Provisional Waiver That Is Currently Proposed

[k39482 0]

I had the chance to review the proposed Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver rules. There are a few things I do not understand and hope others could enlighten me.

Scenario 1

In the current process, if you are already in the country and doing I-485, you apply for I-601 for, say a past overstay for a prior trip, and have to prove hardship. You wait for the decision from within the U.S.

Scenario 2

In the proposed provisional waiver process, you get to stay in the U.S. while waiting for your provisional waiver to be approved before going to the interview in your own home country. You also have to prove hardship. In this case, You wait for the decision from within the U.S. <-- how is that different from Scenario 1?

There are a few things I don't get...

- If you are already in the country, wouldn't you just file I-485 and then I-601 and wait for a decision during that time? How's the provision waiver different from the current process in terms of waiting for a decision on the waiver?

- If you are in the country and will have a 3-year or 10-year ban if you leave, couldn't you file for AoS and I-601? Why would you have to go to your home country to interview? Isn't that what the I-485 interview is for?

Since some people on this board need to file I-601 (for overstay) with I-485 AoS, how is the new process helpful to these people?

Are there people who cannot file for I-601 from within the U.S. and can only file it from their home country? Reading the board says some people are going through the I-485 with I-601 from within the U.S. I don't see where the provisional waiver comes in.

If someone could help me understand this, that would be nice. Thank you.

Edited April 5, 2012 by k39482