USCIS has announced that, beginning August 29, 2016, more persons will be eligible to seek an I-601A provisional waiver of unlawful presence. Eligibility for the I-601A waiver will be extended to spouses and children of lawful permanent residents. Eligibility will also extend to the spouses and children who accompany or follow to join the principal immigrants.
The full details of this expansion are available here.
Before this expansion, only spouses and children of U.S. citizens were eligible to apply for the I-601A provisional waiver of unlawful presence. Beginning August 29, 2016, spouses and children of lawful permanent residents, or “green-card” holders, will also be eligible to apply for the I-601A waiver.
The I-601A provisional waiver provides a significant advantage over the regular I-601 waiver. The main advantage is that the applicant may apply for the I-601A provisional waiver before leaving the United States to attend the interview for an immigrant visa at a U.S. Consulate or Embassy. As a result, the amount of time that the applicant spends outside the United States is greatly reduced, from a matter of months or years in some cases, to a matter of weeks in the majority of cases.
Please remember that this expansion of the I-601A provisional waiver of unlawful presence will not take place until August 29, 2016.
Applications for waivers are complex. I strongly suggest that you work closely with an experienced immigration attorney to handle your waiver application. I have years of experience handling many waiver applications with success. Please give me a call at the office at (734) 369-3131 or email me at mike@mcarlinlaw.com for more information.