A PROPOSED change in the process of obtaining an I-601 waiver was recently entered in the federal registry and people will be allowed to apply for this provisional waiver beginning March 4, 2013. This change could potentially benefit millions of people and eliminate the risk in seeking the waiver. A 601 waiver may be required for many different reasons, however, this change only applies to those who require a waiver for remaining in the US for longer than 180 days without permission. If that person remains for 180 days, they have a 3 year bar for unlawful presence that requires a 601 waiver. If they remain for more than a year, they have a ten year bar and require the same waiver.
This particular waiver applies to those who have entered the country unlawfully and therefore are required to return to their home country for what is known as consular processing. Prior to the creation this provisional waiver, an applicant would have to return to their home country and wait for the approval of the waiver there. Depending on the country, the request could take anywhere from three to twelve months to be approved, or could be denied. During the entire process while the waiver was pending, the applicant had to remain in their home country. The process to request a waiver was not only a lengthy separation from family and work, but could potentially be denied resulting in further delay and separation.
The new proposed process is not a change of law, but simply a change of procedure. Under the proposal, people who have an approved petition through an immediate family member, such as a US citizen spouse, may request the waiver here in the United States rather than returning home to request the waiver. This means that your US citizen relative must file the petition on your behalf. Once that petition is approved, the case will be forwarded to the National Visa Center. At that point we notify them that you plan on applying for the provisional waiver. The waiver is obtained by showing extreme hardship to your US citizen relative. This could be economic, emotional, medical, or other types of hardship.
Once the waiver is approved you will complete the process and schedule an interview at the US consulate in your home country. This means that people will have a much higher degree of certainty that they will be able to return to the US before leaving. The risk in this situation would be very minimal. If the waiver is approved, you can leave to your home country for your immigrant visa interview knowing that you will be gone for a very short time and that you will be able to return to the United States to be reunited with family.
The attorneys at Wilner & O’Reilly have years of experience in preparing 601 waiver requests for people from all different countries. This new process will benefit many people. If you believe that you may qualify for this new waiver procedure and have been waiting to file due to the risk of the previous process, contact us immediately to receive a free consultation.
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Kelly O’Reilly is a nationally known immigration expert and former immigration officer. He is a highly sought after speaker on immigration and employment compliance issues. Mr. O’Reilly serves as the current chair of the Riverside County Bar Association Immigration section and is a partner in the full-service immigration firm of Wilner & O’Reilly where he provides free consultations. Mr. O’Reilly can be contacted at (562) 207-6789 or he welcomes email inquiries at [email protected].