Archive for category: I 601 Waivers

Hi this is Kaushik Ranchod from The Ranchod Law Group for our weekly immigration video. Today we’re going to talk about a frequently asked question clients often ask during consultations and that is:

What is the difference between the I601a and 245i?

Before answering the question I’m going to talk about one of my favorite immigration legal tools: 245i.

Why do I like 245i so much? Because it waives an illegal entry and avoids you leaving the country, however you need to be eligible for this. In order to be eligible for it you needed to have been present in the United States on December 21st 2000 and you also need to have had a petition filed for you before April 30th 2001.

This could be a family-based petition or an employment-based petition. Not only do you have to meet those requirements, but also they have to have been approved when filed. If you meet one of the requirements I mentioned earlier, it will waive an illegal entry if you’re married to a U.S. citizen and you had a petition filed for you on or before April 30th 2001 and you were physically present on December 20th 2000.

You can take advantage of 245i by applying for the marriage-based green card (adjustment of status), and 245i at the same time. Consequently you will not need to leave the U.S.

That is different than I-601a Waiver which is still an awesome option. With an I-601a Waiver you have to file for a Waiver showing extreme hardship to your U.S. citizen spouse. However, at the end of the process, you must undergo an interview at the U.S. Embassy.

In principle you must leave the United States with an I601a Waiver, however the great thing about it is that you are going to have the waiver approved before you are required to leave. Previously, with the I-601 Waiver, before I-601a legislation was passed, you were required to get the waiver approved outside of the United States and that was pretty scary for a lot of people because of the fact that you would be stuck outside the U.S. if the waiver were denied.

Now with the I-601a the great news is the fact that you can get that Waivers approved if you can show extreme hardship before you leave so you’ll know whether or not your Waiver is approved before you leave, taking out a lot of the risk in that whole I-601a process, but if you’re eligible for 245i why leave the country? Apply for 245i!

So I invite you to contact our office at (916) 613-3553 or email us at info@ranchodlaw.com – we’re happy to talk to you and answer your questions: we answer questions like this all day long. I’d like to thank you for tuning in on this video, have an awesome day. Download our free books on our website at ranchodlaw.com.

I look forward to seeing you next week.

Waiver Approved for Brazilian Client Who Entered the U.S. Illegally and Has Remained in the U.S. Illegally for 15 years

The Facts

• Client entered the U.S. illegally fifteen years ago
• Client has been in the U.S. illegally since his entry
• Client is married to a U.S. Citizen
• Client has a U.S. Citizen child from a prior relationship
• Client wife also has a U.S. Citizen child from a prior relationship

Our Case

There were many facts we used here at the Ranchod Law Group to argue and strengthen the case.

• Client is a remarkably successful entrepreneur
• He is the primary financial provider for his family
• Although his wife works she earns only a small fraction of Client’s income
• Together, they have many financial obligations including a mortgage, loans, and a commercial business lease

We successfully argued the wife could not run the business in client’s absence and client could not support his family from abroad.

Wife also had some health issues we used to further support the case.

The couple was also financially, practically, and emotionally supporting the wife’s U.S. Citizen mother.

The circumstances in each case are different but we craft each case per the client’s particular circumstances. Each case is several hundred pages long and is prepared with time and attention to detail. We are so happy to help another client and give him stability after so many years without status.

I-601A Waiver for Illegal Entry and for Being in the U.S. Illegally Approved for Client with DACA

Filed: December 12, 2016
Approved: September 18, 2017

The Facts of this Case

• Client is a young man with DACA
• He is married to a U.S. Citizen
• Thankfully he was never too sure about DACA‘s future and began the process to obtain his lawful permanent residence (his green card)
• Since his parents brought him into the U.S. illegally, he needed to obtain an I601-a waiver before he could receive his lawful permanent residence

In order to win these waivers we have to prove that his qualifying relative, in this case his U.S. citizen wife, would suffer extreme hardship both if she remained in the U.S. without client and also if she relocated abroad to be with client.

Additional Facts Proving Extreme Hardship

• Client’s wife was dependent on client as he is the primary financial provider for the family, a role he could not fulfill from abroad
• The couple recently purchased their own home which she could not pay for if he was forced to go abroad
• The wife is in college and she could not continue her education without client’s support and she also could not continue her education abroad
• If client left his job his wife would lose her health care coverage

Finally,. We crafted arguments around these circumstances and we are so happy client is able to become a lawful permanent resident, especially now that DACA has been discontinued.

The Facts about this i601a waiver approval for Mexican Client

Filed: November 11, 2016
Approved: July 20, 2017

We also argued exceptional emotional hardship in both the scenario of relocation and separation because after suffering a miscarriage the US citizen wife suffered from profound depression. We try to approach each case with multifaceted arguments in order to prove the extreme hardship necessary to win the case. The case was delayed for an entire year but ultimately the case was approved and we are so happy that the client will be able to receive his lawful permanent residency “greencard” which will open new doors of opportunities and give this family a new level of stability.

• Client entered the U.S. in 2004 illegally by crossing the border with Mexico
• He has remained in the U.S. without legal status
• He married a woman of Mexican descent who was born in the U.S.
• Together the couple has two children born in the U.S.

The Ranchod Law Group argued that if the waiver were denied, there would be extreme hardship to the US citizen wife because she was financially dependent on client.

Additional Elements used to Successfully Argue this case:

• Client’s wife does not work
• Even if she found a job she could not earn enough to support herself and their two children because she never even completed high school
• The older of the two children was only going to school for a few hours a day and the younger of the two children was too young for school
• Child care would offset the little money the wife could earn
• Client also could not earn enough abroad to support his family

We Argued:

• The family could not relocate due to the extreme hardship inherent to the country conditions abroad
• The wife and children could not relocate because their health insurance was provided by the state of California and the education program for the oldest child was also state-sponsored
• An exceptional emotional hardship in both the scenario of relocation and separation because after suffering a miscarriage the US citizen wife suffered from profound depression

Here at The Ranchod Law Group we try to approach each case with multifaceted arguments in order to prove the The family could not relocate due to the extreme hardship necessary to win the case. The case was delayed for an entire year but ultimately approved and we are so happy that the client will be able to receive his lawful permanent residency greencard which will open new doors of opportunities and give this family a new level of stability.

The Facts about this i-601a hardship waiver approval for El Salvadorian Client Who Entered the U.S. Illegally

Filed: December 22, 2016
Approved: April 11, 2017

• Client entered the U.S. illegally around 10 years ago
• He is married to a U.S. Citizen
• He has a U.S. Citizen child from a prior relationship
• Client’s U.S. Citizen spouse has had some health conditions in the past including anxiety
• Client’s U.S. Citizen spouse is a student

To win these i-601a cases, we were required to prove client’s wife would suffer extreme hardship both if she remained in the U.S. without client and also if she tried to accompany client to El Salvador.

We were able to successfully argue client cannot support his spouse physically, financially, or emotionally from abroad.

We also argued client’s wife cannot relocate to El Salvador because in El Salvador she would lack access to the medical care she needs, she doesn’t speak Spanish, she could not continue her education, and because of the dangerous country conditions. As a discretionary matter we also pointed out client has a U.S. Citizen child from a prior relationship who is dependent on his child support and their relationship for his well-being and development. The Ranchod Law Group has significant experience building and arguing waiver cases so we can present the best case possible for each client.