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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.
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.
Immediate Relative vs. Family Preference : Which type visa is easier to get?
Once you successfully emigrate from your country of origin to the United States, it is only natural for you to want to bring others of your family to join you here.
The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs, advises that you have two visa options: Family Preference and Immediate Relative. The question then becomes: Which type of visa can you more easily obtain? The answer depends on who you need to obtain the visa for.
Immediate Relative visas
Assuming you are a permanent U.S. resident, Immediate Relative visas are easier to obtain than Family Preference visas. The U.S. government issues an unlimited number of IR visas each year. The downside, however, is that you can only obtain this class of visas for your immediate family members. The following lists the five types of Immediate Relative visas and your family members to whom each applies:
What is a bona fide marriage?
One of the primary objectives of U.S. immigration law is to keep families together. Consequently, if you are a U.S. citizen and marry a person who lives elsewhere, you probably have a streamlined process for securing legal permanent residency for your spouse.
Even though the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services wants to reunify families, immigration officials also want to prevent immigration fraud. Therefore, you can expect a USCIS officer to determine whether you have a bona fide marriage before approving your immigration paperwork.
Your marriage is for the right reasons
Everyone has his or her own reasons for choosing to walk down the aisle. To comply with U.S. immigration law, however, your marriage must not be for the purpose of securing immigration benefits. Therefore, you should provide evidence that shows your marriage has love and commitment as its foundation.
You have the right documentation
USCIS officers review thousands of immigrant visa petitions every single year. Consequently, you can make the officer’s review easier by providing the right documentation. According to the USCIS, in addition to a copy of your marriage certificate, you also may want to include the following items with your filing:
Can your fiancé find work in the country?
Starting over anew in a different country is often enough to rattle even the strongest of people. However, getting started on the right foot can help build a strong foundation that can make the transition easier to bear.
With the right authorization, it is possible for your fiancé to gain the ability to work, which is one step toward making the process of transitioning smooth.
Work authorization approval
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services take a look at how fiancé visas work in the country. They note that after your fiancé arrives in the country, they can apply for work authorization with form I-765. If approved, this privilege lasts for 90 days. If your fiancé applies for a green card at the same time, the privilege lasts for one year instead.
In order to work each year, your fiancé will still need to refresh their approval, renewing the authorization to work any time it expires.
What is the extreme hardship waiver?
An immigration waiver can help you to get a visa for yourself or a loved one in circumstances where you may otherwise be unable to. Getting a waiver is not an easy process, but if you meet the requirements and can provide all required information and documentation, it can be a blessing.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services explains one wavier option is for extreme hardship.
The waiver
The extreme hardship waiver is available in situations where the refusal of a visa to a person would cause serious problems for a family member who is a citizen or lawful legal resident. Extreme hardship can mean different things depending on your situation. For example, if the reason you need a waiver is more serious, then the hardship your family is facing must be more serious.
The authority
The Secretary of Homeland Security has the right to issue extreme hardship waivers.
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