It is my understanding that a 212 waiver applies to someone with a visa, which is not applicable in your case because he doesn't have one yet, a he has a five year bar. It seems that your attorney made a mistake by simultaneously applying for a 212 and an I-130. Like I said, I am not very familiar with 212 or 601as, but I do know that in most cases applicants need to attend an interview first, be denied, and then apply for a waiver. It seems that the DHS caught on the fact that he applied for both concurrently and out right denied the I-130 since he hadn't have an interview yet.
Regardless, you need to provide more information about his case:
Why was the F1 denied?
Why was he put under "expedited" removal?
What Embassy is he going through?