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Understanding what extreme hardship means
If you are an immigrant looking into potential waivers, the extreme hardship waiver might be one available. It is applicable to people who may claim extreme hardship from deportation.
This waiver, also called the 601 waiver, exists to delay deportation and resist banishment from the country for up to 10 years.
What is extreme hardship?
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services discuss what extreme hardship is. Unfortunately, the definition itself is intentionally left quite vague which means there is a lot of room for interpretation in the immigration courts.
The law defines four specific levels of hardship, though. This ranges from one to four, with four being the least severe. Not only should a person have at least one qualification from level one, but they should have several qualifications from other levels, too. Serious life situations or plausible fears about going back to a home country are ideal for extreme hardship.
Understanding the citizenship oath of allegiance
If you are thinking about becoming a citizen of the U.S., you may be a bit nervous about the English-language requirement and civics test. You also may worry about getting through the lengthy application and interview process. Luckily, there are ways to prepare for each of these.
With some effort, you can probably make your citizenship process go smoothly. If it does, you eventually will arrive at the final stage of the process: the oath of allegiance. Because this is a legally binding and solemn oath, you should think carefully before taking it.
The oath of allegiance
Every aspiring citizen must take an oath of allegiance to the U.S. before becoming a citizen. This tradition, which dates back to the 1700s, requires you to make certain affirmations.
According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, you must swear to several tenets, including each of the following:
What happens if a family member’s U.S. citizenship gets denied?
It might take years of planning to help family members obtain U.S. citizenship. Many people may worry about what happens if the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) denies an application.
What happens next depends on the reason for the denial.
When applicants fail the citizenship test
The USCIS requires a test as one step in the citizenship process. When applicants fail the test, they can take it a second time within 60 to 90 days. If they fail the second test, their request gets denied.
Luckily, people can appeal the decision or apply again immediately after paying another application fee. There are no restrictions on the number of times people can reapply to take the test, and they can keep their green cards during this process.
When applicants do not have continued residence
Another citizenship requirement is physically living in the U.S. for at least 30 months out of the previous five years. If applicants can not prove that they resided within the U.S. for enough time, their citizenship may get denied. In these cases, applicants can wait until they have been in the country long enough and reapply.
Know your waiver options against inadmissibility
US immigration has many requirements for anyone entering the country long-term as well as a variety of restrictions that bar certain applicants. However, these grounds of inadmissibility are not black and white.
With the right waver, you may have more options than you think when it comes to applying for your own immigration or helping loved ones with theirs.
Examples of inadmissibility and exceptions
As CitizenPath details, there are several categories of inadmissibility that may or may not have waivers available.
Health-related grounds concern the spread of disease or abuse of drugs. There are waivers available for failing to provide proof of vaccination as well as having a communicable disease. However, drug abusers or addicts do not have a waiver available.
Anyone convicted of a crime may have a harder time applying for a visa as well. Crimes of moral turpitude or prostitution come with waivers. Convictions of human trafficking, however, lack a waiver.
How do I prepare for a K-1 visa interview?
Applying for a fiancé visa in the United States is a long process. One of the most important components of the visa process is the associated interview.
Preparing correctly for this interview is key to receiving a fiance visa. According to the US State Department, to prepare for the interview you will need to have a medical examination and ensure that you have all of the proper paperwork at hand.
Medical examination
You must schedule your medical examination in the country where your interview will take place. Additionally, the physician must have approval from the US embassy. This approved physician is the “Panel Physician.” The US government will not accept examinations from non-approved physicians.
If you have children that will join you, they must also have a medical examination. You must complete these examinations before you attend the visa interview. After the examination, the physician will either give you the results in a closed envelope or send them directly to the US embassy.
Understanding the provisional waiver application
If you are currently in the United States and you are not eligible to adjust your status because of unlawful presence, there may be a faster way to begin the green card process. Unlawful presence means you entered the country without inspection, you are in violation of your temporary visa or you overstayed your original period of authorization.
The provisional waiver application, or I-601A, is available to certain visa applicants who are immediate family members of U.S. citizens.
Purpose of the provisional waiver
According to the U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the purpose of the waiver is to reduce the amount of time that spouses and children are away from their families while they go through the immigrant visa process. Without the provisional waiver, the separation time is sometimes months or even years.
Ready to bring your foreign national fiancée into the U.S.?
If you are a U.S. citizen, you are eligible to bring your foreign national fiancée into the country.
There are regulations to follow and documents to submit, but once you finish with the details, your fiancée will qualify for the required K-1 visa.
About Form I-129F
As the petitioner to bring your fiancée to the U.S., you must first file Form I-129F, the Petition for Alien Fiancée, with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). In this document, you must confirm that the two of you are free to marry. You must also confirm that the marriage will occur within 90 days of your fiancée arriving in the U.S. as a K-1 non-immigrant.
Background checks
As part of the Form I-129F approval process, USCIS will perform background checks on the two of you. When completed, the Department of State (DOS) will let you know when your intended can apply for the K-1 visa. Among the documents she must take to her visa interview are proof of her relationship with you and proof of a medical examination.
Department of Justice investigating border security initiative
The Texas Department of Public Safety launched a program in March to target migrants crossing the Mexican border into the United States. The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating this program for potential civil rights violations.
What are the alleged violations?
Alleged civil rights violations
The DOJ investigation is attempting to determine if the Texas DPS is not complying with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Information that indicates that the DPS is discriminating based on race or national origin prompted the investigation. The allegations assert that Operation Loan Star officials are targeting people for traffic stops and misdemeanor trespass violations based on their actual or perceived race or national origin.
Operation Lone Star
The Texas governor deployed close to 10,000 DPS officers and Texas National Guard soldiers to the border between the United States and Mexico to help arrest migrants. Additionally, he signed an executive order allowing the Guard and the DPS to apprehend and return to the border migrants crossing the border between ports of entry.
As a U.S. citizen, how can you help relatives come to the states?
If you are a U.S. citizen who moved here from another country, you may have both close and extended relatives that would like to join you in the states. You might also be planning to marry a non-U.S. citizen and would like him or her to be able to live and work in the country you now call home.
American immigration law is constantly changing. However, preserving family bonds remains a top priority when considering petitions for either visas or green cards.
What are the options for helping family members gain legal residency?
If you already have citizen status, you may be able to sponsor immediate family, extended family members, a current spouse or a future spouse. Options for helping family members gain legal residency include:
- Requesting a K-1 visa for a fiancé, though the visa may only be valid if you marry within a certain period of his or her admission to the U.S.
Is there a waiver for making a false claim of U.S. citizenship?
Being an American citizen comes with a variety of important and valuable benefits. Still, if you are not a citizen of the U.S., it is imperative to understand the consequences of claiming to be one. Simply put, making a false claim to U.S. citizenship may make you forever ineligible to become a legal permanent resident or to obtain a nonimmigrant visa.
Falsely claiming to be a U.S. citizen makes you inadmissible to the country. This means immigration officials will not allow you to enter legally. It also makes you deportable, meaning government lawyers may try to remove you from the country.
No general waiver
There are several grounds for both inadmissibility and deportability. With many of these grounds, though, a person can seek a waiver. With a waiver, government officials essentially agree to ignore your violations of U.S. immigration law.
According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, there is no general waiver for making a false claim to U.S. citizenship. Therefore, if you falsely claim you are a U.S. citizen, you may have few or no options for gaining legal status.
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