the immigrant wait abroad for the waiver decision to be made. The provisional waiver process allows the immigrant to apply for the I-601 waiver for unlawful presence (whether 3 or 10 year bar) ahead of time, while still in the US and prior to the consulate interview abroad. The immigrant stays in the US with their spouse while the waiver is being decided, drastically reducing the time the immigrant has to be separated from their spouse. When the waiver is approved, the immigrant travels to their interview at the consulate abroad and if successfully interviews with the successful provisional waiver already approved and no other grounds of inadmissability are found by the consulate, the immigrant is abroad for merely days, not months. Their lives are not uprooted, long term family care does not have to be arranged and jobs are not lost. It is an ideal situation for many immigrants and their families.
Huge News – I-601A Provisional Waiver Is Now Available to Those Being Sponsored by Permanent Residents, those over the age of 21 sponsored by US citizens, Diversity lottery winners, and Employers!
The main problem with the provisional waiver program is that it used to severely limit those who qualified to take advantage of it. But as of August 29, 2016 – the Provisional Waiver Program process has been expanded to anyone who has the 3 or 10 year bar and who has a LPR (green card holder) parent or LPR spouse or a US citizen (USC) parent or USC spouse who will suffer extreme hardship if the immigrant is not allowed to come back to the US during that 3 or 10 year period. The immigrant visa petition also no longer has to be filed by an immediate relative (to benefit a spouse, child under 21 or parent of US citizen). This means that the Provisional Waiver is now open to these additional new categories – those who are applying for their green cards based on: employment, LPR parent sponsorship, adult children of US citizens who are married or unmarried, or an immigrant visa petition filed by a US citizen brother or sister. These are new categories in addition to those previously allowed – those petitioned by a US citizen spouse or parent.
Remaining Limits of the provisional waiver program:
- The provisional waiver or I-601a filing only covers unlawful presence. No criminal waivers, misrepresentation waivers (for lying to CIS or using fake documents to enter the US), prostitution waivers, etc.
- The Applicant for Waiver must currently be in the US. If the immigrant is already abroad, the immigrant cannot re-enter the US to file the waiver.
- An Immigrant Visa filed by an the family member, employer, or as part of the diversity lottery must be approved first.
- Immigrants with removal orders do not qualify unless the immigrant has an approved I-212 Advance Permission to Enter the US After Removal Application.
- There are still no appeals and no notices of intent to deny (to give you another chance to fight for your case) issued by CIS if they think your case is not strong enough. Your only option would be to refile so be careful – make sure you put your strongest arguments up the first time around and document them well!
These are just some of the main disqualifications from the provisional waiver program. There are others. Make sure you consult with a competent, licensed immigration attorney about whether you qualify for the I-601a vs the I-601 process before filing anything!
If the immigrant has to file a waiver case based on any other ground than unlawful presence, then the immigrant must go through the traditional I-601 waiver process. For example, did you use a fake green card or fake documents to get into the US? That’s misrepresentation and you would have to file a misrepresentation waiver as well as a 10 year bar waiver if you have stayed in the US for a year or more without valid immigration status (i.e., overstayed or been undocumented over a year in the US and then leaves the US – even if to interview for a green card at a consulate abroad).
Warning: Be very careful when deciding to go through with the provisional waiver process. Make sure you hire an attorney who has experience with inadmissability waivers. Notarios and unlicensed attorneys are jumping on the bandwagon to convince immigrants that they can do the same work at half the price but remember, you can still end up in removal proceeding while awaiting your I-601 case to be decided – the process does not guarantee you the right to live in the US legally! You are exposing yourself to CIS when you start this process – make sure it is worth the risk with the right person representing you and putting your best case forward to minimize the risk of what could happen if your case is denied and ICE now knows about you, especially if you have lived under the radar for years.
So you Think You Need a Waiver, regardless of whether you’re filing an I-601 or an I-601A package.
How Strong is Your Case?
What is Extreme Hardship?
The key term in the provision is “extreme” and thus, only in cases of real actual or prospective injury to the United States national or lawful permanent resident parent or spouse will the bar be removed. Common results of the bar, such as separation, financial difficulties, etc., in themselves are insufficient to warrant approval of an application unless combined with much more extreme impacts. Applicants are encouraged to submit as much documentary evidence as possible proving that failure to receive the waiver requested would result in extreme hardship to your US citizen spouse or parent.
Consulates differ on what factors in a case are more persuasive than others. The largest consulate in the world with the most waiver applications is Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. As of 2005, the CIS office attached to this consulate, considered the following as types of factors that are relevant to deciding whether the US citizen parent or spouse will suffer “extreme hardship” (the consulate will also consider other factors, not listed here):
HEALTH – Ongoing or specialized treatment requirements for a physical or mental condition;availability and quality of such treatment in your country, anticipated duration of the treatment; whether a condition is chronic or acute, or long-or short-term.
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS – Future employability; loss due to sale of home or business or termination of a professional practice;decline in standard of living; ability to recoup short-term losses;cost of extraordinary needs such as special education or training for children;cost of care for family members (i.e., elderly and infirm parents).
How does the traditional criminal waiver process work?
Here’s Attorney Heather’s short presentation explaining the process and what to expect for a traditional I-601 waiver:
“Preparing For the Road Ahead: Understanding the Process & Timing in Traditional I-601 Waiver Cases”
Heather’s Alerts and More Detailed Info on Waivers:
- Heather’s updated Frequently Asked Questions & Answers about Waivers
- CIS announces new provisional waiver process for those married to US citizens or who have US citizen parents.
Heather’s Videos about I-601 Waivers:
- How to Avoid Common Mistakes in Unlawful Presence Waiver Cases
- How to Avoid Even More Common Mistakes in Unlawful Presence Waiver Cases
- Avoiding and Working with the 3 & 10 Year Bars
- FAQ: Is Unlawful Presence Waiver a Good Idea?
- Mexican Immigrant Granted Waiver Despite Illegal Entry and Unlawful Presence
- The Pros, Cons, and Future of the New Proposed Provisional Waiver Program for I-601 Waivers
- Unlawful Presence Waiver Granted for US Citizen’s Mexican Wife with Prior Denial
- Ukrainian Fiance Visa Holder Who Overstayed Wins Unlawful Presence Waiver In Moscow
WARNING:An attorney or a consultant who says s/he can get you this waiver for $1500 and does not take the time to find out the specifics of your immigration history, your spouse’s history and talks about these factors with you to see how strong your waiver argument(s) could be, is not the right attorney for you. Are you going to feel confident that your future together has the best chance with someone who won’t give you an in-depth evaluation? Waivers take a lot of work and time to compile; $1500 is an extreme low quote and indicates that the attorney is not going to spend the necessary time preparing your case. Be careful.
Contact us today to find out if you are eligible for a waiver and the chances of a waiver being approved (if Heather is your attorney) in your case! There are many different factors that consulates consider and waiver cases are big undertakings – Don’t run out of time to make a strong case.
Heather has a VERY HIGH APPROVAL RATE on waiver cases, with waiver approvals from some of the world’s toughest CIS offices* (including Lima, Peru– handling South American countries, Moscow, Russia – handling former Soviet Union countries and Bangkok, Thailand – South Asia, Australia), as well as 99% approvals on Mexican cases. She had experience with consulates all over the world prior to waivers being centralized for filing in the US most recently. *Waivers used to be initially submitted abroad, now they are submitted through centralized process in the U.S.
Success story:
(Obtained waiver for U.S. citizen spouse who was faced with potentially losing his wife due to the 10 year bar; CIS office: Ciudad Juarez, Mexico) Actual letter from client:
“To whom it may concern:
I met my wife in 2001 and soon fell in love, Six months later we where married in Ventura California . I knew well before we where married that my wife was here “undocumented” but thought it would be easy to get her a green card since I am a US citizen, Boy was I wrong! We went to a “cut rate” notario, trying to save money, Mistake #1! We then went to a immigration attorney in Los angeles who quoted me 1000.00 to take care of the rest of the paper work we needed, Mistake #2. It turned out we needed a “Hardship waiver” for my wife and would have to travel to El Paso Texas and cross the border to the US consulate.
If everything went OK, My wife would have a green card and return with me. If not, she would have to stay in Mexico for 6 months to a year, waiting for approval. This scared me to death! We had never spent the night apart since we where married, I could not stand the thought of leaving her there! I started reading as much as I could on the internet and was recommended to Heather Poole in Pasadena , Ca. My wife and I went to see her for a consultation, and I am VERY glad we did! Heather and her assistant Carla went above and beyond to get our necessary papers done within a month ( almost unheard of!) and off we went to Mexico . We had to spend almost 2 weeks there, First the medical appointment, Then the “interview” and then the “Hardship waiver interview”.
Now this is what impressed me most about Heather! EVERYTHING she said would happen happened EXACTLY like she said it would! While staying at the motel and waiting day after day, We met quite a few people and got to talking. I was SHOCKED at how many people where totally unprepared and did not have the documentation they needed, Most of these people went away very unhappy to say the least! Everything went smoothly for us, and within one hour of my wife receiving her new green card, we where back across the border and on our way home!
Our lives have changed so much within the last six months, My wife has her new Social Security card, Drivers license, etc……She now has more ID than I do! I can honestly say we owe all of this to Heather and Carla, We will never forget how they helped us! If anyone doubts this, Feel free to call me anytime and I will be glad to tell them. Thanks.”
* Success rates do not indicate or guarantee that your particular case will be approved. Every case is different and it is unethical and against the law for any Attorney to guarantee a successful result or outcome.The one case I lost was due to a misrepresentation issue; the client did not divulge facts to me about their immigration history that CIS knew and used against my client.
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