This article is based on a video created by Immigration Attorney Kaushik Ranchod from The Ranchod Law Group. The video is part of the ongoing immigration show where Kaushik shares Immigration Law information, focusing on I-601A and other hardship waivers.
Today what we’re going to do is we’re going to talk about a case study of some successful I-601A hardship waivers. So you can see how we got our cases approved.
You’ll want to stay tuned or read this article to the very end because Kaushik will address two types of I-601A cases you will most likely find very interesting.
The I-601A hardship waiver cases examined in this article
In this video, Managing Immigration Attorney Kaushik Ranchod examines two I-601A success stories of clients from Guatemala and Central America.
An affirmed legal practice focusing on hardship waivers, The Ranchod Law Group has successfully managed many cases of hardship waivers for people from many parts of the world. In this video, Kaushik will walk you through two recent hardship waiver cases. He explains how the Immigration attorneys at his Sacramento California’s practice won both cases, providing meaningful insights on these I-601A Waivers.
Do You Qualify for an I-601A Waiver?
First of all, you’re probably wondering if you qualify for an I-601A waiver. In fact, you may have found this article searching the Internet in an attempt to understand your position and if you are eligible for an I-601A waiver.
Information on I-601A Waivers
I-601A is a waiver application for a provisional unlawful presence. I-601A waivers are generally for individuals who entered the United States without a visa and ended up staying beyond the time allowed by their Visa and therefore overstayed.
There are specific cases where immigrant visa applicants, having relatives who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents, can apply for an I-601A waiver under Immigration and Nationality Act section 212(a)(9)(B) (unlawful presence grounds of inadmissibility).
I-601A waivers are generally for those who entered without a visa and overstayed. If this is your case, you may be eligible for this waiver. For example, you could qualify for an I-601A waiver if your spouse or have a parent who is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
For this waiver, the spouse or parent would be the qualifying relative, a member of the immigrant applicant’s immediate family.
In such cases, we need to demonstrate extreme hardship to the U.S citizen or permanent U.S. resident if the applicant were removed from the U.S. or denied entry. Demonstrating extreme hardship for that relative is the essence of these cases.
Demonstrating Extreme Hardship for these I-601A Waivers: the Guatemalan national married to U.S. citizen
In the case of this Guatemalan national, our immigration attorneys identified critical mental health issues that situation the family was facing. In this case, the qualifying relative had some mental health issues. In fact, the wife suffered from depression and psychosomatic problems. Part of that was caused because of her spouse’s lack of status in the United States.
That was one argument that we were able to make.
Also, she had extensive medical bills, and then additionally, he was a large contributor to their finances in the household.
Based on these facts, we were able to argue financial hardship mental health hardship, and by combining both, we were able to get the case approved.
As you can see from this case, our immigration attorneys combined multiple factors to demonstrate extreme hardship. Often, when communicating with a client, we can establish the existence of exceptional hardship factors the family may be facing on a day-by-day basis. We then work on a personalized strategy to prove those hardships.
Many times here in our offices or during a call, we discover the existence of extreme hardship by asking simple questions. Many clients are entirely unaware and do not think they have certain hardships. We are all living a fast-paced life: it’s when we take a step back and communicate with a qualified third party you can identify the presence of exceptional hardship conditions.
Demonstrating Extreme Hardship for these I-601A Waivers: a national from Central America with U.S. citizen spouse
We have successfully handled another recent case. Our team of immigration attorneys worked hard to prove exceptional hardship for this I-601A extreme hardship waiver case as well. This success story is also an interesting case for you to understand these cases’ underlying principles and dynamics. This I-601A extreme hardship waiver success story helps understand which cases stand the best chance of being approved and will give you another example you can use to compare your situation.
In the case of this Client, we used our proprietary hardship waiver matrix to analyze all aspects of their daily lives. Such an in-depth analysis typically reveals potential hardships we can use in our case and, by doing so, successfully demonstrate a condition of extreme hardship for the U.S. national.
So in this situation, the Client entered the U.S. more than ten years ago. He had never had any trouble with the law, and he was married to a U.S. citizen.
How we proved extreme hardship
I will explain how we described and successfully demonstrated the exceptional hardships of this case. For this I-601A hardship waiver, we argued that the U.S National, our Client’s spouse, could not relocate to our Client’s home country because of the country’s poor conditions. Our immigration attorneys’ research produced sound evidence to substantiate our claims: the documentation proved the country’s critical conditions.
Health and Financial Issues
The U.S. national, wife of our Client, had challenging health needs and would need her husband if they were to occur. Furthermore, our Client was also the primary financial provider for the family. His absence would induce a severe form of financial hardship that we were able to prove.
In this situation, we’re able to argue financial hardship, and we’re also able to argue that there were certain types of health hardship. We also asked for a favorable exercise of discretion because he had worked almost entirely 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 that this person had not done that and was loyal to his employer and wife.
So as you can see here, we delved into many aspects of the Client’s life and the many conditions of the U.S. citizen’s life to demonstrate extreme hardship. I cannot stress enough how every case is unique in its own way.
An experienced immigration attorney can provide the right information and support for these cases. That’s why I would recommend that you talk to an immigration attorney who can identify all the underlying extreme hardships and determine whether or not you qualify for an I-601A extreme hardship waiver and can therefore take advantage of the benefits the I-601A waiver provides.
If you’re not eligible for the I-601A waiver, your immigration attorney may identify other forms of relief that are available for your specific case.