Waiver of Unlawful Presence

Request USCIS to forgive your “unlawful presence” in the U.S. and allow you to apply for the “Green Card”

On March 4, 2013, USCIS began a new provisional unlawful presence waiver program for certain relatives of U.S. citizens and Legal Permanent residents whose only ground of inadmissibility is unlawful presence in the United States.

The provisional unlawful presence waiver process allows certain relatives of U.S. citizens and Legal Permanent Residents who are currently residing in the United States to apply for a provisional waiver while in the United States, provided they meet all eligibility requirements and warrant a favorable exercise of discretion.

There are several circumstances that may render an individual ineligible for a provisional unlawful presence waiver. For example, individuals with final orders of exclusion, deportation, or removal; individuals who are currently in removal proceedings that are not administratively closed at the time of filing; and individuals who have a pending application with USCIS for lawful permanent resident status are not eligible to apply for the provisional unlawful presence waiver. Individuals for whom there is a reason to believe that they may be subject to grounds of inadmissibility other than unlawful presence at the time of the immigrant visa interview with a Department of State (DOS) consular officer also are ineligible for the provisional unlawful presence waiver.

To qualify for a provisional waiver, applicants must establish that their U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident spouses or parents would experience “extreme hardship” if the applicants are not allowed to return to the United States or if the U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident spouses or parents had to relocate to applicant’s home country to be with applicant.

Request Department of State to forgive your “unlawful presence” or “misrepresentation” and allow you to apply for the Green Card

The I-601 waiver, or Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility, is a form used by certain applicants when applying for a visa, an adjustment of status, or an immigration benefit that they are not eligible for.

Ineligible applicants submit Form I-601 to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to request that their ground(s) of inadmissibility be waived. Whether an applicant is eligible for a waiver depends on the benefit that they are applying for and the reason that they are inadmissible.

Applicants listed in the left-hand column below may file Form I-601 to request that any of the corresponding grounds of inadmissibility listed in the right-hand column be waived.

While there are many grounds on which an applicant can be found inadmissible, a couple of the more common grounds are listed below to provide examples of circumstances under which USCIS may approve a I-601 waiver.

Misrepresentation

An applicant is inadmissible if he or she intentionally lied about, or misrepresented, any significant fact while seeking a visa, admission to the U.S., or any other benefit under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). However, the applicant may be granted a waiver if he or she can show that:

Refusal of admission to the U.S. would result in extreme hardship to a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse or parent, or to the K visa petitioner, and

In the immigration officer's opinion, the applicant's undesirability as a permanent resident is outweighed by social and humane considerations

Unlawful Presence

A foreign national is inadmissible for three years if he or she has resided unlawfully in the U.S. for an uninterrupted period or more than 180 days but less than one year, and then voluntarily departed before removal proceedings were initiated against them. However, a waiver may be granted for a foreign national who establishes that:

Refusal of admission to the U.S. would result in extreme hardship to a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse or parent, or the K visa petitioner, and

In the immigration officer's opinion, the applicant's undesirability as a permanent resident is outweighed by social and humane considerations.