What is a 601A-Provisional Waiver?

Please note that a I-601A-Provisional Waiver should not be confused with an I-601 Inadmissibility Waiver. These two types of waivers are different and used with different processes and are not interchangeable. Additionally, this is simply a basic summary of the the I-601A Provisional Waiver.

****Please contact an immigration attorney if you believe that you are eligible for this waiver.****

A I-601A Provisional Waiver is a waiver that might be available to certain applicants who are relatives to U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents. These applicants may use this application to request a provisional waiver of the unlawful presence grounds of inadmissibility, before departing the United States to appart at a U.S. embassy or consulate for an immigrant visa interview. For more information an applicant can click here to view USCIS’s detailed instructions.

That is a very important difference between the I-601A and the I-601. The I-601A is available to an applicant after an I-130 is approved, and the applicant has qualifying relatives, and only has one unlawful entry. If an applicant has multiple unlawful entries to the U.S. this waiver might not be available to that applicant.

As mentioned above for an applicant to be eligible for this waiver, the applicant must have qualifying relatives, and be subject to extreme hardship. Below is a brief summary of what a USCIS officer will look for before approving a I-601A waiver.

Does the application have a qualifying relative?

A qualifying relative can be a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident Spouse and/or a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident parent. Please note that U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents’ children are not qualifying relatives, but they can be used to strengthen the applicant’s extreme hardship factor.

Will the Qualifying Relative suffer extreme hardship if the I-601A Provisional Waiver were to be denied?

This section is extremely important since USCIS looks at every section in an extremely detailed manner. For the officer to approve a I-601A wavier the qualifying relative must show that they will suffer extreme hardship, not just “common hardship” if the applicant’s waiver was not approved. If the waiver is not approved the applicant must wait 10-years outside the US before being eligible to lawfully immigrate. An applicant’s future hands on the balance of this approval.
The hardships that are addressed on this application can be but are not limited to:

Phycological
Emotional

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What is a 601-A Provisional Waiver?