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Waivers
Waivers are complex, and different types of waivers exist. If an individual requires a waiver because she/he has done something that has excluded him or her from being able to apply for an immigration benefit there might still be hope.
What is a Waiver? A definition does not exist, however, one can be deduced from practice. A waiver is a method in which an individual can ask for pardon for a transgression committed.
When would a Waiver be needed? As mentioned above there are many different types of waivers, which means that there are many different reasons why an individual would need to secure a waiver before being allowed to apply for relief/visa or to enter the US legally. A) If you were deported or removed from the United States; B) If you overstayed in the United States past your visa expiration and then left the United States; C) If you were charged with or convicted of a crime.
If you were convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude (It is conduct that is inherently vile, depraved and contrary to accepted rules of morality), theft, robbery, you may be ineligible to enter the United States without a waiver.
Types of Waivers Different types of Waivers exist and they vary depending on the matter that needs to be waived and the waivers all require different evidence/proof. Below you will find some of the most common types of waivers:
- Health Related Grounds INA §212(a)(1): A foreign national that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has determined to have a communicable disease of public significance (in accordance with the Department of Health and Human Services) will be denied entry into the US. It is important to note that Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) has been removed from the list. For example some of the diseases that will cause inadmissibility are: syphilis (infectious stage), gonorrhea, active tuberculosis, leprosy, chancroid, lymphogranuloma venereum, and any quarantinable disease designated by Presidential Executive Order.
- Lack required vaccinations;
- Suffers or has a history of suffering from Physical or Mental Disorder that causes the individual to engage in behavior harmful to the individual or others; and
- History of drug abuse or addiction.
There are waivers available for all health related grounds of inadmissibility with the exception of drug abuse and/or addiction.
- General Waiver for Nonimmigrants: Individuals who fall into the categories of inadmissibility are able to apply for a waiver to visit the United States. The individual must assert why she/he needs to enter the United States and why her/his visit would not be detrimental/bad to the United States. These waivers are discretionary.
- Fraud and Misrepresentation: an individual who by fraud or willful misrepresentation of a material fact, procures or seeks to procure a visa, other documentation, or admission to the United States.
- Falsely Claiming U.S. Citizenship: After 1996 any individual claiming that he or she is a citizen of the United States for any purpose or benefit under the INA or any other federal or state law is inadmissible. An immigrant waiver is not available under this category. There is an exception available to certain individuals which was included in section 201(b)(2) of the Child Citizenship Act of 2000. Under this section the inadmissibility ground does not apply if each parent of the individual is or was a United States Citizen by birth or naturalization, the individual must have believed at the time of making the statement that she was in fact a citizen and the individual must permanently reside in the United States prior to reaching the age of 16. This exception applies to representations made on or after September 30, 1996.
- Waiver after Prior Removal: An individual who has been removed from the United States and wishes to apply before the statutory period has expired must file a waiver of the waiting period.
- Waiver of Unlawful Presence: This is the result of having been in the United States in unlawful status for more than 180 days (three year bar) or more than a year (10 year bar). To qualify for this waiver, the individual must prove that he/she is the spouse or parent of a US citizen or legal permanent resident and that the denial of admission would cause that US citizen or legal permanent resident extreme hardship.
These waivers can be difficult since every waiver case is different. We suggest hiring a competent attorney to handle these matters. Our practice has handled many of these cases successfully. A well-documented waiver case can make a great difference.
I-601A Provisional Stateside Waiver
Effective March 4, 2013 the Provisional Stateside Waiver is available to inadmissible immigrants. This waiver promotes family unity, in the sense that this waiver allows the applicant to remain in the United States while the Waiver is being processed by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
This waiver allows immediate relatives of US Citizen to apply for a waiver of the three and ten year bars for unlawful presence before leaving the United States. The Provisional Stateside waiver addresses only one ground of inadmissibility as established in the laws of the US. The ground states that an applicant who has accrued unlawful presence in the US of 180 days or more, is barred from returning to the US for three years (INA §212(a)(9)(B)(i)(I)); applicants who have accrued 1 year or more of unlawful presence are barred from returning to the US for ten years (INA §212(a)(9)(B)(i)(II)).
Applicants can be found inadmissible under a variety of grounds, i.e., crimes, fraud/misrepresentation, health problems, immigration violations, etc. cannot apply for the provisional stateside waiver as they would not qualify as this waiver only addresses unlawful presence.
Who is eligible to apply for the Provisional Stateside Waiver Form, I-601A?
Applicants must meet the following criteria:
- Are physically in the US;
- Are at least 17 years old at the time of filing;
- Are the beneficiary of an approved I-130 Petition for Alien Relative or I-360, Petition for Amerisian, Widow(er) or Special Immigrant that classifies you as a an immediate relative to a US citizen. Immediate relatives are your US citizen spouse, parent;
- Your case has not been scheduled for an interview date before January 13, 2013. In other words that the Department of State did not take action in your case;
If you feel based on the preceding information that you in fact would be eligible for a provisional waiver, contact Ramirez+Ramirez, LLC to discuss how we can assist you.
Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS)
Congress enacted the Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) recognizing the vulnerability of child victims of mistreatment through the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) of 2008, PUB.L.NO.110-457, 122STAT. 5044 (2008): INA §§ 101(a)(27)(J), 245(h), 8U.S.C.§§1101(a)(27)(J), 1255(h). The SIJS provision created a form of humanitarian relief for immigrant children who have been abandoned, abused, neglected, or similarly mistreated, as defined under state law.
To be eligible under SIJS, the child must first petition a state juvenile court to make certain factual findings before she/he can apply for immigration status from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). To be exact, the state court must enter an order finding that 1) the child is either dependent on the court or should be placed under custody of an individual or entity designated by the court; 2) Reunification with one or both parents is not viable due to abuse, abandonment, neglect or similar basis under state law; and 3) It is not in the child’s best interest to return to his or his parent’s previous country of nationality. It must be noted that the INA prohibits a child from conferring immigration status to his or her biological or adoptive parents by way of SIJS.
Please be advised that the description of this process is general. It is advisable to obtain a competent immigration attorney to provide legal representation. If you feel you meet the requirements, please reach out to us to go over your case specifics
¿Aplica la Deportación en mi Caso de Inmigración?
Nuestras oficinas han recibido un sin nú- mero de casos y preguntas referentes a re- moción y/o deportación. Quiero tomar esta oportunidad para explicarles que conlleva disputar estos cargos y cuando estos cargos deben ser disputados.
Cualquier persona que no sea ciudadano Nortea- mericano puede ser deportada y/o removida de te- rritorio Estado Unidense. Residentes permanentes pueden ser removidos también. La razón más común de remoción de un residente permanente es porque este ha cometido y ha sido condenado por la comisión de un delito de drogas u homici- dio, entre otros delitos. Una persona que entra al país de manera ilegal puede ser deportada, al igual que una persona que ingresa con visa, pero permanece en los Estados Unidos más tiempo del autorizado.
Desde que se paso la ley de Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (II- RAIRA) en 1996 no existe distinción alguna entre los términos “deportación” y/o “remoción”. Es más, los casos de deportación se conocen como (Removal Proceedings) “Procedimientos de Re- moción”.
Las formas más comunes que el DHS (Depart- ment of Homeland Security) utiliza para identifi- car a personas indocumentadas son las siguientes: √ Individuos que han sido arrestado o que han cumplido su sentencia;
√ Individuos que han solicitado beneficios mi- gratorios y no han tenido éxito;
√ Redadas en lugares de empleo;
√ Arresto de personas que están por cruzar o han cruzado la frontera;
√ Personas que reciben asistencia pública, y no tienen derecho a tal;
√ Personas que usan documentos falsos, o co- meten fraude; entre otros.
Es sumamente importante que las personas que se encuentran en procedimientos de remoción asistan a sus citas ante la Corte de Inmigración, de lo contrario, dichas personas puede ser ordenadas removidas en “Absentia” (ausencia). Dicha orden de remoción solo puede ser disputada si se de- muestra que no se recibió la orden de compare- cencia y por alguna razón o circunstancia excepcional.
Un individuo que ha sido removido de los Esta- dos Unidos es inadmisible por varios años, la can- tidad de años depende de las razones por las cuales fue removido. Si un extranjero fue remo- vido durante “procedimientos de remoción acele- rado” no puede ingresar a territorio americano por los menos 5 años. Individuos que han pasado por el “procedimiento de remoción” normal no pue- den entrar por un período de por lo menos 10 años. Si la persona ha cometido una felonía, cri- men o delito con agravante de felonía no puede ingresar a los estados unidos jamás.
La ley provee un camino para que personas que han sido removidas puedan ingresar nuevamente sin tener que permanecer fuera del país por mu- chos años por medio de un perdón “Waiver”. El proceso de “Waiver” perdón es complicado y re- quiere la asistencia de un abogado de inmigra- ción.
Al mismo tiempo la ley provee defensas contra la remoción. La defensa más común es “Cancela- ción de Remoción y Ajuste de Estatus”, para poder aplicar esta defensa el inmigrante debe cumplir con todos los requisitos exigidos por la defensa de remoción para tener una pequeña es- peranza de poder permanecer en el país.
La administración del Presidente Obama está cambiando las leyes de inmigración no de formas drásticas, sino disimuladamente, pero, si están haciendo cambios. Por ejemplo, están concen- trándose en el área de deportación y/o remoción intentando reducir la amenaza de deportación para millones de inmigrantes ilegales. Los cam- bios realizados enfoca la atención de los oficiales de inmigración en inmigrantes que han cometido crímenes serios.
Entre los recientes cambios, se encuentra el emitido por el director de Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) John Morton el 20 de Agosto del año en curso, en la que se ordena que los ofi- ciales de la agencia empiecen a desestimar cargos de deportación contra personas que no tienen re- cord criminal y que tienen peticiones pendientes. Sin embargo, es necesario aclarar, que aunque el Director John Morton ordenó estos cambios, tam- bién les informó a los oficiales que deben “hacer uso de su discreción” antes de desestimar cargos de deportación contra inmigrantes. Durante una entrevista Morton dijo que: “estos cambios son inteligentes, pero no blandas”.
Existe una pequeña esperanza, pero debemos mantener los ojos bien abiertos y saber cuales son nuestros derechos y que podemos hacer para poder permanecer en los Estados Unidos tras el sueño americano.
Si usted se identifica con este u otro de nuestros temas por favor no dude en contactarnos y hacer su cita ahora llamándonos al 908-442-6792, o en- víenos un correo electrónico con sus preguntas ha: hramirez@ramirezllc.com o visítenos en: www.ramirezllc.com
La información contenida en esta página es para propósitos informativos y educacionales solamente y no constituye consejo legal. Los lectores de esta información no deben de actuar por si solos basado en informaciones conteni- das en este ni en otro artículo sin consultar con un abogado.
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