Visa Lawyer Blog

Articles Posted in Waivers

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Bill was a world renowned and very accomplished sculptor and 3d artist in his country. In 2009, Bill decided to make his first visit to the United States. It was here, in the land of opportunity, that he was able to develop his craft further and had the unique opportunity to study animation, the marketing of sculptural art, and technologies in film production. Having already been working for a famous television station in his country, it was only fitting for him to expand his studies in these fields. As a professional artist with extraordinary skills, our client was eligible to file an O-1 visa and could very well obtain his permanent residency through this avenue. After seeking legal advice, Bill decided to go forward with the process of applying for an I-129 Petition for an alien with extraordinary abilities in the arts. While his application was pending, Bill decided to visit his aunt and cousins in Los Angeles. It was through his cousin that Bill would meet his future wife, Elizabeth. After various phone calls and emails, the two decided to meet, and it was indeed love at first sight for the pair. The couple found that they shared similar interests, had a similar background, traditions, and customs.

During the following months, the couple went on frequent outings together as well as with their family members. All seemed perfect. Bill was ready to pop the question and did so in a magical way in Laguna Beach, California. Elizabeth’s parents were not only supportive of Bill’s professional work; they welcomed him into their family as a son, and allowed him to live with Elizabeth in their home during their marriage. A few months after marrying, Elizabeth and Bill decided to file for Bill’s Adjustment of Status. Elizabeth was very enthusiastic about petitioning for Bill because she felt the process would be much quicker than that of the I-129 petition that was pending. Bill completely put his trust in Elizabeth and allowed her to take the reins on his adjustment of status application.

During their marriage, Bill began to see that his wife was not the person he believed her to be. She refused to work and would spend her days chatting with friends and playing computer games until the morning hours. He also began to realize that she had no regard for his financial situation and would spend the money he earned from his family and from freelancing, on luxurious items that were unnecessary expenses. A few months later, Bill heard that his father had been diagnosed with cancer and was fighting for his life. About this time, Bill was fortunate enough to have received his permanent resident card, so he was able to travel internationally without preoccupation. Devastated, Bill traveled to his country alone to support his inconsolable mother and help his family financially. Elizabeth had chosen to stay behind with her family. While he was back in his country dealing with the stress surrounding the terminal nature of his father’s condition, Bill began to receive unrealistic and threatening demands from Elizabeth.

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For many, the American Dream has proved to be far beyond reach. This is the story of our client, Rafael Espinoza Iniguez, as told by his wife, Maria:

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness are birth rights our government sought to protect through a living breathing document known as the Declaration of Independence. These “inalienable rights” have been challenged at times by life’s many obstacles and ironies, some of which are brought about by medical conditions, which are alleviated by research institutions, by economic difficulties, which are alleviated by charities, by social pressures, which are alleviated by advocacy groups, and by injustices, which are alleviated by our government; the institution which has declared to protect our rights as citizens. Our government was designed in its inception as a progressive government by our founding fathers, who were dissatisfied by the tyranny of monarchies, and created this nation with the goal of establishing a just government, recognizing the rights all human beings are entitled to. And so, in pursuing our own life, liberty, and happiness, this is our family challenge:

To present our story in order to advocate for comprehensive immigration reform that will allow entrance into the United States for law abiding and deserving individuals, who have come to this great nation in the pursuit of that same happiness our founding fathers were in search of. 

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By Ekaterina Powell, Esq.

It’s been almost a year since the procedure for Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver became effective. For all this time, USCIS has routinely denied cases where there was a reason to believe that the applicant may be subject to a ground of inadmissibility other than unlawful presence.

Thus, if USCIS believed the applicant may have a criminal, national security, health-related, misrepresentation, or another ground of inadmissibility, it denied the provisional waiver application and did not look further into the extreme hardship analysis.

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Criminal Offense from the past often hunt clients in the present. This often comes up in Adjustment of Status cases. A recent new client came to me with a Criminal conviction that originated more than 20 years ago. Now he is a highly successful executive, about to file his Adjustment of Status.

How do we analyze such crimes, what is the Impact on I-485 cases today?

Enter 212(h) Waiver. The 212(h) waiver can be used for various criminal grounds of inadmissibility and has different requirements depending on the ground of inadmissibility, the date of conviction, the status of the applicant, and the concurrent application for relief (if any) for which the applicant is applying.

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Attorney Ekaterina Powell from our law office has prepared the following article about the effects of prior deportations and unlawful presence on the possibility to immigrate to the U.S. Many Applicants come to our office to inquire about the consequences of prior deportations and periods of unlawful presence in the U.S.

There are two common scenarios.

The first scenario is usually similar to this: a foreign citizen had been previously deported from the U.S. and then entered or attempted to enter the U.S. illegally. Then the foreign citizen gets married to a U.S. citizen. The U.S. citizen comes to our office to inquiry about the immigration process for the spouse and to find out whether there are any issues associated with the alien spouse’s prior immigration violations.

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Attorney Ekaterina Powell from our office has prepared this article about the recently approved I-601 waiver case handled by our law firm.

Our client in this case, John, got married to his U.S. citizen wife, Mary, in San Diego, California. They started the application process for adjustment of status. At the adjustment interview, the immigration officer let them know that a green card cannot be granted to John because he was found to be inadmissible on the grounds of misrepresentation and fraud in connection with his previous visa application.

The couple was devastated. They came to our office to see if we can help them with I-601
Application for waiver of grounds of inadmissibility. We took the case, and we started working with the couple in preparing I-601 waiver petition.

I-601 cases are very unique. Each of them has its own story, a story of a family with lives of many people dependent on the result of the waiver process. The success of the case, often times, means whether the family is going to stay together. Sometimes, if such case is denied, it is a heartbreaking story of a family that used to be happy once but now they have to separate and live apart in different countries for the rest of their lives. It is especially devastating when minor children are involved who would be raised without a parent if the waiver does not succeed.

I-601 cases are very complex and require extensive legal analysis. We are particularly happy if we can assist our clients with I-601 waivers to save their families from falling apart.

I-601 waiver can cure many grounds of inadmissibility, including unlawful presence and 3 and 10 year bars, health-related grounds, certain criminal grounds, fraud and misrepresentation, alien smuggling and certain other grounds of inadmissibility.

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