UPCOMING CHANGES TO I-601 WAIVERS OF INADMISSIBILITY

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Waiver used to ask forgiveness for certain grounds of ineligibility for permanent residence in INA Sec. 212 (a)

Since IIRIRA in 1996, must apply for a waiver of Unlawful Presence (UP) under INA Sec. 212(a)(9)(B)(v) – for persons who have more than 6 mos. UP, who trigger bar by departing the country and seek readmission

Consular processing applicants impacted

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Currently, waivers are processed overseas for Immigrant Visa applicants applying at US Consulates

Currently, the waivers are handled by USCIS RAIO offices overseas

Waiting times for adjudication are 1 – 2 years + long, causing prolonged family separation and suffering for visa applicants

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Only applicants who can prove extreme hardship to a US citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident spouse or parent are eligible

Processing times overseas, as well as inconsistent adjudications caused many complaints

CISOMB, MPI and others recommended centralization of waiver process in U.S.

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Current caseload (Jan. 2012) overseas : 23,000 pending 601 waivers; 19,200 of

those are pending in one site – Cd. Juarez, Mexico

Processing times slowed in summer 2011 in Juarez - waiting 12 months or longer for fast track , up to 2 yrs for those not ‘clearly approvable’

Appeals of I-601s – currently taking 24 months to process at AAO

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1/9/12 USCIS Notice of Intent to draft proposed regulations on a provisional waiver for Unlawful Presence that would be processed in the U.S.

Eligible - only immediate relatives of U.S. citizens who could show extreme hardship to a U.S. citizen spouse or parent .

Note: relatives of LPRs not included in the proposal thus far (nor does hardship to LPRs count)

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USCIS timeline: Proposed regulations by end of spring 2012; implementation by end of calendar 2012

new waiver form likely (601A) Only apply to unlawful presence waivers,

and only for persons living in the US who must depart to consular process

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UP Waiver adjudicated on provisional basis by a USCIS Service Center here;

Prov. Waiver takes effect when applicant departs US and triggers the ground.

Other waivers would need to be applied for at consulate.

If denied, USCIS would apply current guidance to issue NTAs to those with crimes, fraud or public safety issues

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Timeline – how will announcement affect processing this year? How will USCIS handle the backlogs overseas?

Notary problems with publicity – no benefit available now

Will USCIS consider expanding proposal to include persons in the family preference categories as well as IRs?

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USCIS team in charge includes personnel who spoke on Jan. 10, 2012 public engagement

Phyllis Covan, Barbara Velarde, Sophia Cox, Roselyn Brown-Frei, Joanna Ruppel, and from OPE – Mariela Melero and Rachel Ellis

Comments to public.engagement@dhs.gov

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USCIS also likely to introduce US-based lockbox filing for all overseas waivers soon

Details to follow with USCIS engagement by USCIS RAIO

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