People who filed the I-601 and currently in the US

[babito 29]

I got a letter requesting for the I-601 on 8th Jun 2011. We prepared a 10 page response with about 26 pages of evidence to prove extreme hardship. We mailed it 2 days before the deadline on 6th July. Few days back I got 2 requests first from the local office with the request to go for biometrics and second one from National Visa center both confirming the date of the biometrics to be done on 6th September. Am waiting to see how that goes.

[Alpha-Wave 2]

I called the 800 number today (Aug 11th)...vermont service center is currently working on Feb 12/11 601 waivers.

Hang in there, the process is a little slow but does work. I filed an i-601 on my wife's behalf in November of last year and received approval on the waiver in June 2011. The mentioned time line is a year but usually it is done sooner. I know the frustration and the wait is just unbearable but not much of a choice. Keep checking with the vermont office, also if you can get your state senator to pursue this on your behalf it will also help.

[babito 29]

Went for an infopass.....the lady had no new info yet I had been advised my I-601 was approved. After spending 30minutes with her I leave there office and get to the car and get a text and email message that the Green card has been ordered and that the I-485 is also approved. I got back to reconfirm and she still had no news on my case....

[Used to be broken 147]

Went for an infopass.....the lady had no new info yet I had been advised my I-601 was approved. After spending 30minutes with her I leave there office and get to the car and get a text and email message that the Green card has been ordered and that the I-485 is also approved. I got back to reconfirm and she still had no news on my case....

Congrats on the approval. It may take a week or two for GC but consider you are in much better shape stateside with EAD than those families who have been separated during the entire process. That is the silver lining in this cloud.

[pkliberty78 1]

Filed I-601 waiver along with I-485, I-765 for my husband on 9/18/11. I got text message on 9/23/11 with NOA numbers. I am hoping that the letter I sent had enough supporting evidence. I wrote the letter myself after researching and reading several examples of approved hardship letters. I feel like I did my best in being genuine, I pray that it was enough because I love my husband and my daughter so much that I cannot fathom being separated from my husband, nor see my child suffer in his absence.

[babito 29]

Filed I-601 waiver along with I-485, I-765 for my husband on 9/18/11. I got text message on 9/23/11 with NOA numbers. I am hoping that the letter I sent had enough supporting evidence. I wrote the letter myself after researching and reading several examples of approved hardship letters. I feel like I did my best in being genuine, I pray that it was enough because I love my husband and my daughter so much that I cannot fathom being separated from my husband, nor see my child suffer in his absence.

My wife (USC) and I did lots of research. We realised its the "story" of our lives and so its up to us to explain the 'extreme hardship'. If you did just that and supported it with relevant authoritative sources then you are safe and just wait for the approval. BEST WISHES....... (ours was a 10 page letter with 26 suporting documents)

[babito 29]

Congrats on the approval. It may take a week or two for GC but consider you are in much better shape stateside with EAD than those families who have been separated during the entire process. That is the silver lining in this cloud.

I truly agree, with an EAD stateside is a big blessing. I finish 1 year at the same job. A job that has afforded me unlimited travel in the US and even worldwide......I am just happy to just get my approval after 575 days....not complaints since I was busy working and with my family.....

[babito 29]

Congrats on the approval. It may take a week or two for GC but consider you are in much better shape stateside with EAD than those families who have been separated during the entire process. That is the silver lining in this cloud.

Today I get a letter from the office I went for the infopass with an update that they didnt have when I was there......

[dwheels76 5,468]

So I gather from all your experience that waiting and being asked at interview time for a I601 filing is best? And with no children yet forme and my husband what kind of evidence can we produce to show extreme hardship? I just spent 6 months with him in Nigeria just g ot back this week. And these two days apart is killing me for sure but I know they don't care about that.

So what should I prepare for or just wait?

Also congrats to all who are finally united so much time and waiting these are the marriages that truely have been battle tested and for better or worst are a great and will be great successes.

[babito 29]

got mt I-601 and I 485 approved and today just got my green card

[pkliberty78 1]

just checkng iin, i am expexting a RFE in the mail any day now for the I-485 i filed on 09-18-11. - I checked on the uscis.gov site for case update. I am not sure what to expect since i filed the I-601 along with the I-485. Any advice from anyone with similar experience? I have no idea what to eeexpct other than maybe they want evidence of marriage?

[pkliberty78 1]

I just got the RFE in the mail today Although disappointed I did expect this. Any help here would be great. I'm not sure if I have messed up all of this stuff or not. If anyone can give advice:

I filed the I-485/I-601/I-765 together and paid all forms together with one cashier check (I have copies).

I have received payment receipts for all forms submitted.

I will have no supporting evidence for the I-485 that I filed for my husband. My question is if I send a letter and the I-485A form filled to the best of my knowledge with copies of receipt for the I-601, when the I-485 is denied will the I-601 then be processed? Will I have to re-pay the I-485, or file a I-290B and pay the fee to have the I-485 appealed and re-opened? A bit confused, and obviously with out the funds to hire a lawyer Any advice greatly appreciated.

Edited October 11, 2011 by pkliberty78

[pkliberty78 1]

This is truly a blessing! This will keep my family together, so for my husband, daughter, and I this is a God send in a time when we where planning on being separated for 6 months to at least 1 year, or possibly more. I cannot thank God enough for answering our prayers, nor give enough thanks for all of those who have been praying for my family. All I can think of is the bible verse, "...ask,and it shall be given unto you, seek and ye shall find..." I have asked God over the past year, not for a full haul of immigration reform because I understand the costs to society, and the future costs to our ever failing government systems in place already. But what I have prayed for is for something, that would allow the law to be more merciful, and understanding to the relationship between a husband and a wife. And this proposal will do that, not just for me, but for many others in the same or similar situations. Thank you LORD!!!

http://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/newsroom/release/proposed-rule-change-will-unify-families-subject-3-and-10-year-bars

Proposed Rule Change Will Unify Families Subject to 3 and 10 Year Bars

Released on Fri, Jan 06, 2012

Washington D.C. - Today, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a proposal to streamline the application process for the spouses and children of U.S. citizens currently eligible for legal permanent resident status, minimizing the amount of time that applicants would have to be separated from their families. Under current procedures, thousands of persons who qualify for legal status must leave the U.S. to obtain their permanent resident status, but as soon as they leave, they are immediately barred from re-entering for 3 or 10 years if they have been unlawfully present in the U.S. for more than 180 days. Many are eligible for a family unity waiver, but under current rules (not law), the waiver can only be applied for from overseas. Because that process can often take many months and even years, it is believed that many otherwise eligible applicants do not apply for legal permanent resident status, remaining unauthorized in the U.S. rather than risk lengthy separation from their families.

Published in the Federal Register today, the proposal—or, at this point, a “notice of intent to issue a rule”— recognizes this Catch-22 by revising the procedures for determining the family unity waivers for spouses and children of U.S. citizens. However, the rule change will not cover spouses and children of legal permanent residents. Under this “in-country processing” proposal, which must still go through the formal rule-making process, spouses and children of U.S. citizens who apply for legal permanent residence and need a family unity waiver to re-enter the U.S. will be allowed to apply for the waiver without first leaving. This process does not alter or revise eligibility standards and only affects persons whose sole need for a waiver is based on having been in the U.S. without authorization.

This “in-country processing” proposal would permit USCIS to grant a provisional waiver, eliminating the often prolonged wait that many applicants currently face when they seek a waiver outside the U.S. Although applicants would still be required to depart from the U.S. before receiving final approval on their application, pre-processing of the family unity waiver will encourage applicants to come forward and create a faster and safer means for processing applications.

The emphasis on safety is particularly important, given the large number of applications processed in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, a city that has been wracked with violence in recent years. Numerous cases of violence against persons waiting for their waivers have been reported, increasing the urgency of implementing the new rule quickly. For other applicants, the streamlined process will minimize the time away from family members, reducing the possibility of economic and other hardships caused by long separations.

Our current immigration laws are riddled with inconsistent and conflicting provisions which have the absurd result of discouraging legal immigration. Some of the most notorious are the bars to returning to the U.S. after a period of unlawful presence, even if a person has a legitimate relationship to a U.S. citizen. Today's announcement does not eliminate the bars, but it recognizes that there is no practical reason for forcing the spouses and children of U.S. citizens to wait outside the country for months or even years while their application for a waiver is pending.

According to Benjamin Johnson, Executive Director of the American Immigration Council, “By proposing new rules for processing waiver applications for spouses and children of U.S. citizens, USCIS has shown a commitment to addressing one of the most notorious implementation problems in our current immigration system. Improving this system, within the framework of the law, is the legitimate role of any administration. We commend USCIS for embarking on this rule change and its other attempts to bring efficiencies and fairness to the immigration system.”

[Used to be broken 147]

This is truly a blessing! This will keep my family together, so for my husband, daughter, and I this is a God send in a time when we where planning on being separated for 6 months to at least 1 year, or possibly more. I cannot thank God enough for answering our prayers, nor give enough thanks for all of those who have been praying for my family. All I can think of is the bible verse, "...ask,and it shall be given unto you, seek and ye shall find..." I have asked God over the past year, not for a full haul of immigration reform because I understand the costs to society, and the future costs to our ever failing government systems in place already. But what I have prayed for is for something, that would allow the law to be more merciful, and understanding to the relationship between a husband and a wife. And this proposal will do that, not just for me, but for many others in the same or similar situations. Thank you LORD!!!

I am a little confused by your posts. How did your spouse originally enter the US? This change should not affect your case if you are eligible for

processing in the US. If not at this point it will not be of much help either since its a proposed rule change that will not take effect

until most likely late this year. If you have already processed I130 been approved and filed the I601 stateside if you are eligible then

your case will take the normal route and remain unaffected by this. If you filed the I601 in error thinking you could adjust your spouse

stateside without spouse leaving country that poses another issue if the I601 is denied. They could place your spouse in proceedings and deport

or issue NTA. Not good.

From your posts it seems as though you filed I601 form but there is no mention of "evidence". Did you include evidence to prove hardship?

[pkliberty78 1]

I am a little confused by your posts. How did your spouse originally enter the US? This change should not affect your case if you are eligible for

processing in the US. If not at this point it will not be of much help either since its a proposed rule change that will not take effect

until most likely late this year. If you have already processed I130 been approved and filed the I601 stateside if you are eligible then

your case will take the normal route and remain unaffected by this. If you filed the I601 in error thinking you could adjust your spouse

stateside without spouse leaving country that poses another issue if the I601 is denied. They could place your spouse in proceedings and deport

or issue NTA. Not good.

From your posts it seems as though you filed I-601 form but there is no mention of "evidence". Did you include evidence to prove hardship?

My husband as stated previously entered without inspection. I did file the adjustment of status, and the I-601 as stated before while my husband was stateside and was obviously denied. And of course, I did submit evidence, though I did not feel compelled to divulge the evidence submitted because I was not here to ask for help in the forum, but understanding, and prayers.

"If you filed the I601 in error thinking you could adjust your spouse

stateside without spouse leaving country that poses another issue if the I601 is denied. They could place your spouse in proceedings and deport

or issue NTA. Not good."

We have addressed this issue, we consulted with several lawyers after receiving the denial letters for all of the forms submitted, and were given the following choices, and possible outcomes:

1. We could apply for Green cards in Canada and relocate our family.

2. We could wait four more years until my husband has been in the United States for ten years, and pray that nothing happens to him during that time period (not letter of deportation, hope that his file is left on a shelf, hope he gets in no accidents, or in trouble with the law) and then ask for a hearing with an immigration judge (as after presence for ten years the judge can based upon good character, then and their in court grant a pardon)

3. Husband could relocate to Honduras, I apply again, and hope that 1-601 waiver will be accepted. (during which time I will have to document my anxiety, depression, and lack of focus due to stress while here in the US, and my husband in Honduras)

The lawyers all told me the same thing, since we have filed the papers, and our information is in the system there is a possibility that an deportation proceedings could start at any time. Now, again since you may be asking, why they where filed, I will tell you the honest truth, my husband did not believe me or the lawyer during the first round of consultations that he had to leave in order to finish the process (this friend, that friend, their experiences). So I filed the paper work in order to "save" us money, which in the end was about 2k wasted because of the denials, but then again, maybe it was money well spent, because now, even if this amendment to the law, is not in affect until the end of the year, it has bought me time, and hope with my husband and my daughter. It has allowed me to make accept a better job offer, because even though I am stressed, I think I could handle knowing that my husband and child will only possibly be gone a few months instead of a few years. What many people don't know, and I will share this with you is that my husband and I decided that in the best interest of our family, it would be wise to let my child go with my husband back to Honduras when he left, because I could work, send money, and they would have everything they needed (home wise, and economically, school wise-obviously not emotionally). Because, as a wife and mother, I could not see myself struggling here, accepting welfare, or having to move and leave a good paying job I had just because I loved a person who crossed a border as a foolish young man who wanted to escape a life that made no sense to him anymore. I got pregnant out of wet lock, but choose to have and love my baby. I choose to stay with a young man who I hardly new, but grew to love and respect, and who I have taught that no matter what to never give up on his dream of a better life for himself or for his family. Two wrongs don't make a right, and my husband adores our daughter, and loves me so much, and I him. We have faith in our God who despite all of our human error has helped us grow closer together during these hard times of decision making. But I believe, and have been shown time and time again, that If I have faith, that God's mercy and greatness will always triumph over humanity's erroneous ways. Its no ones business, but my husband left Honduras, because he was depressed and wanted to escape his life, because his long time girl friend aborted his baby, and he wanted to never see her again for taking away his child. With that said, I think I have said enough. My hope is that my case will inspire others to hope, and to continue to love despite obstacles that cross ones path. there are many things in life that are not good, and I have suffered many hardships, from being an abused child to being a foster kid, but I think this immigration issue is the hardest thing I have had to deal with but we press on, because even though things are tough, it is no excuse not to try to make things right.

~Jen