The “Beautiful” Nonimmigrant Waiver
Posted onThe beauty of obtaining a nonimmigrant waiver? That once you receive one, going forward, you will almost automatically receive the second one, and the third one, and the fourth one…. But the trick is – obtaining that first one… The nonimmigrant waiver process is rather straightforward. For most applicants of the nonimmigrant waiver (also known as a Section 212(d)(3)(A) or Hranka waiver), there is no application form and there is no filing fee; you simply request the waiver at the visa interview. If the consular officer recommends the waiver, then Customs and Border Protection will usually agree with the recommendation and grant the waiver. The consul will then issue a visa with a waiver annotation. So how to obtain that elusive consular recommendation? Well, if the applicant is applying for a B visitor visa or a F student visa, he/she must overcome his/her 214(b) burden first before the consul will…
Read moreComparison of Immigrant Waivers
Posted onThe journey to obtaining permanent residency in a new country can be fraught with challenges, and for many immigrants, overcoming certain legal barriers is a crucial step in this process. One such hurdle is the need for immigrant waivers, which allow individuals with specific grounds of inadmissibility to immigrate and continue their pursuit of a better life. Ideally, one would not need a waiver, and as illustrated throughout this site, if you believe that there was a factual or legal mistake made in the decision to bar you, you should certainly challenge that decision first. Here, we will delve into and compare three types of immigrant waivers, each of which are submitted on Form I-601. 212(a)(6)(C)(i) Misrepresentation A waiver for a willful, material misrepresentation is available to a spouse or child of US citizen (USC) or Legal Permanent Resident (LPR). The legal standard to qualify for the waiver is “extreme…
Read moreI-601 Waivers and Challenges to 212(a)(2)(A)(i)(I) Decisions
Posted onHeartbreaking are the immigrant visa cases when, because of a youthful indiscretion or transgression, the applicant is denied the visa to join a spouse or parent or child in the United States under Section 212(a)(2)(A)(i)(I) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. This section of the law renders a person permanently inadmissible because of a conviction or admitting to committing a crime of moral turpitude. Thankfully, there are solutions. One solution is to challenge the decision. In a case we recently handled, the applicant had been denied an immigrant visa as the husband of a Lottery winner on these grounds, and then 10 years later, denied again as the parent of a US citizen on these same grounds. But the criminal case which was the basis for this visa refusal decision had been terminated before a final decision was made by the judge because of an amnesty. We challenged the 212(a)(2)(A)(i)(I)…
Read moreInnocent Visa Applicants Applying for Nonimmigrant and Immigrant Waivers
Posted onWith the dramatic upsurge in consular decisions to permanently bar visa applicants from the United States, the question of applying for an immigrant or nonimmigrant waiver has become more and more acute. Many immigration lawyers will advise to just accept the decision, admit that you were wrong, say you are sorry, and apply for the waiver. They say that your chances of receiving the waiver will be increased if you admit your guilt and express remorse, even if you did not do anything wrong. But what if you are not “guilty”? What if you did not commit a material misrepresentation (Section 212(a)(6)(C)(i))? Or engage in alien smuggling (Section 212(a)(6)(E))? Or commit a crime of moral turpitude (Section 212(a)(2)(A)(i)(I))? Should you admit you were wrong? Of course not. There are legal mechanisms to challenge such lifechanging decisions, such as a Request for Reconsideration. Sometimes, the supervisor of the consular officer or…
Read moreChallenging Visa Denials and Revocations after an Interpol Red Notice or a Kangaroo Court Conviction
Posted onInterpol conjures up images of a worldwide police tracking down “bad guys” on the run from home country authorities. But Interpol is not a law enforcement agency: it does not issue warrants and does not have the authority to make arrests. While the overwhelming majority of Interpol’s information-sharing capacity is dedicated to tracking down true “bad guys”, many home country governments abuse it. They manipulate Interpol into doing their dirty work, making bogus allegations to locate dissidents, political activists, and whistleblowers. As a result, Interpol issues Red Notices based on bare allegations made by a government – for example, fraud – not evidence, with a view to extraditing that person back to that country. Yet consular, Customs and Border Protection, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials erroneously use the Red Notice as shorthand to deny visas, detain individuals at the border, and arrest them inside the United States. It is…
Read moreJust Because They Say So, Doesn’t Make It True
Posted onI received a frantic call from a client recently at her naturalization interview. She was being advised by the interviewing officer that her application was going to be denied because she did not meet the residency requirements. In the run-up to the interview, the client and I had reviewed all of the relevant legal issues, including the physical presence and continuous residence requirements, and I assured her that she met the requirements for naturalization. The officer was kind enough to speak with me over the phone, but remained unpersuaded from her position that the residency requirements were not met. The client left the USCIS office and went home extremely upset, notwithstanding my attempts to calm her down and assurances that we were in the right and would be able to challenge any adverse decision. And then, two hours after the interview, something strange happened: I received an e-mail notification from…
Read moreIn the Dark as to Why the Consular Officer Permanently Barred You from the United States for a Material Misrepresentation, Alien Smuggling or a Crime of Moral Turpitude? There is Hope.
Posted onSometimes, it doesn’t make sense. When a potential client contacts us regarding a decision by a consular officer, we try to understand, first of all, why was the decision made? What caused the consular officer to make the decision he or she did? Often, we can understand the position of the consular officer; while we may not always agree with that position and in fact challenge the position, we at least can identify the problem. But sometimes, we are confounded. Take for example the situation of J. J contacted us after he had been turned around at the border by Customs and Border Protection. The CBP protocol memorializing J’s request to enter the US was clear: it said that J needed a different type of visa. He had previously been a student in the US, and he needed to obtain a visitor visa in order to return to the US…
Read moreLagosland: US Visa Odyssey of a Nigerian Student
Posted onLast year we wrote about a student visa applicant in Russia going through 7 interviews to receive a US visa. Not to fall behind their brethren in Russia, US consular officials in Nigeria are no slouches in running Nigerian students through the visa gamut, a veritable Lagosland of adventure, obstacles, and consular vengeance. Consider the case of Yvonne. Yvonne comes from a well-to-do family of professionals and is an honors science student at a US university. During her junior year, she was caught shoplifting at a store, with the value of the merchandise less than $100. She was convicted under the state’s 1st time shoplifting statute. When she returned to Nigeria and filled in a visa application, she failed to indicate that she had been cited for shoplifting. The initial consular officer at the consulate in Lagos orally approved the application. Upon discovery of the shoplifting, the same officer called…
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