I-601 Waiver

[waitingincolo 0]

My fiancée, Maria was here illegally from 2001 to May of 2002.

will she need this waiver? Is there a possibility that they would give

her a VISA knowing this?

Thanks

[waiting4Oliverio 0]

I have not heard of anyone being in the US illegally for more then 180 days and not needing to file the waiver. My fiance was here for 1yr and 3 months and I know we will have to file the waiver

[kitkat1 5]

My fiancée, Maria was here illegally from 2001 to May of 2002.

will she need this waiver? Is there a possibility that they would give

her a VISA knowing this?

Thanks

Like waiting4olivero said, anyone with illegal presence in the US of over 180 days needs to file a 601 waiver to overcome the 3 year ban (10 years if the illegal presence was over one year). I assume your fiance is going to her interview shortly, right? She will need to submit a hardship letter and evidence from you proving "extreme hardship" to you, the USC, if her visa is denied and you are forced to move to Mexico permanently.

Edited November 2, 2006 by kitkat1

[Yodrak 7]

waitingincolo,

What do you mean by "illegally"? Without inspection or after her allowed period of stay expired?

If the latter, on what date in 2001 did her allowed period of stay expire and on what date in May 2002 did she leave? If the number of days is less than 360 she should be OK on this issue.

Yodrak

My fiancée, Maria was here illegally from 2001 to May of 2002.

will she need this waiver? Is there a possibility that they would give her a VISA knowing this?

Thanks

kitkat,

Look at the dates again.....

Yodrak

My fiancée, Maria was here illegally from 2001 to May of 2002.

will she need this waiver? Is there a possibility that they would give

her a VISA knowing this?

Thanks

Like waiting4olivero said, anyone with illegal presence in the US of over 180 days needs to file a 601 waiver to overcome the 3 year ban ......

[kitkat1 5]

waitingincolo,

What do you mean by "illegally"? Without inspection or after her allowed period of stay expired?

If the latter, on what date in 2001 did her allowed period of stay expire and on what date in May 2002 did she leave? If the number of days is less than 360 she should be OK on this issue.

kitkat,

Look at the dates again.....

Yodrak

Well true, I take the term "illegally" to be different than "overstayed her visa".

In either situation, if she left the US after more than 180 days of illegal presence, the 3 year ban applies and a 601 waiver would be necessary. Not sure if I understand why you've indicated less than 360 days would be ok.

[Yodrak 7]

kitkat,

No, a 601 waiver will not be required unless the illegal presence is more than 360 days.

Look at the dates again.

Yodrak

....

kitkat,

Look at the dates again.....

Yodrak

....

In either situation, if she left the US after more than 180 days of illegal presence, the 3 year ban applies and a 601 waiver would be necessary. Not sure if I understand why you've indicated less than 360 days would be ok.

Edited November 2, 2006 by Yodrak

[kitkat1 5]

kitkat,

No, a 601 waiver will not be required unless the illegal presence is more than 360 days.

Look at the dates again.

Yodrak

You've lost me. Her dates are "2001 to May 2002. So until waitingincolorado tells us what day in 2001, we don't know how long she was illegally present.

Regardless, the law says:

INA §212a(9)B(i)(I) provides that any alien who has been unlawfully present in the United States (presence in the United States after the expiration of lawful status or presence in the United States without being admitted or paroled) for a period of more than 180 days but less than 1 year and voluntarily departed the United States (whether or not pursuant to section 244(e) prior to the commencement of proceedings, is excludable for a period of 3 years. The INA §212(a)(9)B(i)(II) provides that any alien who has been unlawfully present in the United States (presence in the United States after the expiration of lawful status or presence in the United States without being admitted or paroled) for 12 months or more is excludable for 10 years.

Please tell me what I am missing as I know someone who went to their interview in CDJ today, who was denied due to more than 6 months but less than one year of illegal presence in the US., and was required to file a 601 waiver.

[Yodrak 7]

kitkat,

May 2002 was more than 4 years ago.

Yodrak

kitkat,

No, a 601 waiver will not be required unless the illegal presence is more than 360 days.

Look at the dates again.

Yodrak

You've lost me. Her dates are "2001 to May 2002. So until waitingincolorado tells us what day in 2001, we don't know how long she was illegally present.

.....

Please tell me what I am missing as I know someone who went to their interview in CDJ today, who was denied due to more than 6 months but less than one year of illegal presence in the US., and was required to file a 601 waiver.

[kitkat1 5]

kitkat,

May 2002 was more than 4 years ago.

Yodrak

Got it (finally) thanks.

So waiting, please tell us she was here for LESS than one year and then you will be fine!!! Sorry for any confusion.

[waitingincolo 0]

kitkat,

May 2002 was more than 4 years ago.

Yodrak

Got it (finally) thanks.

So waiting, please tell us she was here for LESS than one year and then you will be fine!!! Sorry for any confusion.

Kitkat, Yodrak

She was here on a 6 month visitors VISA and was here much longer than a year.

I can't believe after all this time, stress, heartache she won't be able to come here.

Why doesn't the USCIS tell you this when they are processing your I-129 application here? I literally

fill like I've been punched in the stomache, I have everything ready for her interview, we

were just waiting for packet 3. I just can't believe this. I thought she would be here sometime

this month. I haven't looked to closely at the I-601 hardship waiver, but I can't imagine what

I could possibly write to prove a hardship she's not here. Unless 2 broken hearts count as a

hardship. I did notice a few people were planning on filing an I-601 waiver for there fiancée’s

overstaying their VISA's, what hardship justification would they be using?

Sorry for the confusing post

Thanks

[Yodrak 7]

waitingincolo,

You still have not provided the information necessary to answer your question, the information that I asked of you in my first post in this thread.

This issue is not something that the USCIS looks at when processing the petition - it is not a petition issue.

Yodrak

Kitkat, Yodrak

She was here on a 6 month visitors VISA and was here much longer than a year.

.....

Why doesn't the USCIS tell you this when they are processing your I-129 application here? .....

[waitingincolo 0]

waitingincolo,

You still have not provided the information necessary to answer your question, the information that I asked of you in my first post in this thread.

This issue is not something that the USCIS looks at when processing the petition - it is not a petition issue.

Yodrak

Kitkat, Yodrak

She was here on a 6 month visitors VISA and was here much longer than a year.

.....

Why doesn't the USCIS tell you this when they are processing your I-129 application here? .....

Yodrak,

She came here Sept. 1999 on a 6 month visitors VISA. She left May 2002, so it was well over

a year that she lived here. I guess it was after her allowed period of stay expired. Does this help?

Thanks

[Yodrak 7]

waitingincolorado,

Yes, that helps. So she was authorized to be in the USA from sometime in September 1999 until sometime in March 2000, then overstayed for more than 2 years until May 2002. (Your original post said 2001 until May 2002?)

If the dates are correct that gets her a 10-year ban, about 4-1/2 years of which have passed. She'll need a waiver, often granted but not always. You might want to consider getting some professional help to improve the odds in her favor.

Yodrak

Yodrak,

She came here Sept. 1999 on a 6 month visitors VISA. She left May 2002, so it was well over

a year that she lived here. I guess it was after her allowed period of stay expired. Does this help?

Thanks

Edited November 3, 2006 by Yodrak

[kitkat1 5]

Waiting - sorry you are just now discovering this. Unfortunately the ineligiblity information is very clearly stated on the website - it's unfortunate that you didn't know what you would be facing.

http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/ty...types_2994.html

What If the Applicant Is Ineligible for a Visa?

Certain conditions and activities may make an applicant ineligible for a visa. Examples of these ineligibilities are:

Trafficking in Drugs

Having HIV/AIDS

Overstaying a previous visa

Practicing polygamy

Advocating the overthrow of the government

Submitting fraudulent documents

The consular officer will tell you, the applicant, if you are ineligible for a visa, whether there is a waiver of the ineligibility and what the waiver procedure is. For a complete list of ineligibilities see Classes of Aliens Ineligible to Receive Visas.

601 approval rates in Ciudad Juarez are not too bad but you will need to prove extreme hardship to you, the USC, if her visa is ultimately denied and you are forced to relocate to Mexico permanently. It's a long process but apparently they have recently brought on additional staff to manage the backlog and perhaps that will translate to faster approval times. Currently, it's averaging about 9 months for approval.

You might want to start by contacting a qualified immigration attorney with experience in 601 waivers in Ciudad Juarez. You can certainly do it yourself but it wouldn't hurt to do an initial consultation. Also check out the 601 guidelines and forum on www.immigrate2us.net for great support and guidance on how to prove hardship. The CDJ website information is here: http://usembassy.state.gov/CiudadJuarez/wwwhciswaiver.html

After your brutal experience during the petition process this is especially hard to take, but it is doable and the approval rates are high so try to stay positive.