Archive for category: I 601 Waivers

Kaushik Ranchod from The Ranchod Law Group welcomes you to this article based on the Ranchod Law Group Immigration Show videos.

You’re going to want to stay tuned and watch this video to learn about some of our recent success stories and how our team of dedicated immigration attorneys has won I-601A waivers for our clients.

In this video, we address two cases for which we have letters of approval for I-601A waivers. Kaushik will address a specific issue about extreme hardship to a U.S. citizen spouse. In this article, we also explain a case of extreme hardship to children, which are not qualifying relatives, but affect the U.S. citizen spouse creating extreme hardship.

In this Video Kaushik also addresses a recent I-601A success story case for a client from Mexico.

President Obama Introduced the I-601A

The Obama Administration implemented the I-601A Waiver. This waiver has been advantageous because previously, you were required to file for an I-601: there was no I-601A. Filing for the I-601 waiver was the only procedure available. Until Obama introduced the I-601A, you had to file and go through the whole green card and immigrant visa process in the United States. Then you would go for your green card interview, get it denied, and only then be able to apply for the I-601, and you were waiting to have that decision made.

The great news is that you apply for the I-601A waiver in the United States, so you have a decision before you have the final interview in the I-601A waiver. That’s the most challenging part of the process. You can get that out of the way before having to leave.

The Differences between I-601 and I-601A Waivers

There is a difference between the I-601 and the I-601A. I-601A waivers are primarily for unlawful presence. I-601 waivers can cover other issues such as fraud or misrepresentation. Check out my last video if you want to learn more about that. We address only I-601A waivers in this article and video. Suppose you have a U.S. citizen spouse, a lawful permanent resident spouse, a U.S. citizen, or a lawful permanent resident parent. In that case, that’s the bare minimum requirement to be able to apply for this kind of waiver.

You also want to start the process by making sure you have your petition for relative alien (I-130) approved. After the I-130 is approved, it will then go to the national visa center. You’ll need to pay the national visa center fees, and this will allow you to start the I-601A waiver process.

I often see people commit mistakes. Sometimes the person contacting us seeking help may not realize they need a waiver. These are regrettable situations where people have received bad advice and didn’t file for a waiver. In such a case, people could get stuck outside the United States. Consequently, they would be required to file for an I-601 waiver outside of the U.S.

Therefore, you want to make sure you go through this I-601A process.

This procedure is valid if you entered the U.S. without a visa.

If you have entered the U.S. with Inspection

If you entered with inspection, you don’t need to go through he procedure I have described in the previous paragraph. The process allows you to apply for a marriage-based green card. There is a possibility you may be eligible for a 245(i) – Green Card through INA 245(i) Adjustment – even if you entered without a visa, but you need to have a petition filed for you in 2010.

On the topic of Green Card, through section 245(i), there are two other articles you may find very useful. I recommend the following article to learn more about your eligibility for 245(i) Adjustment:

• 245(i) and I-601a Waivers.

Success Story #1: National from Mexico

Let’s dive into the first I-601A success story!

The first success story here is about a client, the husband of a U.S. citizen with two U.S. citizen children from Mexico (I-601A Hardship Waiver Letter of Approval, Nov. 11, 2016).

As I mentioned earlier, the two U.S. citizen children are not direct qualifying relatives, but we can still talk about the hardships because they indirectly affect the U.S. citizen.

One of the first things to point out is whether or not any adverse factors negatively affect the applicant. In this situation, we didn’t have any such adverse factors. Our Immigration attorneys pay attention to existing medical issues if there are any. In this situation, the applicant had a rare medical condition that physicians in Mexico could not treat. Mere psychological separation is not enough to prove extreme hardship. However, in this situation, we were able to discuss issues that went beyond the separation. Based on the facts of this case, we discussed the emotional, psychological hardship said separation would have inflicted upon the single mother with two children if the applicant were to leave the U.S.
The separation would have created a psychological impact that would undoubtedly have an extremely negative impact and affect the U.S. citizen. In addition, our immigration attorneys were able to build this case also considering the excellent job of the U.S citizen and the problems related to student loan debt, which they wouldn’t be able to service if they were to leave the U.S.

By combining all of these arguments, stacking them one by one by one, our team of immigration attorneys got this case approved. This approval is one example of I-601A approval.

Success Story #2: National from Mexico

I will now illustrate the second case of this article that provides more insights into how these cases are approved and how an immigration attorney should articulate them. I have mentioned many times that every case is unique. I invite you to contact us at (916) 613-3553 or fill in the form below to learn more and see if you qualify. Now let’s dive into the next case!

In this case, our client entered the United States in 2002. The client, a very young lady at the time, was only a teenager. She then went on to marry a U.S. citizen, and they had U.S. citizen children as well (I-601A Hardship Waiver Letter of Approval – Nov. 28, 2018).

Our immigration lawyers studied all the details of this case and discovered there were no adverse factors. In fact our team successfully demonstrated that there are no adverse factors because:

• she spoke English well;
• she had always paid taxes;
• she had never been in trouble with the law.

Extreme hardship due to health issues

We elaborated the case using these arguments. A closer look at our client’s health record revealed some health issues which required qualified medical attention. Again our immigration attorneys successfully described the client’s condition and how she would not have access to medical care and the most appropriate medical treatment if they relocated to Mexico. The client’s existing medical condition was a critical factor in this case and helped us get the approval.

In addition, her husband also did not have formal education or training. In this situation, where the U.S. citizen is forced to relocate, there wouldn’t have been the opportunity to get comparable employment. And because of this lack of opportunity, we highlighted how there would have been an additional form of career hardship.

A strong emotional and financial bond

Finally, our team of immigration attorneys in Sacramento also talked about how the couple relied on each other. Their dependence upon one another was not only financial but also emotional. What our attorneys discovered by interviewing the couple was how they worked together as a team. Their team effort was instrumental in conducting a healthy and happy lifestyle that positively affected the couple and their children.

In this episode of The Ranchod Law Group Immigration show, managing attorney Kaushik Ranchod discusses two I-601A hardship waiver success stories for applicants from Guatemala and Central America. Getting such cases approved requires a great deal of work and attention to detail to bring cases like these approved for clients.

The details of these two I-601A Waivers

As mentioned in the opening of this article, Kaushik describes both cases. The clients are from Guatemala and Central America. The Ranchod Law Group in Sacramento can count on experienced immigration attorneys capable of handling cases from all over the world; in this video, Kaushik will concentrate on two recent I-601A hardship waivers. They are just doing a snapshot and represent typical scenarios many people face in similar situations.

Individuals who are eligible for I-601A Waiver

First of all, you’re probably asking the question: “Do I qualify for I-601A Waiver?”. So I-601A waivers are generally for individuals who entered the United States without a visa and overstayed. You may be eligible for this exceptional hardship waiver if:

• your spouse is a US citizen or a permanent resident;
• you have a parent who’s a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.

For a hardship waiver, they would be the qualifying relative and need to demonstrate extreme hardship to that relative: that is the crux of the case – proving extreme hardship for that relative.

Exceptional Hardship for the Guatemalan National

The first success story is that of the Guatemalan national who was married to a U.S. citizen. Kaushik explains how the immigration attorneys at work on this case discovered how the qualifying relative had some mental health issues. In fact, the wife suffered from depression and psychosomatic issues.
The lack of status in the United States of her husband caused these mental health issues. In fact, the mental health issues were one argument that we were able to make, carefully describing and documenting the U.S. citizens health history. Her mental state required constant medical care and consequent large medical bills. By analyzing the family’s financial situation, it was clear that the client was a significant contributor to their household finances. Therefore, we were able to argue financial hardship, as well.

We could get the case approved with this combination of exceptional hardships (mental health and financial situation). We combined multiple factors to demonstrate a situation of extreme hardship for the U.S citizen.

In most situations, we identify conditions of exceptional hardship when we’re communicating with you. You may not think of your situation as having certain hardships, but that’s because you’re in the middle of your life, in the weeds of your life. When we consult with our clients, they take a step back because they communicate with a qualified third party who can reveal such hardships. That case was again for a Guatemala national.

Exceptional Hardship for a National from Central America

This client, a national from Central America, had entered the United States more than ten years ago. He had never had any trouble with the law. He, too, was married to a U.S. citizen. We’ll now examine this case and how we proved hardship.

We were able to identify exceptional hardship to the U.S. Citizen also for this client. Our immigration attorneys studied his specific situation. They used our hardship waiver matrix to identify all hardships related to real-life scenarios the couple faced on a day-by-day basis. Only when we can explain and prove such complex situations are we successful at proving exceptional hardship.

This case is also an interesting case that provides insights into what cases get approved for extreme hardship.

In this particular case, we argued that the client’s wife could not relocate to his home country because of poor social and economic conditions. We produced documentation to support the argument of developing country conditions.

Another argument that we were able to make was about the client’s wife’s health needs. In fact, he would need to attend to them if they were to reoccur. We documented how our client was also the family’s primary financial provider by analyzing their financial situation. Their financial situation represented another form of hardship we were able to prove.

We successfully argued financial hardship, and, as mentioned previously, we were also able to argue that there was a specific type of health hardship.

We also asked for a favorable exercise of discretion because our client had worked for the same employer since he was in the United States.
In this day and age where people are hopping from employer to employer, we noted how this person had not done that and was loyal to his employer and wife.

Proving harship

As you can see, we delved into many aspects of our client’s family life and that of the U.S. citizen’s life to demonstrate extreme hardship. After learning about these two cases, it should be clear how complex and articulated a case can be, based on the uniqueness of the facts and the involved people.

It is wise to consult with an immigration attorney near you to review your case and consider all the facts to identify situations that may constitute exceptional hardship, making you eligible for an I-601A hardship waiver.

If you’re not eligible for an I-601A Waiver

If you’re not eligible for the I-601A waiver because of your situation, there may be other forms of relief available to you.

I-601 Waivers Approved with highest approval rate

Hi it’s Kaushik Ranchod here with Brian. So today we’re going to talk about the I-601 Waivers approved by our Immigration Law Firm. On I-601 Waivers with the
President Trump administration because as you know with this administration it is getting much more difficult for cases to get approved.

Overall there is a 40% denial rate increase.Our firm is still above 90% of overall approvals

But what is being approved now (and of course I have to say that even if these cases are getting approved) doesn’t mean that all of our court cases will be approved in the future: it’s on a case by case basis, and that’s why it’s essential to evaluate each specific unique factor, and you can call us at (916) 613-3553 if you have questions.

So in the I-601A Waiver approved recently, what we illustrated for this situation is you have to show, for an extreme hardship I-601A Waiver, exceptional hardship to the citizen if they were separated or if the United States citizen were to go to the spouse’s home country.

One thing we showed was the history of psychological trauma that the U.S. citizen had and how that could continue to occur or even increase significantly because of the separation. That is known as psychological hardship.

Second – we talked about financial hardship, the fact that the couple had a home and they could very well lose that home if the spouse had to go to Mexico. Additionally, childcare, as well, would become so expensive that the household would not be able to afford it: that’s another argument that we made for this case. And then we tie all of these factors together to show the extreme hardship.

In many of our cases there’s not just ONE factor in and of itself that constitutes extreme hardship, but when we combine all of these factors BOOM! We’re able to show exceptional hardship! There’s one important factor that I left out – there is the spouse’s health condition as well that played a significant factor in the hardship as well.

What’s very important to remember when presenting an I-601 exceptional hardship Waiver case:

• Provide a lot of medical records documenting all of this because you cannot just make stuff up you have to substantiate it with evidence.
• Create a very extensive legal brief with attention to detail, outlining all of these factors as well and tying them into a legal argument demonstrating the exceptional hardship and how, through the totality of circumstances, all of these factors create exceptional hardship.

Alright, so we want to thank you for tuning in, you can leave your comments below and we will respond in our next show or we can respond below to your questions or call us at (916) 613-3553. Thank you and have an awesome day!

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