IMMIGRATION HELP PHILADELPHIA
Provisional unlawful presence waiver - I-601A
Beginning in March of 2013, individuals who are in the United States unlawfully, but would otherwise be eligible to live in the United States because they have an immediate relative who is a United States citizen, can apply for provisional unlawful presence waivers before leaving the United States for their consular interview. Essentially, this means you are contacting USCIS to tell them that you have been and are currently in the United States unlawfully. You are asking them to provisionally approve you for a waiver of your unlawful presence before you actually leave the United States to process your application for lawful entry into the United States. People are often worried to do this, rightfully so, because they are concerned about the consequences they may face by actively contacting USCIS to let them know that they are in the United States illegally. Generally speaking, the fact that you are providing this information to USCIS is not going to be used against you. The whole point of the provisional unlawful presence waivers is to allow someone who may eligible to be in the United States to apply to be here and not have to wait for long periods of time abroad, away from their other family members who are already in the United States. USCIS has stated that it will not share information filled out in this application with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), unless there is information about an individual with a criminal history or fraud violations, or they determine that there is a threat to public safety or national security. This may sound like a somewhat arbitrary determination, but the purpose of these waivers is not to find people and report them to ICE so they can be deported. The purpose of the waivers is to allow families to remain together. So while it is important to take an honest look at your history and background, it is unlikely that USCIS is going to try to trick you into turning yourself in and then turn you over to ICE. We are experienced in dealing with this situation, so please contact us if you have any questions. We are happy to look into your history and background and give you an honest evaluation.
Even if you are approved for a provisional unlawful presence waiver, you will still be required to leave the United States to process your Visa at a United States Embassy or United States consulate. If your waiver is approved, it will take effect once you depart the United States and appear at your immigrant visa interview and a Department of State consular officer determines that you are admissible to the United States and that you are eligible to receive a visa. If you fail to appear for your interview, DOS may cancel your visa application, so be sure to show up to all scheduled appointments. Also keep in mind that if you are already in removal proceedings, you are ineligible to apply for a provisional unlawful presence waiver.
In order to be eligible for a provisional unlawful presence waiver, you must meet the following criteria: you are physically present in the United States when you file your application and provide biometrics; you are at least 17 years old; you are in the process of obtaining your visa and have an immigrant visa case pending with the DOS because you are the principal beneficiary of an approved I-130, Petition for Alien Relative or an approved I-140, Petition for Alien Worker; you have won the green card lottery; you are the spouse or child of a principal beneficiary of an approved immigrant visa petition who has already paid the processing fees to DOS, or you are the spouse or child of someone who was won the green card lottery. You must also be able to show that if you are refused admission to the United States, this will cause extreme hardship to your United States citizen spouse or parent. To apply for the provisional unlawful presence waiver, you must file the I-601A, Application for Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver. It can be difficult to understand what exactly this waiver is, and how exactly to apply for it. Please contact us for further information if you believe you are eligible to be in the United States, but you have been here unlawfully. We would be happy to determine if you are eligible for the provisional unlawful presence waiver, and walk you through the process if we determine that you are in fact eligible. |
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