+1 (213) 375-4084Los Angeles Provisional Waiver Lawyer
Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver
In March 2013, the U.S. government made new waiver process available that is designed to help lower the amount of time U.S. citizens must spend away from their immediate relatives while those relatives are applying to become U.S. permanent residents. Under the new provisional unlawful presence waiver, immediate relatives (such as spouses, children and parents) of U.S. citizens can apply for their waivers before they actually leave the country in order to obtain the appropriate immigration visas. While these relatives do still have to leave the county for a period of time, submitting the waivers beforehand allows them to shorten time they must spend in other countries before they can return to the U.S.
There are many requirements that individuals must meet in order to be able to apply for these waivers. For examples, only certain types of relatives are eligible, and the waivers are only given in cases where extreme hardship to the U.S. citizen can be proven. Even if you qualify, you could end up missing your opportunity to take advantage of this new waiver process if you do not fill out your application correctly. For this reason, it is crucial that you work with an experienced immigration attorney who can help you ensure that you are carrying out all the steps correctly. Attorney Linda Lee of The Immigration Law Office of Los Angeles, P.C. has more than 20 years of legal experience and is fully equipped to assist you.
Immigration-Related Waiver Option Lowers Time Families Spend Apart
What is Eligibility for the New Waiver Process?
U.S. citizens’ immediate relatives are only eligible for provisional unlawful presence waivers if they have a certain type of relationship to the citizen and if they are seeking waivers of inadmissibility only for unlawful presence. Before March 2013, immigrants could only apply for their waivers after departing the U.S. to take part in their immigrant visas interviews at U.S. embassies or consulates located abroad. In order for an immigrant to be eligible to apply before departure under the new provisional waiver process, he or she must meet all of the following requirements, as outlined by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS):
- Must be an a U.S. citizen’s immediate relative—specifically the citizens’ spouse, child or parent
- Must be at least 17 years old
- Must be able to prove that being denied entrance into the U.S. could lead to extreme hardship to the U.S. citizen (who is the applicant’s spouse or parent)
- Must be physically present in the U.S. so that the waiver application can be personally filed and the person’s biometrics can be provided
- Must have an approved Form I-130 (Petition for Alien Relative) or a Form I-360 (Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er) or Special Immigrant)
- Must have an immigrant visa case that is currently pending with the Department of State (DOS) for the approved immediate relative petition; must have also paid the necessary immigrant visa processing fee
- Must not have been scheduled for an immigrant visa interview conducted by DOS prior to January 3, 2013
There are also other conditions that applicants could be subject to. A skilled legal professional can help you determine whether or not you meet all of the necessary requirements for a provisional unlawful presence waiver. It is important for immigrants to be aware that they cannot apply for the provisional waiver if they are currently going through removal proceedings that have not yet been closed, or if their proceedings have been closed but they have been scheduled to have those proceedings continued. The new provisional waiver is available under Form I-601A, though individuals can still choose to apply for a waiver under the previous form, which is Form-601 (Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility).
Contact Our Immigration Lawyers to Learn More
You should be aware that if you reenter the U.S. illegally after approval of a provisional unlawful presence waiver, then the approval will be automatically revoked. Those who renter into the United States without being properly admitted or paroled by an immigration officer at the U.S. border can be permanently barred from the United States, so it’s important to discuss your situation with a qualified attorney.
Don’t let your family be separated longer than it has to be. To learn more about provisional unlawful presence waivers, contact The Immigration Law Office of Los Angeles, P.C.
