Top 5 Reasons Hardship Waivers are Rejected

Top Five Reasons Hardship Waivers Are Denied

At Ranchod Law we file countless hardship waivers on behalf of our clients, including:

• exceptional hardship waivers for J visa holders
• extreme and unusual hardship waivers for clients with criminal histories
• immigration fraud
• illegal entries into the U.S.

We are proud of our proven track record of success.

Many of our clients come to us after having already received a waiver denial on their own and in our experience these are the top five reasons those clients received a denial previously:

1. Poorly prepared statements by the applicant and his or her family
   Your statement is your opportunity to explain to the immigration officer why you deserve a waiver. A statement that doesn’t delve deeply enough into the details or that says the wrong things can be extremely prejudicial to your case. Likewise, the statements of your family members are critical to supporting your case. You need an experienced immigration attorney to read your statements and advise you of which areas need to be expanded.
2. Not enough supporting paperwork
   Your statement and your family members’ statements will not be enough in and of themselves to warrant an approval. Every single fact in the statements needs to be supported with proof! If you discuss a medical condition you need proof of the condition, if you discuss finances you need proof of income and expenses, if you discuss education you need copies of certificates and grades, etc.
3. No history or follow up care for medical and mental health paperwork
   If your medical or mental health paperwork is limited to the time period just before your application for a waiver your application will be viewed with a suspicious eye. For example, if you have a doctor’s note dated just before your application diagnosing your qualifying family member with asthma or a gastrointestinal issue on the eve of filing your application, immigration might be distrustful, immigration might think this was made up just for your application. On the other hand if you obtain a doctor’s note or medical records showing your family member has been receiving treatment for a long period of time this makes the paperwork more credible. The same goes for letters from psychiatrists, psychologists, and other therapists. A letter indicating a history of depression and treatment will be more valuable than one obtained on the fly just for the purpose of your application.
4. No legal arguments in your favor
   Very rarely will a case speak for itself. An experienced hardship waiver immigration attorney can prepare a written legal argument on your behalf highlighting the strengths of your case and explaining how your case meets the standards imposed by the law. Your attorney should organize your documents and provide you with advise on which documents are necessary vs. which documentation is unnecessary for your case. Providing the appropriate documentation can make or break your case. Immigration officers are very busy, they will not take the time to sort through and thoroughly review each paper in your case, it is your attorney’s job to make it easy for the officer to approve your case.
5. Inexperienced legal help
   The final most common reason we have seen clients come to our office with denials of hardship waivers is because they didn’t receive sound legal help with their waiver the first time around. It is not a coincidence that our clients get denials with other attorneys and approvals with us. We know how to prepare cases that highlight your hardship utilizing our legal arguments and your unique story. In addition to the preliminary required paperwork we have experience gathering additional supporting paperwork, asking clients just the right details to expand in their statements, and compiling well written legal briefs which really magnify the strength of your case. Please contact our Sacramento, San Francisco and Santa Clara offices at (916) 613-3553 to discuss your prospects honestly and confidentially.

Written by: Kaushik Ranchod
Published by: The Ranchod Law Group