New Pilot I-601 Waiver Adjudication Program
April 3, 2007 Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, American Consulate
Over a month ago, the USCIS Ciudad Juarez Office, in conjunction with the US State Department implemented a new pilot program to provide same day adjudication of many I-601 Waivers of Excludability. For intending immigrants that require consular immigrant visa processing and have also been found inadmissible by a consular officer, they are often allowed to file a waiver to overcome various immigration and criminal violations, and health related inadmissibilites. In the past, applicants had to wait over 6 months and sometimes a year to get a decision on their waiver application. This meant that they would be separated from their families for at least that amount of time.
Using USCIS' online appointment system InfoPass, waiver applicants can select a convenient date and time to return to the consulate to file their waiver. InfoPass may be accessed at www.infopass.uscis.gov. A USCIS Adjudications Officer will review the waiver and supporting documentation at the time the waiver applicant files it with the US Consulate. The officer may at his or her discretion approve the waiver at that time or it may be referred for further review and final adjudication. The waiver applicant will need to demonstrate that his or her United States Citizen/Permanent Resident spouse or parent would suffer "extreme hardship" should the applicant not return to the US. All required security checks would be made and reviewed before approving the waiver and issuance of the immigrant visa.
Warren Janssen, the Officer-in-Charge of the USCIS Cd. Juarez office stated, "this ground making pilot program makes sense and ensures that qualifying immigrants return to their families without unnecessary delays. Those applicants that file a well prepared I-601 and who otherwise do not have any serious adverse issues to be addressed will, in many cases, be approved and be able to receive their visas on the same day."
Approved waiver applicants will normally be issued their immigrant visa on or the next business day depending on US Consulate workloads and schedules. Referred waiver applicants will be advised that a final decision will be made on their waiver at a later time and they will be notified via mail to their U.S. address provided on the waiver. The waiver applicant must remain outside the U.S. while their waiver is pending.
USCIS has also taken steps to eliminate the current I-601 waiver backlog by proving the Cd. Juarez field office with additional resources. Those immigrants that have pending I-601 waivers with the Cd. Juarez field office will be notified via mail of their decision.
Are you married to a U.S. Citizen and think you are not eligible to become a Lawful Permanent Resident because you entered without permission? It is possible that you are eligible for a waiver.
EXAMPLE: Maria is a US citizen and she is married to Carlos. He is from Mexico and entered the United States without inspection 4 years ago. Carlos wants to obtain his residency through his marriage with Maria and he wants to know what their options are.
Carlos and Maria have two options.
The first is to submit the visa petition with immigration then wait. Since section 245(i) does not currently exist, Carlos can not adjust his immigration status to that of a lawful permanent resident without leaving the country. He is not allowed to legally work. In the meantime, they can join organizations that are working to restore section 245(i).
His second option is to leave the country and have his permanent residency interview at the Consulate. When Carlos leaves the United States he will be subject to the 10 year bar because he has been living here without proper documentation. However, since he is married to Maria he is eligible to ask for a waiver. He will need to prove that Maria will suffer extreme hardship if he is not granted a waiver. Maria will need to complete the visa petition and designate the Consulate in Ciudad Juarez for permanent residency interview. Now, in 2007, for cases presented at the Consulate in Ciudad Juarez, 70% of the waiver petitions are being approved by Immigration Services. The figure may be less at Consulates in other countries.
Carlos will need to take his completed waiver request to his interview at the Consulate along with all other forms and documents for his application for lawful permanent resident. At the interview, the officer will inform him he needs to complete a waiver application. He will return to the Consulate a few days later and submit his waiver request. Using the Telephone Call Center, Carlos will need to schedule a waiver appointment a few days after his visa interview to submit his waiver request (From the U.S. 900-476-1212; From Mexico 01-900-849-4949). The he will need to wait in Ciudad Juarez until Immigration gives him a decision. With the new program this may only take a few days. After receiving notification that his waiver petition has been approved, Carlos may return to the United States as a Lawful Permanent Resident.
Who can apply for this?
The spouse and sons and daughters(married or single) of a US Citizen can submit a waiver petition. If the petition is for a spouse or child who is less that 21 years of age, there is an immediate immigrant visa available.
Only the spouse and unmarried sons or daughters(regardless of age) of a person who is a lawful permanent resident can submit a waiver petition. Their parents, siblings, married sons or daughters, or other family members cannot submit a waiver petition.
U.S. CONSULATE GENERAL
CIUDAD JUAREZ, MEXICO
HARDSHIP LETTER
Dear Applicant:
This is in reference to the your Application for Waiver of Grounds of Excludability. This waiver is provided for under Section 212 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended. Approval of such application requires a finding that the refusal of admission to the United States of such immigrant alien would result in extreme hardship to the United States citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse or parent of the applicant Approval also requires a favorable exercise of discretion from the Attorney General. This requires a weighing of all factors, the favorable against the unfavorable, in each case.
All claims of hardship must be supported by documentary evidence or explanation specifying the hardship. Family separation and financial inconvenience, in and of themselves, do not necessarily constitute extreme hardship. Therefore, it is important for your spouse or parent to describe and document any other claim that might be a hardship. The above-requested information is necessary to render an equitable and fair decision on your Application for Waiver of Grounds of Excludability (I-601).
Any response or evidence should be submitted to enable receipt by this office at the above address no-later-than 30 days from the date of this letter. Should you choose not to reply, the case will be decided on the basis of the information already at hand. A waiver of section 212 of the Immigration and Nationality Act is dependent first upon a showing that the bar imposes an extreme hardship on a qualifying family member. Congress provided this waiver but limited its application. By such limitation it is evident that it did not intend that a waiver be granted merely due to the fact that a qualifying relationship existed. 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 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. Matter of Ngai, 19 I & N Dec. 245. With this qualification in mind, furnish documentary evidence proving that failure to receive the waiver requested would result in extreme hardship to your US citizen spouse or parent.
Extreme hardship can be demonstrated in many aspects of your spouse or parent¿s life such as:
- 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).
c. EDUCATION - Loss of opportunity for higher education; lower quality or limited scope of education options; disruption of current program; requirement to be educated in a foreign language or culture with ensuing loss of time for grade; availability of special requirements, such as training programs or internships in specific fields.
d. PERSONAL CONSIDERATIONS - Close relatives in the United States and /or your country; separation from spouse/children; ages of involved parties; length of residence and community ties in the United States.
e. SPECIAL FACTORS - Cultural, language, religious, and ethnic obstacles; valid fears of persecution, physical harm, or injury; social ostracism or stigma; access to social institutions or structures.
f. Any other situation that you feel may help you meet the burden of extreme hardship.
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La presente es en referencia a la solicitud para un Perdón (Forma I-601) en base a los términos de Exclusión existentes y que Ud. llenó conjuntamente con su solicitud para una visa de Inmigrante. Este es un Perdón discrecional que se hace bajo la Sección 212 de la Ley de Inmigración de Estados Unidos. La Aprobación de dicha solicitud requiere que, en caso de negarsele la entrada a Estados Unidos al Solicitante de dicho Perdón, esto provocaría severos problemas o dificultades extremas para el Ciudadano Americano o para el Residente Legal, como serian el ( )Cónyuge, ( )Padre, o ( )Hijo de dicho Solicitante. La Aprobación de dicho Perdón también requiere el ejercicio favorable y discrecional del Procurador General. Por consiguiente, todos los factores, a favor y en contra se evaluaran en cada caso.
Para llegar a una conclusión favorable en la decisión de dicha solicitud, todos los problemas severos o dificultades extremas que Ud. indique en su carta deberán ser respaldados por documentos que así lo comprueben ó con una amplia explicación sobre los mismos. La separación de la familia e inconveniencias financieras no son en sí, ni necesariamente constituyen, problemas severos ni tampoco dificultades extremas. Por lo tanto, es importante que su Cónyuge o su Padre, describan o documenten cualquier otro motivo, como podría ser la carta de un médico, en el supuesto caso de que existiera algún problema de salud crítico ó severo que consideren relevante y que implique un problema severo ó alguna dificultad extrema. Toda la información y pruebas que Ud. nos pueda enviar son sumamente necesarias para llegar a una decisión imparcial y equitativa en el Perdón, la Forma I-601, que Ud. solicitó.
Cualquier respuesta o evidencia que Ud. nos proporcione deberá ser enviada a la dirección arriba mencionada dentro de los próximos 30 días, a partir de la fecha de ésta carta. Si Ud. optara por no contestar, la decisión del Perdón se tomará solamente en base a la información que actualmente se tiene en el archivo de su familiar.
Un Perdón bajo la Sección 212, depende principalmente en demostrar que la Exclusión de su familiar para entrar legalmente a Estados Unidos, impone un problema severo o una dificultad extrema al Peticionario, Ciudadano o Residente de Estados Unidos. El Congreso otorgó este Perdón, pero limitó su aplicación. Es evidente que dicha limitante se refiere a que el Perdón no podrá ser aprobado simplemente por una relación familiar existente. La clave esta en la disposición del Congreso sobre la terminología, ¿severos¿ ó ¿extremos¿, que solamente se aplicarán en aquellos casos reales, existentes y que podrían perjudicar al Ciudadano Americano, o al Residente Legal, por lo tanto, solamente en estos casos de problemas severos o extremos, será que la Exclusión antes mencionada podría ser removida. Los indicadores más comunes en ésta Exclusión, son la separación familiar y las dificultades financieras, etc., pero estos en si son razones insuficientes para garantizar la aprobación de una solicitud a menos que se combine con impactos mucho más extremos. Como en el caso de Ngai, 19 I & N Dic. 245. Con estas estipulaciones en mente, proporcione evidencias testimoniales que comprueben que al no recibir Ud. el Perdón que solicitó, daría como resultado el que, llegue a tener severos problemas o dificultades extremas
Los problemas severos o dificultades extremas pueden ser demostradas de diferentes maneras en la vida de su cónyuge, como pueden ser:
SALUD- Estar bajo tratamiento especializado por cuestiones físicas o condiciones mentales; disponibilidad y calidad de dicho tratamiento en su País, conocimiento de la duración del tratamiento; por ser ésta una enfermedad crónica o aguda, ya sea larga o de corta duración.
CONSIDERACIONES FINANCIERAS ¿ capacidad de empleo a futuro, perdida del empleo por la venta de la casa o negocio o termino de su practica profesional; declinar el estándar de vida; habilidad de recuperar pérdidas a corto plazo; costo de necesidades indispensables como son educación especial o terapias para niños enfermos; costo para el cuidado de miembros de la familia (ejemplo: los padres ancianos y enfermos).
EDUCACIÓN ¿ Pérdida de la oportunidad para una educación más avanzada, baja calidad u opciones limitadas de escolaridad; interrupción del programa actual; requisitos para recibir una educación en otro idíoma o cultura con pérdida de tiempo y grado; disponibilidad de requisitos especiales, como son programas de entrenamiento o intercambio de internados en campos especializados.
CONSIDERACIONES PERSONALES ¿ Familiares cercanos en los Estados Unidos y/o su país; separación de la esposa/hijos; edades de los hijos de las partes interesadas; tiempo radicando dentro de Estados Unidos y los lazos existentes dentro de una comunidad.
FACTORES ESPECIALES- Culturales, de lenguaje, religiosos y obstáculos étnicos, temor a persecuciones justificables, daño físico, o accidental; ostracismo o estigma social; acceso a instituciones sociales o estructurales.
Cualquier otra situación que Ud. crea que le puede ayudar a cumplir con las especificaciones de los severos problemas o dificultades extremas.
Por favor explique con detalle cual sería, en su caso muy particular, un severo problema o una dificultad extrema. Tenga en mente que los problemas severos o las dificultades extremas deberán ser para el miembro de familia que califica como tal, no para Ud.
